Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7779 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-06-01
• Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Dubbed, Full Screen, PAL
• Original language: English, Vietnamese
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 112 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
One of a series of revisionist Vietnam cinema released in the late 1980s, Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket is essentially split into two stories linked by a number of characters. The film follows new recruit Joker (Matthew Modine) and his fellow soldiers through their basic training and into combat in Vietnam. The first half is a chilling portrayal of military brutality and de-humanisation, mainly at the hands of Sgt Hartman (played at a level of staggering intensity by ex-Marine Lee Ermey), that centres around the tragic character of Private Pyle, a young man pushed to the edge of his endurance. The tone of the film is no less harsh when transported to the combat zone as we see the results of the training process in action: the young men turned into unquestioning killing machines. Joker is perhaps the one exception, a soldier with "Born to Kill" written on his helmet who also sports a peace sign on his lapel. But the film finds itself caught in the trap of many of the war movies of the time--how to create audience empathy with characters who are essentially in the wrong. It's a dilemma that Full Metal Jacket never really solves, although as a spectacle the film is a masterpiece. Made in the days before CGI became the norm, the battle sequences--filmed, rather bizarrely, in London's Docklands before its redevelopment--are hugely realistic and are perhaps the key moments of the movie, heightening the disorientation and fear felt by the soldiers. By offering no more than a snapshot of the Vietnam conflict (the action deals with one individual skirmish), Kubrick cleverly leaves any judgement on the war to the audience, although clearly attempting to influence them. The fate of the characters who survive is also left in the balance, but we can perhaps imagine what awaits them.

On the DVD: Part of a series of Kubrick DVD reissues, Full Metal Jacket has been treated to the full remastering and restoration treatment. The battle sequences have benefited the most, gaining a new audio and visual crispness and clarity that adds to their already impressive sense of realism--you can almost feel the heat searing from the screen and the explosions detonating around you. Maybe not the best war film ever made, as some may claim, but certainly one to take you right to the heart of the action. --Phil Udell

Special Features
DVD Technical Information:

• Languages: English, French, Italian
  
• Sub-titles: English, French, Italian, Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese, German, Romanian, Bulgarian; English for the hearing impaired

Synopsis
In this riveting look at military life during the Vietnam conflict, Stanley Kubrick, who made the powerful antiwar classics PATHS OF GLORY (WWI) and DR. STRANGELOVE (the cold war), once again explores the behavior of men in battle. FULL METAL JACKET, adapted from Gustav Hasford's novel THE SHORT TIMERS, is broken down into two very different parts. The first half of the film focuses on the training of a squad of Marine grunts on Parris Island, and more specifically on the troubled relationship between the brutal drill sergeant (a frightening Lee Ermey) and an oafish misfit (a brilliant Vincent D'Onofrio) who just happens to be a sharpshooter. The first half ends with a devastating, unforgettable scene, leading into the second half, which takes the grunts to Hue City, the climactic battle of the 1968 Tet Offensive and the turning point of the Vietnam War. The story is told through the eyes of Private Joker (Matthew Modine), a cynical aspiring photojournalist who is soon forced to fight for his life and the lives of his fellow recruits. The sniper scene, which takes place amid bombed-out buildings (rather than in the familiar jungles), serves as a microcosm for the Vietnam War--as well as war in general. FULL METAL JACKET is an unrelenting, intelligent, and challenging examination of war told by a master filmmaker.

Customer Reviews

Classic, horrific Vietnam film
A horrific but brilliantly made film about the Vietnam War by Stanley Kubrick. Full Metal Jacket is split into two parts with the first 44 minutes covering the training of a new group of marine recruits and the remaining 76 at the war itself.

In the first act, the rookies are introduced to the sadistic, fowl-mouthed Sergeant Hartman (real life ex-marine Lee Ermey) who gradually dehumanises them into killing machines. Among the men are Private Joker (Matthew Modine), the only soldier who retains something of a conscience and Private Pyle (Vincent D'Onofrio), overweight and slow to learn. Pyle soon becomes the victim of Hartman's relentless bullying but, under Joker's wing, he begins to get things right and is an excellent shot.
The marines all pass their training but, on the last night before they go their separate ways, Pyle loses his mind with catastrophic results.

Cue to Act Two, Joker is now in Vietnam working for the heavily biased Stars & Stripes newspaper which is distributed to the troops. On a reporting mission he comes across his old training camp friend Private Cowboy (Arliss Howard) and, with Cowboy's platoon, they try to apprehend a sniper hiding in a nearby building. The atmosphere and tension created in Full Metal Jacket is superb as the platoon try to catch the lone gunner with a climax in which Joker arguably comes to terms with what he solely witnessed with Pyle and is able to move forward as a killing machine.

Full Metal Jacket is an excellent film, enhanced by superb cinematography and some typical darkly whimsical Kubrick touches such as the opening credits during which the new recruits have their heads shaved. The first act is incredibly powerful and disturbing and the second part tense and (I imagine) realistic. Another classic Kubrick film.

Stanley Kubricks Finest Hour.
This film is based on the novel "The Short-Timers" by Gustav Hasford.The first half of this film is set in boot camp on Parris Island.The second half is then set in a war stricken Vietnam.The film sparks into life straight away with the magnificent Sgt Hartman questioning his new recruits about their home place and so forth.The most intresting of these characters would be Gomer Pile who is picked on from the start.The way Kubrick builds up Pile is sheer excellence.Sgt Hartman Is cruel but brilliant.For example the way the group get punished for Piles mistakes.And for this the group begin to resent PIles and bully him.The film now builds to an amazing climax...... Its off to Vietnam next where you begin to realise this is an anti-war film.This film is far better than its closest rivals "Platoon" and "Hamburger hill" ."Full Metal Jacket"dispels Vietnam myths and is rich in black humour which serves to undercut any possible air of pretension. The claustrophobic feel to the film adds to the the tension and atmosphere. Overall this film is a true masterpiece and should be bought by any war or Kubrick fan.This is without a doubt one of thre greatest war movies ever made.

"...classic, gritty and very raw ..."
'Full Metal Jacket' is definitely a classic, gritty and very raw interpretation of military service during the Vietnam War. The film is essentially split in to two distinct parts: 1. boot camp where we first meet the recruits (also where we meet real life Marine R. Lee Ermey whose performance is intense to say the least as the Drill Instructor); 2. conflict in Vietnam itself. This division creates two distinct stories that, whilst relevant to one another, could be completely stand-alone but instead ground each other nicely and develop the stories of several of the characters far more.

There are a lot of good war films, but `Full Metal Jacket' falls into the same category as `Apocalypse Now' in that it is such a milestone. Sadly it's not as grand in scale as the epic that is `Apocalypse Now' and not nearly as rounded, but it does explore the psyche of your average soldier unprepared for war to a much greater degree and could easily be argued to be far more "real" than the aforementioned.

It is a must see and deserves to be hailed as one of the best war films of all time, but you'll be sorry when it ends far too soon.