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Matthew Modine, Adam Baldwin, Vincent D'Onofrio, R. Lee Ermey, Dorian Harewood ... see more see more... , Arliss Howard , Kevin Howard , Ed O'Ross , John Terry , Kirk Taylor , Ian Tyler , Papillon Soo Soo , Tan Hung Francione , Costas Dino Chimona , Peter Merrill , Keiron Jecchinis , John Stafford , Gary Landon Mills , Ngoc Le , Leanne Hong , Gil Kopel , Herbert Norville , Bruce Boa , Tim Colceri , Sal Lopez , Peter "Snowball" Edmund , Marcus D'Amico , Keith Hodlak , Nguyen Hue Phong , Harry Davies , Robert Nichols , Dave Perry , Michael Williams , Tony Carey , David George , Derek Hart , Du Hu Ta , Steve Hudson , Chad Dowdell , John Wilson , Bill Thompson , Tony Smith , Kevyn Major Howard

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... read more read more...'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

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R, 1 hr. 56 min.

Directed by: Stanley Kubrick, Francesca Cima

Release Date: June 17, 1987

Keywords: sad, war, funny, military, anti-war, 'Nam

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DVD Release Date: June 29, 1999

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Flixster Reviews (22,001)

  • JonathanHutchings
    December 22, 2012
    JonathanHutchings
    Kubrick surprisingly only made two films in the 80s . His follow up to The Shining, well-made as it is, is not without certain flaws and is by no means top-drawer Kubrick. However, it is punctuated with incredible moments in spite of its shortcomings, including a grueling opening... read more-act which details marine training at Parris Island and ends with a hair-raising showdown between a grunt and a gunnery sergeant. Also, the film's bloody climax, with its inconclusive clash between the American forces and an enemy sniper, is simultaneously tense, frightening, ironic and meaningless.

    The story (taken from Gustav Hasford's novel The Short-Timers) opens with a bunch of green marine recruits undergoing military training at Parris Island. The drill instructor Gunnery Sergeant Hartman (R. Lee Ermey) is a ruthless, motor-mouthed loony who relentlessly humiliates and desensitizes his boys, so that when he has finally stripped them of their humanity he can rebuild them as single-minded killing machines. Among the bunch is happy-go-lucky Private Joker (Matthew Modine), and the vaguely ridiculous (and ridiculed) Private Pyle (Vincent D'Onofrio). As the recruits near the end of their grueling training regime, Pyle finally cracks under the strain and kills the gunnery sergeant, before turning his gun on himself. The action jumps forward to find Joker on a tour of duty in Vietnam. He is by this point a military journalist who has seen some pretty unpleasant sights during his time in 'Nam (and is divided by his experiences - notice his Born To Kill helmet and his Peace buttoned jacket). The platoon he is part of becomes involved in a street battle in the ruins of Hue City near the film's climax, where they find themselves pinned down and picked off by a female Vietcong sniper. Finally, after much panic and bloodshed, darkness falls and the marines retreat into the night singing the Mickey Mouse March.

    Where Kubrick really hits his target is in his depiction of the emotional change within Modine's character, and in his cold and cynical (and authentic) view of the dehumanization that results from being subjected to warfare. Women and children become acceptable targets for the gun-toting soldiers; fear of death gives way to callous indifference; violence becomes normal; horrific deaths and injuries become commonplace to the point of disinterest. No-one in the film can remember the cause they're fighting for or, if they can, they never refer to it. It's just one side versus the other, locked in a costly, savage stalemate, as they enter into violent engagements simply because it's expected of them. The lack of real location work is a problem - Kubrick wouldn't film outside England, so the final gun exchange in Hue City was actually shot in a disused London factory yard, complete with imported palm trees. Also, the film is so intentionally detached from compassion that it becomes hard to relate to anyone in the film. While we're supposed to be shocked by the utter indifference with which people are killed or injured during warfare, the total refusal to present a glimmer of feeling or sympathy makes the film's second half as icily distant as it is bloodthirsty.

    Full Metal Jacket is certainly powerful and potent, but it really is a tale of two halves. Kubrick's specificity in examining the psychology of the solider is so unrelenting and, dare I say militant; the second half doesn't have the same urgency, which leaves the viewer with a sense of deflation.
  • fb100000293612769
    August 26, 2012
    fb100000293612769
    Weaker than other Kubrick films, Full Metal Jacket is still a good film but drags on without much progression in the plot.
  • blacksheepboy
    June 10, 2012
    blacksheepboy
    A powerful and cynical film that portrays with dark humor and acid criticism the dehumanizing side of war. R. Lee Ermey and D'Onofrio are fantastic, stealing the show in the most memorable scenes; even so, the second part never achieves the same level of excellence of the first h... read morealf, turning into just another war movie.
  • fb733768972
    April 25, 2012
    fb733768972
    This particular film is a hard one to review. To me, it feels like two very different films. The first half is a story about the events leading up to the main war, while developing superb characters and a conclusion to the first act that is breathtakingly brutal. I felt like ever... read moreything changed once it left the military camp and I may have become slightly less interested, but that does not mean that the second half was bad in any way, in fact, it is brilliant. I guess my major problem with the film is that it never seems to know exactly what it wants to do. At first I thought I was in for a witty war film from start to finish, but that is only the case for the first half of the film. I may be over analyzing, but these are my honest opinions. There is no doubt in saying that I loved watching every bit of this film, and Stanley Kubrick's directing is phenomenal. The long takes and the stellar performances are really what make this film one to remember. Sure the action is great, but that was my least favourite portion of the film. "Full Metal Jacket" is a great moving all around, but it can be a little clumsy.
  • TheGame90
    January 29, 2012
    TheGame90
    This was good...I'm not sure why it was good. It's not a story from start to finnish. Things just happen....then more things happen. It's good things but....still.....carry on...
  • fb100000257973100
    November 11, 2011
    fb100000257973100
    With war films, there are plenty of ways, in my opinion, to go wrong. For starters, most film makers make the film predicable if you already know the history of the war that is featured. Then you have the dull acting with the best being people yelling at each other and firing gun... read mores. But, once in a while, there comes a war film that changes everything and gives a new perspective to war films. This is where Stanley Kubrickâ(TM)s epic Full Metal Jacket comes into play.

    Fresh off of directing the horror epic The Shining, Stanley Kubrick directed this little gem after learning of a book called âDispatchersâ? and decided to, instead of making a film about the Holocaust, to make this film. While the production was shaky to the point that production almost stopped, what came out of it is a film that I consider one of the greatest war films ever (next to Kubrickâ(TM)s own Paths Of Glory, Francis Ford Coppolaâ(TM)s Apocalypse Now, and Quentin Tarantinoâ(TM)s Inglourious Basterds).

    The first thing that makes this film stand out in terms of a film has to be the way the story is told. If one thinks about it, this film has no plot, but instead tells two separate stories: the training of a Marine and fighting in the Vietnam war. While people argue saying that it is all part of one story, that is a tad bit hard to take in when it goes from one scene of them at the end of the first story then, with no warning, goes to the next story without any title cards or cues except for the building around the area and Nancy Sinatraâ(TM)s These Boots Are Made For Walking.

    Now, with direction, this is not really a stand out for Kubrick. With all of his previous films, he used new ideas that give his film a sense of creativeness. With 2001, it was the special effects. With Clockwork it was the music. Even with Paths of Glory it was the way he filmed the war scenes. Here, the only thing that really made things stand out would have to be the direction of then unknown character actor R. Lee Ermey as the Drill Sergeant Hartman. Not only does Kubrick direct this Sergeant from Hell, but mixed with the acting of Ermey, they set a new standard for military personal in films to the point that his performance has become iconic and parodied to no end. He, truly is, the best actor in the first half of the film.

    For the second half, nothing really stood out to me in terms of acting. I mean, it has the same wonderful acting that all of Kubrickâ(TM)s films have, but here none of the performance had the same feel. Hell, the entire second half feels different from the first half, but then again that is not so much of a bad thing. Kubrick was known for making his audiences feel isolated when watching his films and with the duo stories, it does that. At one point, you feel like you are watching an inspirational story of a complete moron of cadet. Then it changes to a fight for survive in Vietnam. If Kubrick was intending to make his audience feel isolated, then he accomplished something great here.

    The only other really good part that stands out to me has nothing to do with the film itself. It has to do with how iconic this film is. I mean, I already talked about the acting of Ermey, but then you also have the soundtrack that made every song beyond popular that was featured in this film from Hello, Vietnam to The Rolling Stoneâ(TM)s Paint It Black. But the best song that was used would have to be The Trashmanâ(TM)s Surfinâ(TM) Bird that would later gain popularity by being on the hit show â~Family Guyâ(TM) while that same show would parody this entire film later on in the series.

    Almost all of Kubrickâ(TM)s films have become iconic, but none so much as this film. Then again, next to The Shining, this is Kubrickâ(TM)s most mainstream film he made. But, is it his best? No, it is not. But, as a film and a war film it is impressive without a doubt.
  • fb1664868775
    October 27, 2011
    fb1664868775
    Kubrick's war masterpiece in two acts. Filled with great performances and startling sequences.
  • fb1341085175
    October 4, 2011
    fb1341085175
    A guerra do Vietnã é vista pela ótica de Kubrick em uma das obras mais marcantes já produzidas sobre o assunto. Nascido para Matar é obviamente dividido em dois atos - o primeiro, superior, mostra um grupo de recrutas da marinha sob o rigoroso treinamento fascista do Sgt. Hartman... read more (em fantástica interpretação de R. Lee Ermey). Algo incomum em sua obra, Kubrick cria um personagem que estabelece uma relação direta com o espectador através do malfadado soldado Pyle (Vincent D'Onofrio). Seu sofrimento e sentimento de exclusão preparam o terreno para a segunda parte da narrativa, na qual vemos as máquinas de matar na qual os recrutas foram transformados.

    Enquanto a segunda metade da película acabe muitas vezes caindo no lugar comum de tantos outros filmes de guerra (propulsionado também pela falta de um protagonista marcante), o desenrolar dos momentos finais é especialmente impactante. A vertente de Kubrick ainda se mostra neutra, mostrando os efeitos devastadores do conflito (mais em termos psicológicos do que físicos), mas evitando criar uma obra condescendente ou moralista.
  • DreamExtractor
    September 29, 2011
    DreamExtractor
    Full Metal Jacket is one of the greatest war epics ever and its a mind boggling movie by Stanley Kubrick and is one of the few incredible films that defined him as possibly the greatest directors in history. The story is not just another war film, its a film that shows you the t... read morerue horrors of war and how it changes a man, how it can drive a man insane, and how they deal with the pains and horrors of war, and Stanley Kubrick captures one of the best visions of war I have ever seen, and it truly shows the viewer the risks they take if they ever consider going to war. The cast is genius and great, Mathew Modine is good but I think the real genius comes from R. Lee Ermy and Vincent D'Onofrio are the real genius and are the real performances I will remember when I remember this film. The war scenes are incredible, and what makes them even better is they do not use all these special effect to create a great war film, they just use the tools and knowledge that make it realistic and great. many people claim that the first half of the film is great and the second half stinks, but I disagree, while I found the first half at the boot camp to be much better, the second half shows the real horrors of combat and is true genius, but I just found that other than the film Jarhead not many war films show this great of scenes that also show the pain of training for war. My favorite Kubrick film is A Clockwork Orange, but that is not to say this was not one of his best, and this film is honestly one of the war films that will be remembered until the end of time, and I really think every person who has ever experienced war will find this film even more emotional and great than I did.
  • blkbomb
    September 23, 2011
    blkbomb
    Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: Were you born a fat, slimy, scumbag puke piece o' shit, Private Pyle, or did you have to work on it? 

    "Born to Kill"

    Full Metal Jacket was Kubrick's second war film, after Paths of Glory, and it's hard to say which one is more effective at getting it's... read more point across because both do it with extreme effectiveness. This movie shows how civilians are taken as individuals and shaped into killing machines. The most annoying thing I hear about this movie is; "The first part is awesome, but that second part blows." I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that a good percentage of everyone who thinks that is a fucking idiot. Those people's opinions mean absolutely nothing because they obviously weren't watching hard enough. There is just as much to take away from the second part as the first.

    The first half of Full Metal Jacket takes place at Paris Island. We watch as recruits are put through boot camp with a hard as nails, foul mouthed, God loving and pretty funny drill instructor. He barks about how he doesn't car if you are black or Jewish because everyone here is equally worthless, then singles a black man out and tells him they don't serve fried chicken and watermelon. Everyone isn't equally worthless in his eyes though because he soon sees a chubby, childlike recruit who he names Gomer Pyle, who is out of shape and dumb. He then starts to slowly tear him down and humiliate him. This half ends with one of the most haunting scenes you'll ever see and Vincent D'Onorfio deserves some serious props for his performance as Gomer Pyle as does Lee Ermey as Hartman. 

    The second half takes us out of the states and puts us into Vietnam with Joker. The first scene in the Vietnam section of the movie is known by almost everyone, even if they have never heard of this movie. Everyone knows the "Me so horny. Me love you long time. Me sucky sucky;" even if they don't where it comes from. After this we are taken through some propaganda journalism and even a propaganda film within a film. This is where a lot of people start misunderstanding the movie. Kubrick is literally showing the viewer a film within a film. It's pure genius and perfectly executed from the fake death, that many people don't realize is fake, to the interviews where the soldiers talk about how they belong in Vietnam and how the Vietnamese don't appreciate what they are doing for them. Then the movie turns real again and ends with another haunting scene.

    There's been other great Vietnamese war films. There's Oliver Stone's Platoon and Coppola's Apocalypse Now, both of which are spectacular, but if asked what I think the best is, I'll say Full Metal Jacket. There's no doubt in my opinion that Kubrick is the greatest director ever. Every movie he made is as flawless as movies come. So to day Full Metal Jacket is one of his best is kind of stupid because he didn't make a bad movie. It's kind of hard to say Full Metal Jacket is better than 2001 and The Shining is better than A Clockwork Orange. Every movie he made, he put so much into every little detail. Nothing in his movies isn't thought completely out. Viewers may not get everything out of his movies the first time they watch them and that's what makes them so great. Multiple viewings only make the movie better. You can't just watch his films, you are basically forced to study them and it is a lot of fun to do just that.

    Private Joker: A day without blood is like a day without sunshine. 

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Critic Reviews

Richard Corliss
August 24, 2008
Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine

Full Metal Jacket is not a realistic film -- it is horror-comic superrealism, from a God's-eye view -- but it should fully engage the ordinary movie grunt. Full Review

Jonathan Rosenbaum
May 8, 2007
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

This is the most tightly crafted Kubrick film since Dr. Strangelove, as well as the most horrific; the first section alone accomplishes most of what The Shining failed to do. Full Review

May 8, 2007
Variety

An intense, schematic, superbly made Vietnam War drama. Full Review

Geoff Andrew
January 26, 2006
Geoff Andrew, Time Out

Kubrick's direction is as steely cold and manipulative as the régime it depicts, and we never really get to know, let alone care about, the hapless recruits on view. Full Review

Desson Thomson
January 1, 2000
Desson Thomson, Washington Post

Although the elements of the story are simple and precise, Kubrick infuses a dreamlike, fatalistic quality. Full Review

Rita Kempley
January 1, 2000
Rita Kempley, Washington Post

Full Metal Jacket, ice and wildfire, order and chaos, is intellectual war, hard thought. Full Review

Vincent Canby
January 1, 2000
Vincent Canby, New York Times

Kubrick's harrowing, beautiful and characteristically eccentric new film about Vietnam, is going to puzzle, anger and (I hope) fascinate audiences as much as any film he has made to date. Full Review

Janet Maslin
January 1, 2000
Janet Maslin, New York Times

No one who sees Full Metal Jacket will easily put the film's last glimpse of D'Onofrio, or a great many other things about Kubrick's latest and most sobering vision, out of mind. Full Review

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

[A] strangely shapeless film from the man whose work usually imposes a ferociously consistent vision on his material. Full Review

Matt Brunson
August 8, 2012
Matt Brunson, Creative Loafing

It still qualifies as one of Kubrick's most underrated pictures, and it's second only to Apocalypse Now as the best Vietnam War movie ever made. Full Review

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Facts

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    • Gunnery Sgt. Hartman: You climb like old people fuck private pile!
    • Gunnery Sgt. Hartman: If god wanted you up there I am sure he would have miracled your ass up there by now, private Pyle.
    • Gunnery Sgt. Hartman: You like the kind of boy who could suck a golf ball through a garden hose.
    • Gunnery Sgt. Hartman: [addressing the Privates] There will be no racial bigotry here! I do not look down on niggers, kikes, wops, or greasers! Here, you are ALL equally useless!
    • Gunnery Sgt. Hartman: Where are you from, anyway?
    • Pvt. Cowboy: SIR, TEXAS, SIR!
    • Gunnery Sgt. Hartman: TEXAS? Holy dogshit! Only steers and queers come from texas!! And you don't much look like a steer to me so that kind of narrows it down. Do you suck dick?
    • Pvt. Cowboy: SIR, NO, SIR!
    • Gunnery Sgt. Hartman: I BET YOU'RE THE KIND OF GUY WHO'D FUCK A MAN IN THE ASS AND NOT HAVE THE COMMON COURTESY TO GIVE HIM A REACH-AROUND.
    • Private Joker/Private J.T. Davis: Is that you John Wayne, is this me?
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Full Metal Jacket Trivia

  • What does Joker have written on his Helmet in Full Metal Jacket?  Answer »
  • What is written on Matthew Modine's (Pvt. Joker) helmet in the film Full mEtal Jacket?  Answer »
  • In this movie, the actor that plays the drill instructor was actually a drill instructor in real life.  Answer »
  • What movie featured Marines Nicknamed Pile, Joker , Cowboy and Animal Mother, to name a few?   Answer »
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