You can't tell me that dude doesn't look like Brandon right there!! Want to vote on what I should watch next? Click here! www.patreon.com/jamesvscinema BEFORE MIDNIGHT FIRST TIME REACTION will be uploaded Thursday! Enjoy the day!
I'd do the Patreon thing if I could. but I'm disabled (I had that 'Flesh-Eating Disease' in my spine) and my gosh, I am so incredibly broke as SSDI is nothing (especially since I have to pay for my own Medicare, which is expensive). You should do 'The Neon Demon'. I cannot find anybody who has a reaction to the entire movie (there are reactions only to the trailer). It's a Nicholas Winding Refn film, and the cinematography is by Natasha Brayer and it frggin' amazing. The movie is, to me, a work of genius - and very, very disturbing.
As good as the movie is the book is even better. The second half of the movie is an amalgam of the last 2/3rds of the book. Probably why you thought the first half was put together better. The ending in the book is chilling.
@@JamesVSCinema I think the story is the actor R. Lee Emory (an actual drill instructor) was originally brought in to just coach the actor originally cast as the drill instructor. I guess it because clear to the director that R. Lee Emory was going to be way better than the actor. Love your reactions & perspectives!
I watched this once with my dad (Vietnam Vet, Army). About 20 seconds into R Lee Ermy’s performance he said: “Well this certainly brings back memories.”
Yeah I joined in 83 USMC and my other buddies went into the Army not even close the Marine boot camp was the hardest shit I ever went through until I went to ITS infranty training school
@@dano3750that’s pretty much a universally accepted truth. Marines are by far the hardest branch to get into. Like basically the opposite of the coast guard. Also, look up “family guy Lois marines” you’ll get a kick out of that clip lol
It's epic that R Lee Ermey was initially brought in as an advisor but he impressed Stanley Kubrick so much with an improvised shit talking session that he got the part for the drill sergeant 😂
He literally took the other actors job. That is how good he was. The other guy was not very happy but did come back to play the gunner in the helicopter scene
Ermey had appeared five years earlier as a D.I. in a Vietnam War film, "The Boys in Company C" (1978). Not an A-list war flick but a very compelling and entertaining B+, with outstanding performances from two young actors in particular (no spoilers for the video virgins).
@ James VS Cinema, Do you realize that you talk so much you skipped over crucial segments of the film. You just keep talkin and talkin and talking. Damm Man.
@ James VS Cinema, Do you realize that you talk so much you skipped over crucial segments of the film. You just keep talkin and talkin and talking. Damm Man.
@@bud389 1. The khmer rouge were supported and installed by the CIA and US. 2. China lifted most of its citizens from poverty and rose to a world power, after it was a crumbling cutting pie for western nations just a 100 years ago. 3. Vietnam is doing all fine, good ass economy too, after it kicked your Nazi ass out. 4. Ethiopia? LmaaaaaaO. 5. North korea, I'm not sure how the Kims creating a borderline monarchy is a communist thing. 6. Half the things you beileve about the Soviet Union are probably cold war propaganda, better than the rows of homeless people in your cities nowadays.
James, Please take my word for it. To see the true brilliance of Kubrick, now watch "Dr. Strangelove, or, how I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb." One of the best satires of War ever filmed.
Dr Strangelove was so accurate that the army asked Kubrick how he knew all these details. If you want another war movie directed by Stanley Kubrick : Paths of Glory
Vincent D'Onofrio gained allot of weight to play Pyle, his movie he did before this was Adventures in Babysitting where he was pretty thin. Great actor, on the show Law and Order Criminal Intent among others is where he shines IMO.
My dad went to paris island 1969 boot camp. They did these kind of things. My dad walked into a tent and they punched him in the stomach and then punched him in the face then pushed him out the other side where he found other men bleeding and in pain. They didn't mess around to toughen you up.
I’ve always seen the second part as a cause and effect situation, showcasing what the training, programming and toxicity done in the first half looks like in action. As you said, Joker had the 1000 yard stare as Pyle did, it was just accelerated for Pyle.
@ James VS Cinema, Do you realize that you talk so much you skipped over crucial segments of the film. You just keep talkin and talkin and talking. Damm Man.
Probably my favorite showcase of how war strips its soldiers identity, values and humanity away from them, only to make them a "killing machine" One of the best anti-war movies ever and Joker is one of the best Kubrick characters imo. Excited to watch the video
The hard shift from boot camp to the war is fantastic and shows just how unprepared so many of these guys were despite all their training. Full Metal Jacket is by far two of my favorite films ever.
You actually watched R Lee Army on this channel before. He was the police captain in Seven who picks up the phone says "This isn't even my desk." and hangs it up wich was improvised when the phone randomly rang durring the shot and they kept it in the film!
"Jacob's Ladder" (1991) has many themes, one of them is the psychological aspect of war and the nature of PTSD - highly recommended. Excellent channel man.
@@JamesVSCinema I second his recommendation. Jacob's Ladder is a fantastic movie and from an artistic/film stand point will give you a lot to analyze and think about
The composer was Vivian Kubrick (the daughter of Stanley), but under an alias apparently. She barely did any other movies, which is just crazy seeing how absolute iconic and haunting the soundtrack for this movie is.
I've heard that when this movie was released, some derided it as basically a recruitment ad for the Marine Corps. I think those people either didn't actually see it or were masochists.
We had to watch this film 1st or 2nd week on army and everyone was talking about sock'n'soap (sukkasaippua :D) treatment if they fuck it up in basic training. So no one would fuck up in training.
You need to watch Jarhead. It really does a good job with the psychological side that you seem to enjoy. I'm a veteran and I think it's a must watch since it authentically depicts how "hurry up and wait" is a huge part of the experience.
The Thin Red Line would be a very interesting reaction. War movie directed by Terrence Malick. Given his style, it shows a very interesting perspective on war and the camera moves in such elegant ways.
One of my favourite films, hopefully coming to UHD soon (rumoured Criterion going to start providing 4K discs so hoping The Thin Red Line gets a release).
yeah seeing him review THE THIN RED LINE would be fantastic.... and I would love to see him review THE TREE OF LIFE or THE KNIGHT OF CUPS by Malick as well at some point....
LOL yes, R. Lee Ermey was a real drill sergeant and was actually allowed to ad-lib which was basically unheard of in a Kubrick film, and I think he was hired because Kubrick saw a tape of Ermey screaming nonstop, unflinching abuse for like 10 minutes straight while tennis balls were being thrown at him.
@@LoL-lx6jm Well, the plot is an actual true story and the acting was great. But I agree that it's not up there with FMJ, Deer Hunter, and Apocalypse Now
@@m84uch3r It was interesting seeing Michael j fox acting in a serious role. Iv only seen him in back to the future and i was surprised seeing him act!
One of the most amazing thing about the production of this film is that the second act's(Vietnam) were all shot in London suburbs, the production design "team" was huge! They hire like a thousand London local artist to finish the set, they planted all of those palm trees, painted every wall. There's an anecdote about Kubrick on the set, when the construction of the set was going on, he would drive a golf car around the area to review the progress, he was so good at details that he would notice a single door painted the wrong color. This was all according to the production designer of the film who came to our film school once and told us on a masterclass.
Vincent D'Onofrio is a really underrated actor, scenes like 10:25 and 11:54 feels like something only he can act and he does it with Fisk and other characters he plays and it never fails to be Incredible, The only other actor that pull scenes like that is probably Jack Nicholson but even then Vincent's face is just memorable and in scenes like that Haunting, as for R. Lee Ermey, he's badass nuff said. 😂
R. Lee Ermey was on the electrical team and asked Kubrick to play the drill sergeant. Kubrick declined which caused him to submit a film of himself yelling at fake recruits while people threw tennis balls at him. He never flinched, broke character, or repeated an insult which impressed Kubrick so much he gave him the part. Side note: boot camp and shaving recruits heads is meant to strip you of your individuality and make you work as a team but it’s interesting (and right) that Kubrick showed that individuality punch through the weeks of intense conditioning the marines go through
R. Lee Wendy, the drill instructor, was initially hired as a consultant, but was offered the part after they saw him in action. You may also know him as the Army Man in Toy Story, the police chief in Se7en, and Dr. House's father in the show House.
I first watched this in college with friends. The first half is so intense and enthralling that we all thought the bathroom scene was the finale and were surprised the movie kept going.
When you first see this movie you might laugh at the Sargent's insults and consider the time enjoyable, but the more you look at this movie the more horrified you become. This is the story of how innocent men are broken and then built into unfeeling tools of war. Pyle is broken to the point where he loses it and the rest become numbed to the war. It's even more horrifying when you realize that this is the Vietnam war and the solider's were probably drafted in by force and had no say in the matter. The film's haircutting scene shows you from the very beginning as one of the few identifiably unique traits of the men are removed, and they all start becoming machines. There is a lot more that can be said but all leave it there. Great reaction.
No, they're not turned into "unfeeling tools of war," they're taught the team comes first, individuals battle die very fast on the battlefield but working as a team you can overcome a superior enemy. Yes they tear you down but build outstanding teams. It's the same as any job really for you 20 people in you work center and everyone is doing their own thing nothing gets done, but if all 20 are working toward the same goal things happen faster. The difference is in basic training you don't have a choice, support the team or your gone.
@@briangulley6027 Pretty sure Kubrick would disagree with you. If you think this movie shows the Marine Corps in a positive light, then I'm sorry, you're watching movies wrong. And if you actually think that hazing is a great teambuilding excercise, you scare me a bit.
@@mikkosimonen Assumed you never served in the military. Didn't say I agreed with that level of "tearing down" I went through Air Force basic training in 1977, I assure you it wasn't no where that level. That being said they make sure you know the team / mission comes first. If you don't understand that then you scare me.
@@briangulley6027 "I went through Air Force basic training in 1977" So, in other words, you went to summer camp and served in peacetime and never went to war. Got it. Well, I'm an Iraq War veteran (not Air Force) and the OP's description of this film is absurdly accurate.
1. I went through the US Navy boot camp in 1981 and we always had at least 3 DI's partially to prevent the abuse shown in this film. The verbal is one thing but the physical abuse was uncalled for. 2. We used "Eskimo pussy is mighty cold" in our cadence too. 3. The "me love you long time" girl was to set up that guy getting his camera stolen. I saw that once in Thailand. 4. Blanket parties were a real thing. We didn't have any because we didn't have a Pyle. However, we did have a guy that went to "Marching party" every night. 5. Mother was my favorite character post boot camp. 6. A lot of blood splatter was used for cinematic purpose. A single shot wouldn't produce that much. 7. Kubrick was anti-Vietnam and he wanted to show the inhumanity of the war. 8. It made you think you were actually there. 9. Two suggestions. One of which is much lighter. 1. Stripes with Billy Murry and John Candy. 2. Flight of the Intruder. Brad Johnson, Wilem DaFoe and Danny Glover. It was filmed on one of the ships I was on and I'm actually in it for a very short time.
The film focuses upon Lee Ermy but as you can see at 10:37, there are more than one DI on premises during training, especially during the first couple of weeks. As the recruits in the flight come together, it is often the lead DI who is there 24/7. During my AF BMT in '76, there were two TI's one lead, and another to step in to further his experience and take over when the lead TI had other commitments. The lead TI was the hard ass and the junior TI was less harsh. When I was in BMT, the cursing, physical abuse and racial insults were no longer allowed. That didn't mean we didn't get intimidated, screamed at and handed out PT or night watch, latrine duty, laundry, mess hall, policing the squad area chores etc for fucking up. We definitely had a Gomer Pyle in our flight.
@@sanseiryu I can only speak for the RTC in San Diego 1981, and every company had three CCs. One in charge and two junior CCs. 24/7 for one would be too much for just one person.
@@williamjones6031 As I stated, the junior would step in when the lead needed time for other duties etc. The lead TI would be in the barracks day and night with his own bunk in the office. After the initial weeks of training, usually discipline, tasks, behavior, military bearing, marching and drill have become second nature, the dorm chief, squad leaders are assigned by the TI to instill order and behavior as well. With the BMT training we got in the 70s, very little 'combat' training, just two days dry and live fire M-16 qualifications were all we saw. Marching the fight to and from classes, to the training field for drill, to the mess hall did not require more than one TI. By week five, no cadence needed to counted out since the flight would march to our heel beat on the pavement in unison. Sometimes to the TI would have to actually tell us to slow down, we were so focused on marching like a machine.
@@williamjones6031 You can't compare boot camp with draftees during the Vietnam era to post war in the all-volunteer 70s-80s like us. It was a different time and the need to pound recruits into fighting men being sent out to die mere weeks after graduating from boot camp, meant no white glove treatment. What they experienced in boot camp had nothing on the battlefield action with death all around. Reported behavior? Not likely. Navy and Air Force did not need combat/infantry type of training, also, the AF and Navy recruiters were known for requiring higher standards for their recruits. Higher AFQT test scores, educational (HS diploma)and background (no criminal or drug use) requirements than the Army and Marines. In other words a higher standard of recruits with less disciplinary problems. Of course we would have those recruits who could not adapt to military life, and those unable to conform would exit basic pretty quickly.
I would highly recommend “Jarhead”. It is another military movie, and is pretty underrated. Plus… roger deakins filmed it and absolutely Bodied the cinematography if you ask me!
"The Short Timers" by Gustav Hasford is absolutely worth a read; Full Metal Jacket covers barely two thirds of the book. Its sequel, "The Phantom Blooper" is also great.
I met Gunny Ermey when I was in my MOS school, also Marine boot was wayyy worse than that in my humble opinion oh and Jarhead is probably the closest I feel to real life
My first intro to Vincent D'onofrio (pretty sure i saw Mystic Pizza after this). What a talent and what an amazing (& probably pretty foolhardy) transformation to put on 60lb for a part and then only be in half the movie.
It's important to know that when R Lee Ermey performed as Gunnery Sgt. Hartman, he made it a point to violate the most sacred rules Marines Corps drill instructors are taught not to do. As a former USMC drill instructor himself, Ermey understood that Hartman was an inherently villainous character in the script. Therefore, he should cut corners and break the most necessary rules that USMC cadre are expected to carry out as instructors. The most important failure a drill instructor can commit is singling out a recruit. The whole point of boot camp is to teach soldiers that teamwork is the only way to accomplish missions and stay alive. Whenever the balance gets skewed by someone in the cadre having a personal disdain for a particular recruit, everyone else in the class will eventually suffer from not receiving a full education. No one recruit- no matter how incompetent or stellar -should ever become the priority. It's just not how you build effective military units. It's also important to keep in mind the statement Kubrick was making with this film by demonstrating the consequences of drafted soldiers who have been conscripted against their will, and those who are just unfit for duty. Pyle was both of those things. As a result of those two factors, two lives were needlessly lost before anyone from that class ever made it to the battlefield in Vietnam. It's also very unlikely there would ever be just one drill instructor in the USMC. According to the historical record, the USMC required at least 3 instructors in the cadre during Vietnam. However, there's been several unconfirmed accounts by former Marines who said that once the war in Vietnam really started to turn against the US's favor and the numbers of dead American troops really started to rack up, some units were only given one drill instructor because the others in the cadre were being pressed to serve in order to make up for the losses US forces started suffering in manpower. The single drill instructor USMC recruits were left with were always the oldest/most unfit for combat. While there are a few things wrong with this depiction to make it seem historically inaccurate on the surface, it's also not entirely out of the question either as the circumstances on the ground in Vietnam forced desperate measures to be taken by US war planners to hopefully turn the momentum back in America's favor.
I like to think of the first half of the film as a comedy before it transitions into a full blown horror movie. BTW, I have to give a shout out to your community in the comment section. There are all so nice!
Fun fact, this entire movie was filmed in the uk ... Kubrick refused to leave the country. 15:06 uk country side with a few palm trees stood up ... Vietnam didnt have telegraph poles in the countryside, the huge concrete buildings in last scene where from the London docks lol dude was a genius & for a war movie on snipers ... Enemy at the Gates , Rachel Weisz .... but Conan the Barbarian for more epic cinematography ;)
We called it a field counseling session because you would slam someone backwards into a tree to get their head straight. The scene where they hold him down with a blanket and hit him with the soap in a sock is called a blanket party as a warning to get someone to get their s**t together.
19:23 - "That dude got wasted so quick". It might not be clear if you don't know what you are looking at. That was a booby trap. A mine or explosive set to trip when some numbnuts picked up the brightly colored stuffed animal.
War makes monsters of men. Tom Hanks' character in Saving Private Ryan refused to become one and he dies. It's a survival mechanism, that may actually help get you through, but you will be damaged forever. WWll broke both of my grandfather's in different ways. They lived, but they also had to live with what they had seen and done.
Wut? How did Toms death correlate with him refusing to be a monster? He still did his job in the war and killed enemy soldiers. And he died attempting to kill enemy soldiers.
@@johnLennon255 he was shot by the German soldier that he let go earlier in the film. If he had fully embraced the war as a zero sum situation he would have executed him.
Probably not one that many will know but I think you'd love The Constant Gardener - Ralph Fiennes (Harry from In Bruges, Voldemort, Amon Goethe from Schindler's List), Rachel Weisz (The Mummy and Enemy at the Gates, but won an Oscar for this film) about a diplomat looking into dodgy pharma companies testing in Africa. Outstanding film.
My interpretation: war = turning our kids, 17-23 year-olds, into murderers who got killed by the other side’s kids who turned out to be even younger murderers. Very common theme in these films generally, but FMJ really dove hard into the psychosis of it all.
Every time I watch this movie, the scene where Pile snaps always shocks me. Definitely not as much as when I first saw it obviously, but it always hits me. I don't think very many movies can do that. Nice video man.
R.Lee Ermey was a real DI and yes, they could treat you like that. He was also an actor. He was in many movies (Texas Chainsaw Massacre,Seven and Mississippi Burning, he even was the voice for SGT in Toy Story). :) RIP DI.
I like to imagine that he actually plays characters from the same family tree in all his movies. Like Col Casey in Chuck is the son or grandson of Animal Mother, and way down the line Jayne Cobb comes from the same line.
I saw an interview with R. Lee Ermey where he mentioned that he and other drill sergeants may have fudged the boundaries of what was technically "allowed" to occur during recruit training, but as context be added that while his job was initially to train people to be marines, when the vietnam war kicked up, he was given roughly twice as many men to train, half the time to do it in, and at that point they were being trained knowing they would definitely see combat.
When I took a Vietnam War course in college, we read a lot of literature and saw a lot of these films. It's been a long time, but I remember feeling so much more affected by watching this film than I did watching Apocalypse Now or Platoon. They each have their own take and their own artistry, but I remember Full Metal Jacket being the one that shook me up the most and really made me get the most horrible sense of this particular war, in the same way that so many scenes in Saving Private Ryan do for World War II. I haven't seen this film in years, but I've always remembered that this was the one I felt did it the best.
@@JamesVSCinema Yeah, they imported a bunch of palm trees from Spain and other foliage (mostly plastic) to dress things up and if you didn't know any better, you'd have no idea. From an old Playboy article: "When Full Metal Jacket was being filmed in England a whole plastic replica Vietnamese jungle was air-freighted in from California, so I was assured. Next morning Stanley walked on set, took one look at it, and said, "I don't like it. Get rid of it." The technicians shared out the trees, giving a new look to gardens in North London, and a real jungle was delivered instead, palm trees uprooted from Spain." Along those lines, ff you ever get the chance, check out the documentary Filmworker; it's about a promising actor who was so enthralled with Kubrick after starring in Barry Lyndon (not one of his most popular films, but in my opinion perhaps the most beautiful) that he abandoned his own career to become his full-time assistant. It goes into real detail into just how brilliant but also obsessed and insanely demanding Kubrick was. You don't make movies like he did without psychotic attention to detail. www.imdb.com/title/tt6851066/
The sound design and the fluid, creeping camera in the second half blew me away. The camera in the action sequences is always at about knee level. Always moving forward. The clink clank clink of other soldiers moving with you (the camera pov). It is stunning but reserved. Analytical in a sense. It is a Kubrick movie. We are the observers, not the participants by design.
The actor doing the drill sergeant was perfect for the role. He did a very similar roll in the ghost comedy "The Frighteners" starring Michael J Fox etc.
Fun fact: this is the same set they used for the movie "1984." Also, Kubrick had them fly in palm tress from Spain since he never left England. A brilliant man that Kubrick. 👍
05:45 Was not intended to be in Full Metal Jacket (1987). He was hired as a technical advisor for the actor who was to play the drill instructor, but he did such a good job at it that Ermey himself was hired for the part. R. Lee Ermey -- A talented character actor known for his military roles, Ronald Lee Ermey was in the United States Marine Corps for 11 years. He rose to the rank of Staff Sergeant, and later was bestowed the honorary rank of Gunnery Sergeant by the Marine Corps, after he served 14 months in Vietnam and later did two tours in Okinawa, Japan.
The movie was entirely shot in England. First half was filmed at an actual army barracks in Cambridgeshire about 50 miles north of central London, and the 'Vietnam' city scenes were filmed in London on the site of an old disused industrial gas works which covered 550 acres. On the road scene with army vehicles was shot in the Norfolk Broads (about 120 miles north west of London) which is very flat expansive land with many waterways.
THE THIN RED LINE. STAR STUDDED, HUGE NAME ACTORS, SOME WITH ONLY ONE LINE OR SCENE IN THE ENTIRE MOVIE. Here's a less loud sentence. Also, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre with Jessica Biel. The Drill Sgt is in it.
The part I'm having trouble with is where they got all the M41 tanks in the UK (Which the Marines didn't use in Vietnam, but the Vietnamese did, so I forgive him).
R Lee Ermey WAS a Drill Instructor for the Marines at San Diego during the Vietnam War, and later served in Vietnam. He first came onto Full Metal Jacket as a consultant advisor, and was initially told that the Drill Instructor role was already taken. However, having been seen acting by Stanley later, Stanley changed his mind and assigned Lee the role. Stanley Kubrick gave Lee full range. He would sit down with Stanley and look over pages and pages of text that Lee would write out free hand and have typed up, picking out the very best juiciest lines to put into the script. But in term of the performance Lee had a free hand, and Stanley just let him go do his thing. That is why his performance was so realistic......it was because he had done the job and knew exactly how to perform. Lee even reported that there were certain instructors that were just like Hartman, but that they were few and far between. If you look closely in the Valkyrie scene of the Air Cavalry attacking the Viet Cong held village in Apocolypse Now, then you will see Lee Ermey again! This time in a helicopter!!
I think that is because of the tonal shift half way through. It goes from gung ho satire to serious critique which makes for an uneven experience. Nevertheless it is a surprisingly good movie, specially the first part.
The Deer Hunter: great movie recommendation. Three small town friends going to Vietnam together. Next level acting, starring Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep, Christopher Walken & John Savage. You won't be disappointed.
You can't tell me that dude doesn't look like Brandon right there!!
Want to vote on what I should watch next? Click here! www.patreon.com/jamesvscinema
BEFORE MIDNIGHT FIRST TIME REACTION will be uploaded Thursday! Enjoy the day!
You absolutely hit the nail on the head with that one. Can't unsee that now.
Animal mother makes me think what would have been of Pvt. Pyle in the battlefield
hehehehehe
I'd do the Patreon thing if I could. but I'm disabled (I had that 'Flesh-Eating Disease' in my spine) and my gosh, I am so incredibly broke as SSDI is nothing (especially since I have to pay for my own Medicare, which is expensive). You should do 'The Neon Demon'. I cannot find anybody who has a reaction to the entire movie (there are reactions only to the trailer). It's a Nicholas Winding Refn film, and the cinematography is by Natasha Brayer and it frggin' amazing. The movie is, to me, a work of genius - and very, very disturbing.
As good as the movie is the book is even better. The second half of the movie is an amalgam of the last 2/3rds of the book.
Probably why you thought the first half was put together better.
The ending in the book is chilling.
The actor playing thr drill instructor, actually was a former drill instructor
Knew it!
@@JamesVSCinema I think the story is the actor R. Lee Emory (an actual drill instructor) was originally brought in to just coach the actor originally cast as the drill instructor. I guess it because clear to the director that R. Lee Emory was going to be way better than the actor. Love your reactions & perspectives!
He also had a show on the history channel where he blew up watermelons with weapons.
@@dontbstingy3587 also came on Toy Soldiers, i loved that movie growing up
@@dontbstingy3587 Ermey also has a cameo in The Frighteners. Hits a little harder now that he's passed. RIP
I watched this once with my dad (Vietnam Vet, Army). About 20 seconds into R Lee Ermy’s performance he said: “Well this certainly brings back memories.”
same here!
My old man said this is the most realistic depictions of boot camp he's ever seen on film
Yeah I joined in 83 USMC and my other buddies went into the Army not even close the Marine boot camp was the hardest shit I ever went through until I went to ITS infranty training school
@@dano3750that’s pretty much a universally accepted truth. Marines are by far the hardest branch to get into. Like basically the opposite of the coast guard.
Also, look up “family guy Lois marines” you’ll get a kick out of that clip lol
It's epic that R Lee Ermey was initially brought in as an advisor but he impressed Stanley Kubrick so much with an improvised shit talking session that he got the part for the drill sergeant 😂
He literally took the other actors job. That is how good he was. The other guy was not very happy but did come back to play the gunner in the helicopter scene
That’s so fire!!
Supposedly he also had to explain what a reach around was to Kubrick lol
Ermey had appeared five years earlier as a D.I. in a Vietnam War film, "The Boys in Company C" (1978). Not an A-list war flick but a very compelling and entertaining B+, with outstanding performances from two young actors in particular (no spoilers for the video virgins).
@ James VS Cinema, Do you realize that you talk so much you skipped over crucial segments of the film. You just keep talkin and talkin and talking. Damm Man.
R. Lee Ermey wasn't just acting, he was an actual Drill Sargent. Watch Mail Call...Rest In Peace R. Lee
F
Ahh mail call, so many vibes
in the USMC,
-it's a Drill Instructor-
( before the Semper Fidelis arrive )
Gunny!
Had a small role in Apocalypse Now.
"When did this become a horror story?" It was always a horror story.
The reactors don't seem to be getting how important The Draft was.
@ James VS Cinema, Do you realize that you talk so much you skipped over crucial segments of the film. You just keep talkin and talkin and talking. Damm Man.
Communism is always horror. Soviet Russia, Communist China, North Korea, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Vietnam...It's all the same wherever it infects.
@@bud389That's a Damm lie what you said about Ethiopia being a Communist African Country. Those other European Countries, Yes. Not Ethiopia.
@@bud389 1. The khmer rouge were supported and installed by the CIA and US.
2. China lifted most of its citizens from poverty and rose to a world power, after it was a crumbling cutting pie for western nations just a 100 years ago.
3. Vietnam is doing all fine, good ass economy too, after it kicked your Nazi ass out.
4. Ethiopia? LmaaaaaaO.
5. North korea, I'm not sure how the Kims creating a borderline monarchy is a communist thing.
6. Half the things you beileve about the Soviet Union are probably cold war propaganda, better than the rows of homeless people in your cities nowadays.
“This guy looks like Brandon likes movies” this guy 😂😂
Haha I was thinking as well "he don't look nothing like Brandon likes movies"😭
That comment made me legit laugh
You absolute madman.
The only 2 reaction channels I love watching
He also sounds like Brandon lol
"Why does this guy look like Wilson Fisk?"
Because the actor who played Wilson Fisk also played Pyle in this film.
And his name is Vincent D'onofrio.
@@lynnie6633 I know.
Boom
@@JamesVSCinema He's also in The Cell with J Lo and Men In Black.
@@JamesVSCinema If you want to see D'onofrio get really weird, check out Tarsem Singh's The Cell. It's a mindtrip.
Everyone gangsta until gunny sgt Hartman says 'WHO SAID THAT?'.
Craziest part about the Vietnam "set" is that it was all filmed in London's Docklands, yet not for one second does it look like that.
I used to pass it everyday on my way to college and recognise certain buildings from the film.....all gone now.
They planted palm trees randomly to authenticate things, but yes, if you didn't know it, you would say it was a Southeast Asian setting.
James, Please take my word for it. To see the true brilliance of Kubrick, now watch "Dr. Strangelove, or, how I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb." One of the best satires of War ever filmed.
I’ll be getting to a lot more of his films!
@@JamesVSCinema Don’t forget his sci-fi masterpiece, 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Dr Strangelove was so accurate that the army asked Kubrick how he knew all these details. If you want another war movie directed by Stanley Kubrick : Paths of Glory
If you watch Dr Strangelove you should also check out Fail Safe, 1964, dir. Sidney Lumet.
@@roberttaylor5997 Agreed!
Vincent D'Onofrio gained allot of weight to play Pyle, his movie he did before this was Adventures in Babysitting where he was pretty thin. Great actor, on the show Law and Order Criminal Intent among others is where he shines IMO.
...and he kept that weight ever since 😅
and the bad guy in Cell.
@@HABO2210 kind of went up and down. When he was in The Cell he was some what smaller.
He also was the Alien cockroach in Men in Black and Kingpin in Netflix' Daredevil Show.
he played kingpin in daredevil too
My dad went to paris island 1969 boot camp. They did these kind of things. My dad walked into a tent and they punched him in the stomach and then punched him in the face then pushed him out the other side where he found other men bleeding and in pain. They didn't mess around to toughen you up.
I’ve always seen the second part as a cause and effect situation, showcasing what the training, programming and toxicity done in the first half looks like in action. As you said, Joker had the 1000 yard stare as Pyle did, it was just accelerated for Pyle.
Great outlook!
@@Nulli_DiHe was born again hard.
lol, if "Brandon likes Movie" he couldn't make a whole channel only for that movie!
Lmfao
I wonder which movie it would be?
@@RemixedVoice "24" The Movie
Perfect timing for what would've been Kubrick's birthday a few days back!
Oh snap I had no idea!
@ James VS Cinema, Do you realize that you talk so much you skipped over crucial segments of the film. You just keep talkin and talkin and talking. Damm Man.
Probably my favorite showcase of how war strips its soldiers identity, values and humanity away from them, only to make them a "killing machine" One of the best anti-war movies ever and Joker is one of the best Kubrick characters imo. Excited to watch the video
Happy to hear!!
I agree. Vietnam was still fresh in people's minds
@@docbearmb that shits boring
Kubrick himself said, when asked if this was an anti-war film "I already made an anti-war film, this is a war film"
Kubrick was always about the tension between institutions and individual morality.
The hard shift from boot camp to the war is fantastic and shows just how unprepared so many of these guys were despite all their training. Full Metal Jacket is by far two of my favorite films ever.
Which is the other one?
You actually watched R Lee Army on this channel before. He was the police captain in Seven who picks up the phone says "This isn't even my desk." and hangs it up wich was improvised when the phone randomly rang durring the shot and they kept it in the film!
My group quote this line all the time lol
He was also one of the helicopter pilots in Apocalypse Now.
I keep forgetting that he's the boss in Se7en, he's so much more chill over there than his usual roles.
"Strangelove" is my favorite Kubrick's film.
George C Scott is so good in that one. The height of cold war satire.
My second favorite, behind “A Clockwork Orange”
Such an amazing cast in that movie.
Agreed!! Dr. Strangelove is fantastic. Can’t wait until my favorite reactors discover that one!!
Too bad you couldn't show "The Mickey Mouse Club" scene. One of the best war monologue's ever.
"Jacob's Ladder" (1991) has many themes, one of them is the psychological aspect of war and the nature of PTSD - highly recommended. Excellent channel man.
Thanks my man!
@@JamesVSCinema I second his recommendation. Jacob's Ladder is a fantastic movie and from an artistic/film stand point will give you a lot to analyze and think about
The composer was Vivian Kubrick (the daughter of Stanley), but under an alias apparently. She barely did any other movies, which is just crazy seeing how absolute iconic and haunting the soundtrack for this movie is.
That "set" in the 3rd act was an old abandoned gasworks in East London. Spent a lot of my youth playing there, there was even palm trees left behind
I've heard that when this movie was released, some derided it as basically a recruitment ad for the Marine Corps. I think those people either didn't actually see it or were masochists.
This movie is absolutely the reason I enlisted.
We had to watch this film 1st or 2nd week on army and everyone was talking about sock'n'soap (sukkasaippua :D) treatment if they fuck it up in basic training. So no one would fuck up in training.
Now it’s trans people holding hands.. what a difference 30 years makes
@@adamski6312 last I checked a trans person can bomb weddings from a military control room just like anybody else
You need to watch Jarhead. It really does a good job with the psychological side that you seem to enjoy. I'm a veteran and I think it's a must watch since it authentically depicts how "hurry up and wait" is a huge part of the experience.
This film is a masterpiece that will never get old
This entire film, including the Vietnam parts, were filmed in the UK
Most of it in the London Docklands, I believe. Kubrick didn't like to travel too much.
@@Richard_Jones if you look at the road markings, when the troops are marching round the training base, they are all on the left
Filmed in the disused Bekton gas works.
Yes,and filmed in the winter.
That's Adam Baldwin who plays Jayne Cobb on Firefly that you are likening to Brandon Loves Movies.
He was also in Chuck.
@@dirus3142 Yes I enjoyed that, also.
He names his rifle in Firefly too....
@@andrewcharles459 Serenity and Vera are the tenth and eleventh regular cast members.
I like to think Jayne Cobb is a descendant of Animal Mother.
The Thin Red Line would be a very interesting reaction. War movie directed by Terrence Malick. Given his style, it shows a very interesting perspective on war and the camera moves in such elegant ways.
One of my favourite films, hopefully coming to UHD soon (rumoured Criterion going to start providing 4K discs so hoping The Thin Red Line gets a release).
My favourite war film and in my All Time Top 10. Wish there were more reactions to it, even though it wouldn't be most people's cup of tea.
And it’s almost a pure visual narrative. Best war movie I’ve ever seen
Came to the comments to recommend The Thin Red Line as a beautifully shot war film. It's overripe for a reaction from anybody.
yeah seeing him review THE THIN RED LINE would be fantastic.... and I would love to see him review THE TREE OF LIFE or THE KNIGHT OF CUPS by Malick as well at some point....
R. Lee Ermy was a real Vietnam era Marine DI. He also was in "Boys of Company C" and later in his career was the police captain in Seven. RIP Gunny.
LOL yes, R. Lee Ermey was a real drill sergeant and was actually allowed to ad-lib which was basically unheard of in a Kubrick film, and I think he was hired because Kubrick saw a tape of Ermey screaming nonstop, unflinching abuse for like 10 minutes straight while tennis balls were being thrown at him.
So badass!
And, if ya notice, he doesn't blink while breakin them down, doesn't spit, his focus is real deal USMC stuff !
The deer hunter is very similar. It's a psychological war film.
Casualties of War is also great
@@m84uch3r Casualties of war was good but not great. The plot was a bit uninteresting and the whole meaning of the film was predictable.
@@LoL-lx6jm Well, the plot is an actual true story and the acting was great. But I agree that it's not up there with FMJ, Deer Hunter, and Apocalypse Now
@@m84uch3r It was interesting seeing Michael j fox acting in a serious role. Iv only seen him in back to the future and i was surprised seeing him act!
I think the Deer Hunter is actually more depressing. A great movie. That roulette scene (actually both) is one of the most intense ever made.
One of the most amazing thing about the production of this film is that the second act's(Vietnam) were all shot in London suburbs, the production design "team" was huge! They hire like a thousand London local artist to finish the set, they planted all of those palm trees, painted every wall. There's an anecdote about Kubrick on the set, when the construction of the set was going on, he would drive a golf car around the area to review the progress, he was so good at details that he would notice a single door painted the wrong color. This was all according to the production designer of the film who came to our film school once and told us on a masterclass.
Drill Seargent plays the same character as a ghost in "The Frighteners"
He was also the voice of the green army man in Toy Story movies. Also the army jeep in Cars.
Dr. House's Father
I also just noticed that he is in "The Salton Sea". That is another Vincent D'Onofrio film.
As with most Kubrick films, the framing is part of the story.
Vincent D'Onofrio is a really underrated actor, scenes like 10:25 and 11:54 feels like something only he can act and he does it with Fisk and other characters he plays and it never fails to be Incredible, The only other actor that pull scenes like that is probably Jack Nicholson but even then Vincent's face is just memorable and in scenes like that Haunting, as for R. Lee Ermey, he's badass nuff said. 😂
He also kicked ass in the first men in black movie as the alien bug farmer guy.
It was all improv, he shot the same scenes several times using different lines and they put together the best ones
"I guess its only uphill from here"
Me: "yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah"
😭
As @BrandonLovesMovies had stated in his FMJ reaction "I'm interested in seeing Pyle's character arc" just moments before he becomes a full section 8
Every Stanley Kubrick movie is beautifully shot. I appreciate every scene. Such a perfectionist.
Especially 'Barry Lyndon.'
R. Lee Ermey was on the electrical team and asked Kubrick to play the drill sergeant. Kubrick declined which caused him to submit a film of himself yelling at fake recruits while people threw tennis balls at him. He never flinched, broke character, or repeated an insult which impressed Kubrick so much he gave him the part.
Side note: boot camp and shaving recruits heads is meant to strip you of your individuality and make you work as a team but it’s interesting (and right) that Kubrick showed that individuality punch through the weeks of intense conditioning the marines go through
R. Lee Wendy, the drill instructor, was initially hired as a consultant, but was offered the part after they saw him in action. You may also know him as the Army Man in Toy Story, the police chief in Se7en, and Dr. House's father in the show House.
*R. Lee Ermey. Autocorrect is nobody's friend.
The Drill Sargent was actually in Apocalypse Now as a Chopper pilot
and in Se7en
I first watched this in college with friends. The first half is so intense and enthralling that we all thought the bathroom scene was the finale and were surprised the movie kept going.
R. Lee Ermey sadly passed away a couple of years ago. But he did serve in the Marines for about 11 years.
When you first see this movie you might laugh at the Sargent's insults and consider the time enjoyable, but the more you look at this movie the more horrified you become. This is the story of how innocent men are broken and then built into unfeeling tools of war. Pyle is broken to the point where he loses it and the rest become numbed to the war. It's even more horrifying when you realize that this is the Vietnam war and the solider's were probably drafted in by force and had no say in the matter. The film's haircutting scene shows you from the very beginning as one of the few identifiably unique traits of the men are removed, and they all start becoming machines. There is a lot more that can be said but all leave it there. Great reaction.
Beautiful description!
No, they're not turned into "unfeeling tools of war," they're taught the team comes first, individuals battle die very fast on the battlefield but working as a team you can overcome a superior enemy. Yes they tear you down but build outstanding teams. It's the same as any job really for you 20 people in you work center and everyone is doing their own thing nothing gets done, but if all 20 are working toward the same goal things happen faster. The difference is in basic training you don't have a choice, support the team or your gone.
@@briangulley6027 Pretty sure Kubrick would disagree with you. If you think this movie shows the Marine Corps in a positive light, then I'm sorry, you're watching movies wrong. And if you actually think that hazing is a great teambuilding excercise, you scare me a bit.
@@mikkosimonen Assumed you never served in the military. Didn't say I agreed with that level of "tearing down" I went through Air Force basic training in 1977, I assure you it wasn't no where that level. That being said they make sure you know the team / mission comes first. If you don't understand that then you scare me.
@@briangulley6027 "I went through Air Force basic training in 1977"
So, in other words, you went to summer camp and served in peacetime and never went to war. Got it. Well, I'm an Iraq War veteran (not Air Force) and the OP's description of this film is absurdly accurate.
1. I went through the US Navy boot camp in 1981 and we always had at least 3 DI's partially to prevent the abuse shown in this film. The verbal is one thing
but the physical abuse was uncalled for.
2. We used "Eskimo pussy is mighty cold" in our cadence too.
3. The "me love you long time" girl was to set up that guy getting his camera stolen. I saw that once in Thailand.
4. Blanket parties were a real thing. We didn't have any because we didn't have a Pyle. However, we did have a guy that went to "Marching party" every night.
5. Mother was my favorite character post boot camp.
6. A lot of blood splatter was used for cinematic purpose. A single shot wouldn't produce that much.
7. Kubrick was anti-Vietnam and he wanted to show the inhumanity of the war.
8. It made you think you were actually there.
9. Two suggestions. One of which is much lighter. 1. Stripes with Billy Murry and John Candy. 2. Flight of the Intruder. Brad Johnson, Wilem DaFoe and Danny
Glover. It was filmed on one of the ships I was on and I'm actually in it for a very short time.
The film focuses upon Lee Ermy but as you can see at 10:37, there are more than one DI on premises during training, especially during the first couple of weeks. As the recruits in the flight come together, it is often the lead DI who is there 24/7. During my AF BMT in '76, there were two TI's one lead, and another to step in to further his experience and take over when the lead TI had other commitments. The lead TI was the hard ass and the junior TI was less harsh. When I was in BMT, the cursing, physical abuse and racial insults were no longer allowed. That didn't mean we didn't get intimidated, screamed at and handed out PT or night watch, latrine duty, laundry, mess hall, policing the squad area chores etc for fucking up. We definitely had a Gomer Pyle in our flight.
@@sanseiryu I can only speak for the RTC in San Diego 1981, and every company had three CCs. One in charge and two junior CCs. 24/7 for one would be too much for just one person.
@@williamjones6031 As I stated, the junior would step in when the lead needed time for other duties etc. The lead TI would be in the barracks day and night with his own bunk in the office. After the initial weeks of training, usually discipline, tasks, behavior, military bearing, marching and drill have become second nature, the dorm chief, squad leaders are assigned by the TI to instill order and behavior as well. With the BMT training we got in the 70s, very little 'combat' training, just two days dry and live fire M-16 qualifications were all we saw. Marching the fight to and from classes, to the training field for drill, to the mess hall did not require more than one TI. By week five, no cadence needed to counted out since the flight would march to our heel beat on the pavement in unison. Sometimes to the TI would have to actually tell us to slow down, we were so focused on marching like a machine.
@@sanseiryu The other CCs would have reported his behavior.
@@williamjones6031 You can't compare boot camp with draftees during the Vietnam era to post war in the all-volunteer 70s-80s like us. It was a different time and the need to pound recruits into fighting men being sent out to die mere weeks after graduating from boot camp, meant no white glove treatment. What they experienced in boot camp had nothing on the battlefield action with death all around. Reported behavior? Not likely.
Navy and Air Force did not need combat/infantry type of training, also, the AF and Navy recruiters were known for requiring higher standards for their recruits. Higher AFQT test scores, educational (HS diploma)and background (no criminal or drug use) requirements than the Army and Marines. In other words a higher standard of recruits with less disciplinary problems. Of course we would have those recruits who could not adapt to military life, and those unable to conform would exit basic pretty quickly.
I would highly recommend “Jarhead”. It is another military movie, and is pretty underrated. Plus… roger deakins filmed it and absolutely Bodied the cinematography if you ask me!
That Highway of Death scene in that movie though.
@@paulallenscard3932 📠
Highly underrated
The guy who plays Sgt. Hartman was in Seven. (I didn't catch it either until I looked up his filmography on IMDb)
"The Short Timers" by Gustav Hasford is absolutely worth a read; Full Metal Jacket covers barely two thirds of the book. Its sequel, "The Phantom Blooper" is also great.
This film is amazing, i remember first time seeing it- i was blown away!
it really succeeds at showing the horrors of War.
Fun Fact: Kubrick had an always deep focus to have every soldier be seen in the frame just to emphasize that they’re all insignificant.
I met Gunny Ermey when I was in my MOS school, also Marine boot was wayyy worse than that in my humble opinion oh and Jarhead is probably the closest I feel to real life
Damn!
Jarhead doesn't hold back. It is a fairly accurate portrayal. Met R. L. Ermy (RIP) at a trade show. Dude was real and personable.
Being in the military means long stretches of boredom with periods of absolute craziness
My first intro to Vincent D'onofrio (pretty sure i saw Mystic Pizza after this). What a talent and what an amazing (& probably pretty foolhardy) transformation to put on 60lb for a part and then only be in half the movie.
It's important to know that when R Lee Ermey performed as Gunnery Sgt. Hartman, he made it a point to violate the most sacred rules Marines Corps drill instructors are taught not to do. As a former USMC drill instructor himself, Ermey understood that Hartman was an inherently villainous character in the script. Therefore, he should cut corners and break the most necessary rules that USMC cadre are expected to carry out as instructors.
The most important failure a drill instructor can commit is singling out a recruit. The whole point of boot camp is to teach soldiers that teamwork is the only way to accomplish missions and stay alive. Whenever the balance gets skewed by someone in the cadre having a personal disdain for a particular recruit, everyone else in the class will eventually suffer from not receiving a full education. No one recruit- no matter how incompetent or stellar -should ever become the priority. It's just not how you build effective military units.
It's also important to keep in mind the statement Kubrick was making with this film by demonstrating the consequences of drafted soldiers who have been conscripted against their will, and those who are just unfit for duty. Pyle was both of those things. As a result of those two factors, two lives were needlessly lost before anyone from that class ever made it to the battlefield in Vietnam.
It's also very unlikely there would ever be just one drill instructor in the USMC. According to the historical record, the USMC required at least 3 instructors in the cadre during Vietnam. However, there's been several unconfirmed accounts by former Marines who said that once the war in Vietnam really started to turn against the US's favor and the numbers of dead American troops really started to rack up, some units were only given one drill instructor because the others in the cadre were being pressed to serve in order to make up for the losses US forces started suffering in manpower. The single drill instructor USMC recruits were left with were always the oldest/most unfit for combat.
While there are a few things wrong with this depiction to make it seem historically inaccurate on the surface, it's also not entirely out of the question either as the circumstances on the ground in Vietnam forced desperate measures to be taken by US war planners to hopefully turn the momentum back in America's favor.
I like to think of the first half of the film as a comedy before it transitions into a full blown horror movie.
BTW, I have to give a shout out to your community in the comment section. There are all so nice!
Agree, 2 completely different movies wrapped together.
Right!? Like this community rocks!
Fun fact, this entire movie was filmed in the uk ... Kubrick refused to leave the country. 15:06 uk country side with a few palm trees stood up ... Vietnam didnt have telegraph poles in the countryside, the huge concrete buildings in last scene where from the London docks lol dude was a genius & for a war movie on snipers ... Enemy at the Gates , Rachel Weisz .... but Conan the Barbarian for more epic cinematography ;)
Back in my father’s day he said the Drill instructors would hit you. I went in 2002 that stuff was banned but they would break you other ways
We called it a field counseling session because you would slam someone backwards into a tree to get their head straight. The scene where they hold him down with a blanket and hit him with the soap in a sock is called a blanket party as a warning to get someone to get their s**t together.
19:23 - "That dude got wasted so quick". It might not be clear if you don't know what you are looking at. That was a booby trap. A mine or explosive set to trip when some numbnuts picked up the brightly colored stuffed animal.
War makes monsters of men. Tom Hanks' character in Saving Private Ryan refused to become one and he dies. It's a survival mechanism, that may actually help get you through, but you will be damaged forever. WWll broke both of my grandfather's in different ways. They lived, but they also had to live with what they had seen and done.
Wut? How did Toms death correlate with him refusing to be a monster? He still did his job in the war and killed enemy soldiers. And he died attempting to kill enemy soldiers.
@@johnLennon255 he was shot by the German soldier that he let go earlier in the film. If he had fully embraced the war as a zero sum situation he would have executed him.
@@jonnyyen7169 oh wow good point actually. I apologize
@@johnLennon255 no problem. I am anti war. I don't want anyone to have to make those choices.
@@jonnyyen7169 well in the case of saving private Ryan, war was necessary. The axis powers were to evil to control their respective countries
Probably not one that many will know but I think you'd love The Constant Gardener - Ralph Fiennes (Harry from In Bruges, Voldemort, Amon Goethe from Schindler's List), Rachel Weisz (The Mummy and Enemy at the Gates, but won an Oscar for this film) about a diplomat looking into dodgy pharma companies testing in Africa. Outstanding film.
“We were soldiers” is a great film that’s based on actual events
Except for the ending. I'll never understand why they did that.
A Vietnam movie filmed in England. Stanley didn't like to fly. Locations came to him.
I highly recommend The Deer Hunter and Gran Torino. Great films
I saw The Deer Hunter in the theater. I believe that multiple Oscars were awarded for it.
@@jeffthompson9622 yes, the tension in that film was off the charts. A true classic
Noted!
This is the best war/military movie yet made. Kubrick was a genius filmmaker.
My interpretation: war = turning our kids, 17-23 year-olds, into murderers who got killed by the other side’s kids who turned out to be even younger murderers. Very common theme in these films generally, but FMJ really dove hard into the psychosis of it all.
Every time I watch this movie, the scene where Pile snaps always shocks me. Definitely not as much as when I first saw it obviously, but it always hits me. I don't think very many movies can do that.
Nice video man.
Did anyone mention that R. Lee Ermey was really a Drill Instructor, yet?
R.Lee Ermey was a real DI and yes, they could treat you like that. He was also an actor. He was in many movies (Texas Chainsaw Massacre,Seven and Mississippi Burning, he even was the voice for SGT in Toy Story). :) RIP DI.
Ever since Firefly, I'm glad to see its alumni like Adam Baldwin in anything else.
I like to imagine that he actually plays characters from the same family tree in all his movies. Like Col Casey in Chuck is the son or grandson of Animal Mother, and way down the line Jayne Cobb comes from the same line.
I saw an interview with R. Lee Ermey where he mentioned that he and other drill sergeants may have fudged the boundaries of what was technically "allowed" to occur during recruit training, but as context be added that while his job was initially to train people to be marines, when the vietnam war kicked up, he was given roughly twice as many men to train, half the time to do it in, and at that point they were being trained knowing they would definitely see combat.
If you haven't seen it already I highly, highly recommend "Good Morning Vietnam". One of Robin Williams best roles...
When I took a Vietnam War course in college, we read a lot of literature and saw a lot of these films. It's been a long time, but I remember feeling so much more affected by watching this film than I did watching Apocalypse Now or Platoon. They each have their own take and their own artistry, but I remember Full Metal Jacket being the one that shook me up the most and really made me get the most horrible sense of this particular war, in the same way that so many scenes in Saving Private Ryan do for World War II. I haven't seen this film in years, but I've always remembered that this was the one I felt did it the best.
I have to be a broken record & say "the deer hunter" is a great psychological war film
The Deer Hunter is complete shit. Boring, overhyped, overrated.
The drill instructor, Gunny Hartman, is played by R Lee Ermey, and he was a Gunnery Sergeant in the Marines and also was was an actual Marine D.I.
One of the crazy thing about this movie is that it was entirely filmed in England
WILD! But I can “see” it now hahaha
@@JamesVSCinema Yeah, they imported a bunch of palm trees from Spain and other foliage (mostly plastic) to dress things up and if you didn't know any better, you'd have no idea. From an old Playboy article: "When Full Metal Jacket was being filmed in England a whole plastic replica Vietnamese jungle was air-freighted in from California, so I was assured. Next morning Stanley walked on set, took one look at it, and said, "I don't like it. Get rid of it." The technicians shared out the trees, giving a new look to gardens in North London, and a real jungle was delivered instead, palm trees uprooted from Spain."
Along those lines, ff you ever get the chance, check out the documentary Filmworker; it's about a promising actor who was so enthralled with Kubrick after starring in Barry Lyndon (not one of his most popular films, but in my opinion perhaps the most beautiful) that he abandoned his own career to become his full-time assistant. It goes into real detail into just how brilliant but also obsessed and insanely demanding Kubrick was. You don't make movies like he did without psychotic attention to detail.
www.imdb.com/title/tt6851066/
The sound design and the fluid, creeping camera in the second half blew me away.
The camera in the action sequences is always at about knee level. Always moving forward. The clink clank clink of other soldiers moving with you (the camera pov).
It is stunning but reserved. Analytical in a sense. It is a Kubrick movie. We are the observers, not the participants by design.
the door gunner killing innocents was originally going to play the drill Sargent but it was changed last minute
"ya just don't lead them as much !"
S A V A G E !!
The actor doing the drill sergeant was perfect for the role. He did a very similar roll in the ghost comedy "The Frighteners" starring Michael J Fox etc.
R. Lee Ermey was the green toy soldier in Toy Story!
And General Kramer, the toy , in Toy Soliders!
Didnt even know this till I read your comment and thought "hmm I wonder.."
Fun fact: this is the same set they used for the movie "1984." Also, Kubrick had them fly in palm tress from Spain since he never left England. A brilliant man that Kubrick. 👍
I don’t know if anyone has said it yet but next should be a clockwork orange.
yes.
AGREE!
Absolutely
05:45 Was not intended to be in Full Metal Jacket (1987). He was hired as a technical advisor for the actor who was to play the drill instructor, but he did such a good job at it that Ermey himself was hired for the part.
R. Lee Ermey -- A talented character actor known for his military roles, Ronald Lee Ermey was in the United States Marine Corps for 11 years. He rose to the rank of Staff Sergeant, and later was bestowed the honorary rank of Gunnery Sergeant by the Marine Corps, after he served 14 months in Vietnam and later did two tours in Okinawa, Japan.
The Gomer Pile actor is the great Vincent D'Onofrio
Would like to see what James thinks about the cell
“When did this become a horror film?!” ….
Pretty much right there at that exact moment.
Yessss!!! I’ve been waiting on this for a minute 😎
Enjoy!!
The movie was entirely shot in England. First half was filmed at an actual army barracks in Cambridgeshire about 50 miles north of central London, and the 'Vietnam' city scenes were filmed in London on the site of an old disused industrial gas works which covered 550 acres. On the road scene with army vehicles was shot in the Norfolk Broads (about 120 miles north west of London) which is very flat expansive land with many waterways.
THE THIN RED LINE.
STAR STUDDED, HUGE NAME ACTORS, SOME WITH ONLY ONE LINE OR SCENE IN THE ENTIRE MOVIE.
Here's a less loud sentence.
Also,
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre with Jessica Biel.
The Drill Sgt is in it.
Probably my favourite film ever. Something new appears every time I watch it. So much rhythm and rhyme throughout. Its brilliant.
If you want to see Wilson Fisk in his prime watch Adventures in Babysitting
R. Lee Ermy. A REAL life Marine, and former drill instructor. Plays a true D.I. as Sgt. Hartman
Shot on location . . . . . in London Dock yards :)
That is boot camp!! Imagine not one but three or four DI’s like that!!
Damn James, calling out Brandon like that lol! He’s got his hands full dealing with Sandler’s movies too man!
I'm sure it's been said that the Vietnam scenes were, quite obviously, filmed in the UK. WHAT? Stanly did not like to travel...
The part I'm having trouble with is where they got all the M41 tanks in the UK (Which the Marines didn't use in Vietnam, but the Vietnamese did, so I forgive him).
R Lee Ermey WAS a Drill Instructor for the Marines at San Diego during the Vietnam War, and later served in Vietnam. He first came onto Full Metal Jacket as a consultant advisor, and was initially told that the Drill Instructor role was already taken. However, having been seen acting by Stanley later, Stanley changed his mind and assigned Lee the role. Stanley Kubrick gave Lee full range. He would sit down with Stanley and look over pages and pages of text that Lee would write out free hand and have typed up, picking out the very best juiciest lines to put into the script. But in term of the performance Lee had a free hand, and Stanley just let him go do his thing. That is why his performance was so realistic......it was because he had done the job and knew exactly how to perform. Lee even reported that there were certain instructors that were just like Hartman, but that they were few and far between.
If you look closely in the Valkyrie scene of the Air Cavalry attacking the Viet Cong held village in Apocolypse Now, then you will see Lee Ermey again! This time in a helicopter!!
You've commented on the score, it was composed by Stanley Kubrick's daughter.
Had no idea, that's actually cool, but why isn't she credited in the movie? It says music by John Debney.
That is so awesome!
The *BrandonLikesMovies* comment. 😂🤣 I’m dying. 😆
Love both of you guys! 💙
Why has NOBODY done Three Kings? Its one of the best war movies ever, in an "actually-good" way, not a pretentious/slow way.
I think James would enjoy the filmmaking on that one. Spike Jonze has a great style.
I think that is because of the tonal shift half way through. It goes from gung ho satire to serious critique which makes for an uneven experience. Nevertheless it is a surprisingly good movie, specially the first part.
@@sntxrrr its fucking hilarious and serious at the same time like Forrest Gump.
The Deer Hunter: great movie recommendation. Three small town friends going to Vietnam together. Next level acting, starring Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep, Christopher Walken & John Savage. You won't be disappointed.