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(out of 5)
Probably the best fictional documentation of the Vietnam war alongside Francis Ford Coppola’s much more liberal Apocalypse Now, this film is Stanley Kubrick’s first film since The Shining and one of his very best. It concerns a green draftee (Matthew Modine) who experiences the horrors of boot camp (led by a terrifyingly brilliant R. Lee Ermey) and then gets sent out into the field in Vietnam as a war journalist. Disturbing images and situations run amok throughout both halves of the film, some of the training experiences equaling the horror that the troops witness when fighting on Vietnamese soil. Modine is perfectly suited to the role of the blank, all-American hero, while Vincent D’Onofrio brings a terrifying sense of unease to his role as a fellow trainee who can’t handle Ermey’s sadistic techniques for very long. Brilliantly adapted from Michael Herr’s novel The Short-Timers, this is an important film about the dehumanization of war that should be witnessed by all.
Natant, Stanley Kubrick Productions, Warner Bros.
United Kingdom/USA, 1987
Directed by Stanley Kubrick
Screenplay by Stanley Kubrick, Michael Herr, Gustav Hasford, based on the novel The Short Timers by Gustav Hasford
Cinematography by Douglas Milsome
Produced by Stanley Kubrick
Music by Vivian Kubrick
Production Design by Anton Furst
Costume Design by Keith Denny
Film Editing by Martin Hunter
Cast Tags: Adam Baldwin, Adrian Bush, Al Simpson, Anthony Styliano, Arliss Howard, Barry Hayes, Bill Thompson, Bob Eric Hart, Brett Middleton, Brian Goodwin, Bruce Boa, Chris Cornibert, Chris Maybach, Colin Elvis,Costas Dino Chimona, Dan Landin, Dan Weldon, Danny Cornibert, David George, David Milner, David Perry, Del Anderson, Dennis Wells, Derek Hart, Dorian Harewood, Duc Hu Ta, Duncan Henry, Ed O’Ross,Frank McCardle, Gary Cheeseman, Gary Landon Mills, Gary Meyer, Gary Smith, Gil Kopel, Gordon Duncan, Hadrian Follett, Harry Davies, Herbert Norville, Ian Tyler, Jim Sarup, John Beddows, John Curtis, John Davis, John Morrison, John Ness, John Terry, John Wilson, John Wonderling, Jon Stafford, Keith Hodiak, Kenneth Head, Kevin Albridge, Kevin Day, Kevyn Major Howard, Kieron Jecchinis, Kirk Taylor, Laurie Gomes, Leanne Hong, Liam Hogan, Louis Barlotti, Luke Hogdal, Marcus D’Amico, Martin Adams, Matthew Modine, Michael Anthony Williams, Mike Turjansky, Ngoc Le, Nguyen Hue Phong, Nigel Goulding, Nigel Lough, Papillon Soo, Pat Sands, Patrick Benn, Peter Edmund, Peter Merrill, Peter Rommely, Phil Elmer, Philip Bailey, R. Lee Ermey, Robert Nichols, Robin Hedgeland, Roger Smith, Russell Mott, Russell Slater, Sal Lopez, Sean Frank, Sean Lamming, Sean Minmagh, Steve Boucher, Steve Hands, Steve Hudson,Tan Hung Francione, Terry Lowe, Tim Colceri, Tony Carey, Tony Hague, Tony Hayes, Tony Howard, Tony Leete,Tony Minmagh, Tony Smith, Trevor Hogan, Vincent D’Onofrio, Wayne Clark
Academy Award Nomination
Best Writing (Screenplay Based on Material From Another Medium) (Stanley Kubrick, Michael Herr, Gustav Hasford)
Golden Globe Award Nomination
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture (R. Lee Ermey)
New York Film Critics Award Nominations
Best Supporting Actor (Vincent D’Onofrio)
Best Cinematographer (Douglas Milsome)
National Board Of Review Award
Top Ten Films
Writers Guild Award Nomination
Best Adapted Screenplay
British Academy Award Nominations
Best Sound
Best Special Effects
Boston Film Critics Awards
Best Supporting Actor (R. Lee Ermey)
Best Director (Stanley Kubrick)
