Full Metal Jacket [Blu-ray]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Stanley Kubrick's return to filmmaking after a seven-year hiatus, this film crystallizes the experience of the Vietnam War by concentrating on a group of raw Marine volunteers. Based on Gustav Hasford's novel The Short Timers, the film's first half details the volunteers' harrowing boot-camp training under the profane, power-saw guidance of drill instructor Sgt. Hartman (R. Lee Ermey, a real-life drill instructor whose performance is one of the most terrifyingly realistic on record). Part two takes place in Nam, as seen through the eyes of the now thoroughly indoctrinated marines. Ironically, Full Metal Jacket was filmed almost entirely in England. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Number of Discs: 1
• Subtitle: Eng/Fre/Spa/Fi/Ger
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 (Theatre Wide Screen)
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
• Features:
  • Commentary by Adam Baldwin, Vincent D'Onofrio, R. Lee Ermey and critic/screenwriter Jay Cocks
  • New featurette Full Metal Jacket: Between Good and Evil
  • Theatrical trailer

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Nominated Best Adapted Screenplay - 1987 (Michael Herr, Gustav Hasford, Stanley Kubrick)

• National Board of Review

•     Nominated Best Picture - 1987

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Matthew Modine - Private Joker/Private J.T. Davis
       Adam Baldwin - Animal Mother
       Vincent D'Onofrio - Leonard Lawrence, Pvt. Gomer Pyle
       R. Lee Ermey - Gunnery Sgt. Hartman
       Dorian Harewood - Eightball
       Arliss Howard - Pvt. Cowboy
       Kevin Howard - Rafterman
       Ed O'Ross - Walter J. Schinoski, Lt. Touchdown
       John Terry - Lt. Lockhart
       Kirk Taylor - Sgt. Payback
       Ian Tyler - Lt. Cleves
       Papillon Soo Soo - Da Nang Hooker
       Tan Hung Francione - ARVN Pimp
       Costas Dino Chimona - Chili
       Peter Merrill - TV Journalist
       Keiron Jecchinis - Crazy Earl
       John Stafford - Doc Jay
       Gary Landon Mills - Donlon
       Ngoc Le - V.C. Sniper
       Leanne Hong - Motorbike Hooker
       Gil Kopel - Stork
       Herbert Norville - Daytona Dave
       Bruce Boa - Colonel Poge
       Tim Colceri - Doorgunner
       Sal Lopez - T.H.E Rock
       Peter "Snowball" Edmund - Snowball
       Marcus D'Amico - Handjob
       Keith Hodlak - Daddy Da
       Nguyen Hue Phong - Camera Thief
       Bill Thompson - Marine

• Director:

  Stanley Kubrick

• Producer:

  Stanley Kubrick

• Screenwriter:

  Gustav Hasford

• Book Author:

  Gustav Hasford

• Screenwriter:

  Michael Herr, Stanley Kubrick

• Cinematographer:

  Douglas Milsome

• Featured Music:

  The Rolling Stones

• Songwriter:

  Jeff Barry, A. Frazier, Ellie Greenwich, Tom T. Hall, James B. Harris, Lee Hazlewood

• Composer (Music Score):

  Abigail Mead

• Songwriter:

  Domingo Samudio, Phil Spector, Caesar White, T. Wilson, Jr.

• Editor:

  Martin Hunter

• Production Designer:

  Anton Furst

• Art Director:

  Keith Pain, Rod Stratford, Les Tomkins

• Co-producer:

  Philip Hobbs

• Associate Producer:

  Michael Herr

• Executive Producer:

  Jan Harlan

• Set Designer:

  Stephen Simmonds

• Costume Designer:

  Keith Denny

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  Edward Tise

• Makeup:

  Christine Allsopp, Jennifer Boost

• Special Effects:

  John Evans

• First Assistant Director:

  Terry Needham

• Consultant/advisor:

  R. Lee Ermey

• Casting:

  Leon Vitali

• Technical Advisor:

  R. Lee Ermey

• Special Effects Supervisor:

  John Evans

REVIEW:

• For his first film since 1980's The Shining, legendary filmmaker Stanley Kubrick turned his attention to this adaptation of Gustav Hasford's The Short Timers, creating a harrowing Vietnam War picture that was one of the last of the slew of war films being made in this period in the late 1980s. Full Metal Jacket is widely described as a two-act film, the first being a gripping look at Marine basic training and madness, and the second covering more conventional battleground territory. As with any Kubrick film, though, it has more on its mind than typical war sentiments, as it is a vital addition to his body of work illustrating the poisoning of the human spirit and the cruelty that men are capable of. Shockingly, the film was shot in England (as virtually all of Kubrick's modern films have been), which doubles for both sections of the film quite convincingly. The film had the misfortune of debuting after Oliver Stone's Platoon had just swept the Oscars, and many felt it didn't resonate with the same emotional force as that more straightforward picture. In another bizarre footnote, the film contains a passage of dialogue that found its way into a smash hit for the notoriously lewd rap act 2 Live Crew titled "Me So Horny," an odd occurrence given Kubrick's infamously meticulous handling of his films and their content. ~ Jason Clark, Rovi