@@Bradgilliswhammyman today yeah but not in old times like the Vietnam era. It was beyond brutal and verbal , mental , and physical abuse were used to the mass extreme to determine who stayed in and who was kicked out. The last 35 years the military has pretty much went soft by banning all 3 from being used. Only thing that's allowed is yelling.
@@coldarmy2926 Went to Parris Island 1975. First we were told they weren't allowed to hit us or curse us. Then we got our regular DIs & they beat the crap out of us one at a time & called us everything they could dream up from then on;) They broke my glasses on the first day & I couldn't see sh!t for the first month.
Don't know about Full Metal Jacket specifically, but I do know, that Roger Ebert would often change his mind about movies, that he just didn't "get" initially years after reviewing them and admit, that he was wrong. I can respect him for that.
I don't believe Ebert was saying the movie didn't depict real combat,or that it wasn't realistic. He was saying it's depiction of combat was cliche. I don't happen to agree, and certainly feel the same way Siskel did, but I don't know that Ebert's review was clueless.
@@jeffcanar7294 I think it's safe to say that this film was way above Roger Ebert's head... He seems to be almost obsessed with Platoon, which is a COMPLETELY different movie. While watcing Full Metal Jacket, I get the acute sense that every single scene has a real purpose, usually causing the viewer to think "what are we really doing here guys?" Platoon is just a entertainng war movie, it has great charachters, but really not much depth.
No doubt. By the time I went through Navy boot camp in 1987, the company commanders (the Navy term for what the Marines call drill instructors) weren't allowed to hit anyone or make any racial slurs, but all else that you see R. Lee Ermey put his men through in the movie is 100% authentic, right down to him getting mere inches away from his recruits' faces to scream at them. You learn to master the art of becoming an expert stoic in that situation...no laughing, no crying, not even moving your eyes when something happens that makes a commotion while standing in ranks, as with the one rather funny occasion when we were being inspected and one of our guys passed out from having locked his knees and collapsed onto the tile deck. Not one of the 80+ of us standing at attention so much as moved an eyeball, only knowing that he had gotten back after a minute when we could hear him slowly and (we assumed) sheepishly got back up onto his feet and right back at attention. True story
My dad is a career Marine and Iwo Jima vet, still kicking, and he hates the boot camp sequence because the sucker-punching and choking was illegal even in the "good old days". I think more modern vets who approve are responding to the way it conveys the atmosphere of total intimidation and control.
John Reece Well of course it's true that corporal punishment has always been a big no no, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen. Hell, when I went through Marine bootcamp in the early Nineties, a couple of my friends got smacked around a little.
I think the fat guy got triggered because the seargant picked in the fat guy in the movie. He's probably thinking about the line, "I'll bet you could suck a golf ball through a garden hose" the whole time he was giving his stupid review.
It’s an amazing film, but it’s nothing Stanley Kubrick didn’t already technically do in his previous movies. But Kubrick’s skills were in still in a class all by themselves even in his later years.
For the most part, yes! I agree.. for the most part. The part that I have a definite problem with, was the part where Gunnery Sergeant Hartman is talking to the recruits outdoors, as they sit on the Bleachers, and gives them two of the absolute worst examples of Sniper Accuracy that I've ever heard in my life! He talks about Charles Whitman, that killed innocent victims in the 1960s, by shooting them from the top of a building...and was hitting and killing at least some of them from a mile away. Then, of course, we hear him talk about Lee Harvey Oswald, who supposedly shot and killed President Kennedy from behind, firing 3 rounds in only 6 seconds, hitting President Kennedy with two of those rounds. One:As I said, these are two of the worst examples that he could've given those young recruits, because that's trying to make bad guys look like heroes! Two: The fatal shot that killed President Kennedy came from in front, and slightly to the right, of President Kennedy, who at that point was a sitting duck! As for the Warren Commission Report, it was full of lies and errors from start to finish! They tried to get the American Public to believe that one bullet did all the damage to President Kennedy and Governor John Connelly. As we say in the South: That dog don't hunt!
kyokogodai lol! I love that whole scene in the movie! This movie came when was in the 1st or second grade and remember watching for time at the movies where my sister worked she was 16 she use take to work with i got to watch movies all day until she got off from work! And this is one of the movies i picked that day as a little kid and loved it and still do, that scene even as a little kid at the time made crack up laughing! Lol!
Ebert was right that platoon was a better movie in most ways, more emotional with a better pay off. I love both movies but I often wonder what would have happened if FMJ had come out before Platoon.
a lot of the dark, ugly humor seemed to go right over ebert's head. all of the things he doesn't like are what make the movie great. he's looking for the classic cliche' war movie about war, and this movie is more about the other ugly stuff that goes with it, and less about the cliche' war stuff. he has it almost exactly backwards.
He has his your opinions you have yours... anyone who disagrees with you could say the exact same back. I for one loved it but don't take it to heart if he doesn't
I love his point of view when he doesn’t like a movie I love. But it sucks that he compared FMJ to Platoon. Two totally different statements on the military and the nature of war.
regardless of who likes or didn’t like the movie in the review, I miss such real and passionate reviews on television. There are some great UA-camrs who do great reviews but nobody does such great debate better thank Siskel and Ebert
At times they disagreed...badly! Then, there were those times when they fully agreed with each other. Sometimes, the agreeing was basically...and at times, it was 100%! Any way that you slice it, it was still fun to watch... especially when they both got it wrong...or right!
When a reporter asked Kubrick if he was concerned about FMJ coming out at the same time as Platoon, he said something like 'Why should I be concerned? Platoon is a Hollywood war picture. If it was made 20 years ago it would have starred John Wayne and Frankie Avalon. No, I'm not concerned at all.'
Leftist narrative ? What are you talking about ? Or do you just love the fact that you know two big words so you like the throw them out when every you get a chance? Stone was in Nam so I guess he knows what it was like. How was the movie leftist?
Kubrick is a great director but that statement is asinine. Platoon would never have starred John Wayne . John Wayne would not have been in a war movie that portrayed the real attitudes and real abuses of the soldiers . He was very right wing and would not have touched Platoon . Interestingly Kubrick actually did asked Wayne to play the part of the B52 pilot in Dr. Strangelove but he turned the part down because he saw the film as "pinko." So it's rather odd that he would imply in a disparaging manner that Stone would do what he actually did do....Platoon is a superior film. The first half of FMJ is good but the second half is week
Tommy Haynes There is nothing superior about Platoon. At the very basic craft of film making, FMJ hovers above it. FMJ's Vietnam scenes are dirty, lived in, run down, and war scarred. The Marines in standard combat gear look disheveled and weary. Platoon's soldiers dressed in rag tag gear sometimes look as clean as if they are wearing inspection ready uniforms. The dialog is also theater stage level dramatic in Platoon. I know every moment that these are actors. FMJ's characters sell me as real troops. It's infinitely more immersive.
Have you ever seen Boys in Company C? Lee was in the Philippines taking acting classes and was cast as a junior DI. He was so much better than the other actor he was "promoted" and that helped him be cast in FMJ.
That's cuz he was at another level. It probably frustrated many a critic and movie goer not getting what they had just seen, or what its point was. Then they find out the movie is sinking into their brain slowly, and before they know it, they can't get its scenes out of their heads. Kubrick was a master.
Eric Wesson very true! I like his movies because every time I rewatch them, any of them, I get a different experience. Sometimes it’s a deeper experience or I get a different take on a scene. Kubrick is a master.
Eric Wesson , I will definitely check out that channel. Ever since I saw that Room 237 documentary about The Shining I was on a mission to study Kubrick’s films. I always enjoyed them even as teen and in my twenties but now I’m older and studying them is so rewarding.
This was released while I was doing my 3rd year in the Corps. This was so close to what Parris Island was I could smell the pine sol and brackish water. You learn to fear that drill instructor until one day you realize you respect the hell out of that man. You’ll remember him the rest of your life. Semper fu€king Fi!!!
"Semper fucking fi!!!" ? You also punch your gunny in the face for not respecting you? If everyone on who claimed to be military online was telling the truth you could build the Tower of Babel with DD214's
I've always respected Gene and Roger's ability to argue their points, even if I don't agree with them. The hilarious thing is immediately after this, Roger disagrees with Gene again and gives a thumbs up to Benji the Hunted. Gene looked like he was ready to leap out of his chair and strangle him.
Lol have u seen the home alone 3 review? Ebert said Home Alone 3 was 10,000 league's better than the ironic Home alone 1 &2 . Gene was so dumbfounded, as well as most of us were , he ended up speechless and wanted to walk out of the review.
I think they are both great-but as one of the critics pointed out one was shot in the stinking hot jungle and one was shot in an urban wasteland. So that produces a different way of looking at it. Either way, war is hell no matter where.
Durins Bane Actually FMJ was shot in cold England in a 6-7 story warehouse district, when Hue was a 1-2 story tropical hot city. Kubrick was too lazy to get himself to Asia to make it realistic. Platoon is about the Vietnam War, FMJ is more of an action movie. Kubrick didn't even have an ending planned hence the dumb mickey mouse ending. Ermey was so disappointed in Kubrick's depiction he made his own nam flick: Siege Of Firebase Gloria
Don't know about Full Metal Jacket specifically, but I do know, that Roger Ebert would often change his mind about movies, that he just didn't "get" initially years after reviewing them and admit, that he was wrong. I can respect him for that.
I think you're wrong lots of great scenes and the second part , maybe after you eat the peanuts out of my shi-it, get some get some, this is a fine example of Louisiana black snake and it ain't too goddamn booku, is that a piece button on uniform and I guess you didn't hear the word the bird is the word baba baba baba baba baba baba baba baba baba baba baba baba baba bubba bubba bubba bubba bubba bubba
This is accurate. I don't like Platoon much, but I understand why it is beloved. FMJ is one of my favorite movies. That it in itself shows how they are completely different.
Spot on. But FMJ and Platoon are great, but they're really different types of movies. It's like comparing Interstellar and Gravity just because they both take place in space.
Agreed. Platoon is a moral fable about choosing between two father figures representing opposed moralities. It uses the Vietnam War as a backdrop. It’s well told and resolves itself nicely. It’s complete. FMJ is incomplete by design. It ends abruptly without a movie-style resolution (although it certainly has a culmination with the sniper, it doesn’t tell us what to do with it). The abrupt ending is foreshadowed by Leonard’s death. Leonard’s life is cut short. The movie is cut short. Real life doesn’t contain a 3rd act and neither does war. I dunno, I think that’s pretty genius. The culmination of the drama doesn’t feel like a resolution. The coda of the march back doesn’t help resolve what we think or feel about what Joker did.
Ebert couldn’t have been more wrong. This movie has stood the test of time. My friends and I quote from it all the time and have done, for over 20 years.
I think a movie like Caddy Shack is different because it’s a screwball comedy and humor changes between generations. Contemporary 20 year olds find Caddy Shack agonizing but I guarantee most would respond to Full Metal Jacket as audiences did back in the 80s. The themes explored are still important today and that’s the key to standing the test of time
It should be understood that most Kubrick movies required a solid 15 years to age, like a fine wine. Personally, I’m a huge Kubrick fan and love everything he ever made.
Without Gunny it would have been mediocre. The first part of the movie is interesting as hell, then once they go to the Viet Nam scenes, I kind of lose interest. I think Platoon is a better film really.
@@richardbuse228 I disagree, the shock factor from the first act carries over to the Vietnam act as most of the characters in that act are basically reflections of the characters from the first act. Animal Mother's basically Private Pyle if his mind only cracked a little and he didn't kill himself as an example.
I personally like both movies equally...but that's just me talking. Not being disrespectful of your opinion, or anything like that... just evoking an opinion....
@@buzzytrombone4353 That, my friend, is an excellent point! Gotta say, though...Gunny Hartman pushed Pvt. Lawrence (Gomer Pyle), way too hard...and paid the price for it, with a bullet straight through his heart!
I have to respectfully disagree. The second half and the depiction of the Marines is, despite the "action", a more subtle, but equally strong. 5 stars on both sides.
I, personally, didn't care for Platoon. Saw it once. That was enough for me. I can't remember one line from the whole movie. Full Metal Jacket, I can watch again and again.
@chris younts Sheen was alright. I just didn't care for the movie. Modine wouldn't have been my first choice but overall I thought the movie was better.
Exactly, Platoon is a dim memory. FMJ is a classic. I can remember dozens of lines. Every expression and delivery of those lines. This movie is 10 times better than Platoon every thought about being.
It did feel pandering and ponderous. Films that try too hard to eek out sentiment instead of just letting the viewer get lost in the movie and decide for themselves. Like Kubrick does.
@@motorpsykler If I remember right, that was "Bunny" talking to Taylor, about the way he just killed that Vietnamese dude. That was definitely a kill that never should've happened. That poor guy didn't understand a word of English. Bunny was merciless to that poor guy...no mercy was shown to Bunny's victim at all.
mitch cumstein He actually improvised a lot of his dialogue. Ermey was originally hired to train the actors and keep the film true to life, but Kubrick was so impressed with Ermey's colorful persona that he became part of the film.
While Platoon was Stone's view of the war Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket is really about young men being turned into killing machines which is really what the end of movie is about with the soldiers singing Mickey Mouse Club while Joker has his voice over. Kubrick was interested in something deeper and much darker than Stone when he made his movie. (Side note Path of Glory is Kubrick's anti-war movie).
Shows what a hack oliver stone was.. Kubrick had no military experience and Oliver Stone was actually a Vietnam vet but oliver stone's platoon is flaccid
@@stephennootens916 I will allow your opinion to stand however I watched platoon recently and it seems sappy, unnecessarily patriotic and the acting is not sincere. As you can see by other comments, platoon is scorned by vets.
Yeah, the problem with FMJ was the timing in which it was released. Just a couple years earlier, Platoon was reaping huge acclaim and quickly becoming the next great Vietnam war movie after Apocolypse Now. FMJ was just one movie too much about Vietnam at the time, and the critics just couldn't agree that it was great, because it would appear to be critics just loving any war movie about Vietnam at the time. The '80s had tons of movies about Vietnam, and this was just lumped in with some of them at the time. However, as time passed, it really separated itself from the pack and became a much-loved movie based on what veterans themselves thought was the most accurate depiction of boot camp they'd ever seen in a movie. So it was the actual veterans that changed the minds of most critics about the movie years later.
I’m stunned at Ebert’s reaction to this movie. I wasn’t in the Marines, but I was in the Army and I can tell you - we were terrified of our drill instructors. Nowhere near as bad as FMJ, but pure fear nonetheless. Outstanding film.
I'm an Army veteran. And my entire company saw this movie in basic training. Obviously these civilians have no clue. This movie is and was an instant classic. And became a cult classic due to R.Lee Ermy's performance.
@@residentgomez I was in Marine boot camp in 1998. We watched a movie in the base theater on thanksgiving, we watched Full Metal Jacket in the squad bay on Christmas.
I watch platoon once and never had the desire to see it again. Full Metal Jacket is Iconic and entertaining while still making its point. An all-time favorite.
I saw Platoon in the theater, thought it was amazing but oddly I have never felt the urge to watch it again (now nearly 35 years later and I still feel that way). FMJ I can watch again and again.
Having rewatched both movies recently and having not seen Platoon in 16 years I have to agree that Full Metal Jacket is the better film. It is far more memorable. The first half just never leaves your mind thanks to Eremy and Vincent D'Onofrio. And while the second half suffers in comparison it is still strong. Platoon is excellent and had great acting as well as great war sequences but I agree with Siskel comparing the two is apples and oranges. Both films were made by acclaimed filmmakers and were both about Vietnam but otherwise they really have nothing in common. Platoon was about the Army and a civil war against members of the Platoon whereas Full Metal Jacket was about the transformation of turning Marines into warriors and the result of that. Platoon is great but you dont remember much about it after watching it. FMJ on the other hand is far more memorable.
Platoon has a satisfying resolution. It wraps itself up. It has a prepackaged message. FMJ is unsatisfying and feels incomplete-and that’s its genius. It’s what gives it its staying power. Think back to when you watched it and it ended. Was your first reaction, “Wait, is that it?” Ebert is correct that Kubrick used standard tropes of war movies, but then Kubrick turned them upside down, defying our expectations. I’m surprised Rodger didn’t examine why he didn’t like the movie, why he found it dissatisfying.
@@plasticweapon Yeah, OP is insane by saying FMJ is "FAR MORE memorable" and that nobody remembers Platoon after watching it lol. That's just bullshit, to be honest.
Are you drunk? Platoon made for TV? Which parts? the rapings, the murders, the drugs, the racism, the constant swearing? FMJ was an action film, Platoon is the greatest war movie ever.
"blood and guts"? Riiight, I bet you loved batman vs Superman. Platoon is what's real; fraggings (if you know what that means) rapings, drugs, racism, etc... But oh wait they play some classical music in it. It must be a soap opera! FMJ is a mess of an action flick
You know there is more to a great war movie than just "blood and guts" If hollywood-action-horror-gore is all that mattered go watch that chick flick/horror movie "hacksaw ridge" for kicks.
I fully agree with you on that! A recruit needs to be strong not only physically, but mentally, too. Pvt. Lawrence (Gomer Pyle), wasn't strong enough, mentally and emotionally, and cracked like an egg under pressure! Gunny Hartman just didn't know when to stop egging this guy on...and paid the price for his bullying, with a bullet straight through his heart!
Ebert did a better job of explaining his disappointment with the film in his written review. He wrote that in its second act, "the movie disintegrates into a series of self-contained set pieces, none of them quite satisfying.” He acknowledged the great performances of Ermey and D’Onofrio, but said that was part of the problem with the film-that it “never recovers after they leave the scene." I’d have to agree. Modine did well, but Ermey and D’Onofrio’s performances were indelible.
na lol Ebert had it right.. ebert was the best.. siskel was always so clueless.. i mean he gave 'thumbs down' to predator, casino, the crow, dark city, boogie nights.. etc
@@junkymcjunkster It's odd because it captures the stress and fatigue of boot camp even though most of the things that are in the movie can't (shouldn't) be done anymore.
I was almost always online with Siskel, Ebert always had a bit more of a stuck up, over-analyzed look on things. When Cowboy got shot, I was just floored...that guy came up throughout the whole film, going through Basic, then all the guys go their separate ways, then suddenly we're reunited, you see him play soldier, then he's in charge by consequence, and then boom...the sniper clips him through a hole in the wall of all things...he's down, and he tries to tough it out, but his body just gives up and then you see Joker go into revenge-mode...The Marine takes over and the ending, wow, that creepy industrial score, the hunt, the visuals, the drama and the outro narration.... it's just brilliant.
What was disturbing to me, was the fact that the Sniper that they were up against, was a young lady, of all things! Then, after they find her and shoot her, she's laying there, mortally wounded, begging for them to kill her. That was such a tragic scene in that movie! I couldn't even hit a Woman, let alone kill her. I was raised with better manners than that, and yet...I don't know what I would have done, given the situation at hand. I probably would've gone against "Proper protocol", and at least have had enough mercy to, if she'd allow me, to hold her, and comfort her until she died, even if she could've even pulled out a weapon, and killed me for being an "Enemy"! I just don't have it in me to hurt a Woman-Ever!
@@ronaldshank7589 guess why drill camp's job is to break somebody down and build them back up? To get such stuff out. By doing what you said you might do, you endanger not only yourself, but also the rest of your squad and potentially a mission and civilians.
@@undertakernumberone1 True, that’s the why. Joker would have wasted the sniper right off if his gun hadn’t jammed. Rafter man shot her without hesitation. But when it came down to killing her, a young girl, it was a heavy moment. It’s the culmination when Joker pulls the trigger. Even to put her out of her misery (she was begging them to kill her), that act would stay with anyone for the rest of their lives. And I think it stays with us, the viewers. The desensitizing one receives allows one to act quickly and ruthlessly. But it doesn’t stop you from being human. It doesn’t stop you from feeling and thinking afterwards.
Man I forgot how great this show was. I love Ebert but on this Siskel was completely on point. Both really gifted writers and critics the likes of which we won’t see again. Alas
I see what Ebert means though. The film does drop off significantly in the 2nd half. I sort of get what he means also about the shots/sniper scenario being done before. Still a great movie. I think Ebert loved The Shining so much that this movie ended up disappointing unrealistic expectations. I'm guessing he was kinder in his review of Eyes Wide Shut
Don't know about Full Metal Jacket specifically, but I do know, that Roger Ebert would often change his mind about movies, that he just didn't "get" initially years after reviewing them and admit, that he was wrong. I can respect him for that.
Nothing. Maybe you confuse motion pictures with reality? Why exactly did you go ad hominem directly when discussing the qualities of movies? Because I do not like a movie you like? Geez. You like Platoon. I think it didn't age well and is very 1980s. What's your point with my "war experience"? So I can't have an opinion about Star Wars because I never fought for the rebellion?
@@OliverJWeber obviously, you need to re-watch platoon; If someone said "hasta la Vista baby" while discussing Terminator 2 you wouldn´t be a literal-jim about it.
Meh. I thought the second half was boring, unmemorable and looked kind of fake. Other than the great scenes with R. Lee and Donofrio I thought the movie paled in comparison to Platoon and Saving Private Ryan.
R Lee Ermey wasn't acting. As a former SDI he was just doing his old job on camera and he did it spot on! He so dominated that role that you don't notice that the other DIs are rarely seen and never say a word.
Sorry Roger, I WENT thru basic training at Parris Island in 1972 and the first half of this movie is the closest you're ever going to get to the real thing without going back in time and enlisting and experiencing it for yourself and every Marine I've talked to has said the same thing. It was so real because Lee Ermy WAS a real Vietnam vet and USMC drill instructor. IT WAS THE REAL THING!! I know, I was there!!
I saw FMJ and Platoon when they were new. Years later I can vividly remember many scenes from FMJ, but very little of Platoon. I liked Platoon at the time, but honest to God, it doesn't have the sticking power of FMJ.
Ebert was judging the story, Siskel is judging the context. I loved how passionate they got in this discussion, and that's you know it's good. If it gets a war of words between Siskel and Ebert, it's worth noting.
Man, that line when the Lieutenant was trying to have his people come up with news that was fit to print, only to be disrespected by Pfc. Joker. That Lieutenant set him straight, right then and there! Then, he really got steamed at Joker! Lieutenant:"Joker! You're still here?!? Leave, most Ricky-Tick, and take Rafterman with you! You're responsible for him"!!! Good call for the Lieutenant right there. He took care of the problem (Joker), once and for all!!!
@@khav11 Sounds like Ol' Joker is struggling with reality here. GySgt. Hartman set him straight quick, fast, & in a hurry! Gunny Hartman didn't have time to put up with a bunch of nonsense.
I actually understand Ebert's reaction. Initially, you can feel disappointed, but It's one of those movies that gets better, the more times you see it. Spielberg had similar feelings to Ebert's, but it ended up as one of his favorite pictures.
I'm with Siskel on this one, Ebert missed the boat here. Over time FMJ has outlasted Platoon. Platoon is preachy and perhaps and doesn't stay with you in the way that Full Metal Jacket does or Apocalypse Now. Platoon is more a movie of its time but doesn't stand the test of time.
Right, Apocalypse Now , the director's cut long version really ties that movie all together .The version I saw in the theater did not connect the dots . The directors cut puts it up at the FMJ level.
My Dad took me to see FMJ when it came out about a month before I joined the Army. He leaned over to me after the Drill Sgt punched Joker and said "Theyre not supposed to do that but they do. This is how it is." The 18yo me was like "oh -hit! What have I gotten myself into" Good times.
Yeah they haven't beat on recruits since Vietnam. Isolated incidents surely happen but if found out the DIs face stiff consequences. Army 84-87 and Marines 88-92. Semper Fi.
@@blondknight99 I went in at 17. Did Basic at Ft Sill in 84 and it wasn't too cushy back then. It was actually comparable to Boot Camp, just about 5 weeks shorter. It definitely primed me for the Marines and I loved my time in both branches. And yes, I guess I'm a glutton for punishment. Semper Fi.
Ebert so conceitedly dissing Full Metal Jacket came off sounding like a total head case. But then, this is the same guy who reviewed Scarface without ever once mentioning the pivotal, wonderfully played role of Paul Shenar as Alejandro Sosa.
Well, I went to see this with my firiend at a local cinema in 1987, just afer our military service… the opening and the rest of it was just too awesome..
At the time it was released, I would have agreed with Ebert. Now though, I have done a complete turnaround. Siskel was ultimately right. Me and Ebert...we wuz wrong!!!
Doby Pilgrim During the time these films were released, I liked them both, but preferred Platoon. But for a long time now, I have viewed FMJ as the better movie. A classic, actually. I don't view Platoon as being a classic.
The only time I saw either Platoon or Full Metal Jacket was at the theater as a 10-11 year old. The only scenes from either I can remember today belong to Full Metal Jacket.
@@rae-everything Because the remarkable moments of your life are also the memorable ones? Because nobody remembers every time they ate at McDonald's? Because the only thing anyone can remember about Magnum P.I. is the guy had a hairy chest and a mustache and drove a Ferrari but try and remember one scene from that show or any other garbage, fluff TV show or movie and you'll find there was nothing in it worthy of space in your memory banks? Because why is this even a question. lol
@@samd1405 More can be memorable about a film than just snappy dialogue. And, sometimes what we remember is more about how much we're paying attention. And, just because something becomes a meme doesn't make it clever. There's a reason "greatest" movies lists and "most memorable" movies lists might look different enough. A movie is so much more than just punchy lines. That's why it's a question, I suppose.
Also, as an aside. Doesn't Platoon have a few famous quotes and scenes? I can think of a few, and I've never seen the movie. And, I was alive when it released.
Ebert is completely off base here. Full Metal Jacket towers miles above Platoon. Platoon is one of Oliver Stone's most unmemorable, uninspired films. Full Metal Jacket is one of the most memorable war movies ever made, topped only by the masterpiece, Apocalypse Now.
Full Metal Jacket was an emotional, conscientious ride. It stays with you long afterward. Kubrick knew how to craft essential timeless iconic scenes and moments.
@@RocStarr913 Didn't the routine refer to the number of Vietnam war movies that had been done to death in the 70s and 80s... FMJ was late to the party?
Roger Ebert doesn’t deserve any of the reputation he received, the reputation of being the greatest reviewer Siskel on the other hand, clearly has a open mind and actually loves movies
I understand your sentiment, but I think that Ebert proved his love his movies over and over again. I will forever give Ebert credit for RAVING about "Boogie Nights," naming it as one of his 10 best films of the year, while Siskel could only compliment the (great) casting. Ebert was right on the mark with "Boogie Nights"--I agree!!!
I'm a Marine. No other movie has ever come close to the boot camp scenes. I got flashbacks, they are exactly spot on.
Oorah!
duh, the fucking drill sergeant wasn't acting. He was a consultant who took the role over.
My brother said the same. He was in Marines for 8 years.
@@Bradgilliswhammyman today yeah but not in old times like the Vietnam era. It was beyond brutal and verbal , mental , and physical abuse were used to the mass extreme to determine who stayed in and who was kicked out. The last 35 years the military has pretty much went soft by banning all 3 from being used. Only thing that's allowed is yelling.
@@coldarmy2926 Went to Parris Island 1975. First we were told they weren't allowed to hit us or curse us. Then we got our regular DIs & they beat the crap out of us one at a time & called us everything they could dream up from then on;) They broke my glasses on the first day & I couldn't see sh!t for the first month.
You got to hand it to Ebert, when he's wrong he goes all in.
Bingo!
Don't know about Full Metal Jacket specifically, but I do know, that Roger Ebert would often change his mind about movies, that he just didn't "get" initially years after reviewing them and admit, that he was wrong. I can respect him for that.
He was a hack fraud
I don't see how someone is wrong for not sharing an opinion about a movie
Lol
I was a Marine Naval Gunfire FO with 1st ANGLICO on an operation in Hue, and the realism in this movie gave me chills. Ebert was clueless on this one.
You yell,we shell
Btry B, 1/14
That’s why he lost that mouth
I don't believe Ebert was saying the movie didn't depict real combat,or that it wasn't realistic. He was saying it's depiction of combat was cliche. I don't happen to agree, and certainly feel the same way Siskel did, but I don't know that Ebert's review was clueless.
@@jeffcanar7294 I think it's safe to say that this film was way above Roger Ebert's head... He seems to be almost obsessed with Platoon, which is a COMPLETELY different movie.
While watcing Full Metal Jacket, I get the acute sense that every single scene has a real purpose, usually causing the viewer to think "what are we really doing here guys?" Platoon is just a entertainng war movie, it has great charachters, but really not much depth.
no, but the fat film critic says it's bad though!
My dad, a Marine who served in Vietnam says no movie has ever depicted boot camp as accurately as FMJ.
No doubt.
By the time I went through Navy boot camp in 1987, the company commanders (the Navy term for what the Marines call drill instructors) weren't allowed to hit anyone or make any racial slurs, but all else that you see R. Lee Ermey put his men through in the movie is 100% authentic, right down to him getting mere inches away from his recruits' faces to scream at them.
You learn to master the art of becoming an expert stoic in that situation...no laughing, no crying, not even moving your eyes when something happens that makes a commotion while standing in ranks, as with the one rather funny occasion when we were being inspected and one of our guys passed out from having locked his knees and collapsed onto the tile deck.
Not one of the 80+ of us standing at attention so much as moved an eyeball, only knowing that he had gotten back after a minute when we could hear him slowly and (we assumed) sheepishly got back up onto his feet and right back at attention.
True story
al mas I used to work with a former Marine and he said the same thing
al mas former marine right here. The single most accurate depiction ever.
My dad is a career Marine and Iwo Jima vet, still kicking, and he hates the boot camp sequence because the sucker-punching and choking was illegal even in the "good old days". I think more modern vets who approve are responding to the way it conveys the atmosphere of total intimidation and control.
John Reece Well of course it's true that corporal punishment has always been a big no no, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen. Hell, when I went through Marine bootcamp in the early Nineties, a couple of my friends got smacked around a little.
You can tell Siskel was pissed off at Ebert at the end.
Anyway, he was right: Full Metal Jacket turned out to be a classic after all.
@@Gajus13 it doesn't have to be *the best* to be a great and a classic.
@@Gajus13 Not the best of Kubrick is say a lot. Most of what he did are considered masterpieces.
I never watch it past the boot camp section anymore. That was absolutely classic, I can't even remember the rest of it.
Maybe because Platoon came out the year before his opinion was scued.
@@Gajus13 True, but virtually everything Kubrick made was a masterpiece, so that's not saying anything.
Gene Siskel was spot on. I have 4 combat tours. FMJ speaks to my war time experience. I still love it today.
Not quite the same, but have you ever seen Boys In Company C?
I side with Gene on this one -- FMJ is an amazing film.
I think the fat guy got triggered because the seargant picked in the fat guy in the movie. He's probably thinking about the line, "I'll bet you could suck a golf ball through a garden hose" the whole time he was giving his stupid review.
It’s an amazing film, but it’s nothing Stanley Kubrick didn’t already technically do in his previous movies. But Kubrick’s skills were in still in a class all by themselves even in his later years.
For the most part, yes! I agree.. for the most part. The part that I have a definite problem with, was the part where Gunnery Sergeant Hartman is talking to the recruits outdoors, as they sit on the Bleachers, and gives them two of the absolute worst examples of Sniper Accuracy that I've ever heard in my life! He talks about Charles Whitman, that killed innocent victims in the 1960s, by shooting them from the top of a building...and was hitting and killing at least some of them from a mile away. Then, of course, we hear him talk about Lee Harvey Oswald, who supposedly shot and killed President Kennedy from behind, firing 3 rounds in only 6 seconds, hitting President Kennedy with two of those rounds. One:As I said, these are two of the worst examples that he could've given those young recruits, because that's trying to make bad guys look like heroes! Two: The fatal shot that killed President Kennedy came from in front, and slightly to the right, of President Kennedy, who at that point was a sitting duck! As for the Warren Commission Report, it was full of lies and errors from start to finish! They tried to get the American Public to believe that one bullet did all the damage to President Kennedy and Governor John Connelly. As we say in the South: That dog don't hunt!
@@qweqqweq2090 rpger ebert doesn't even look fat here at all? Are you willfully dense?
@@ronaldshank7589you’ve missed a lot of points here
*"If they run, they're V.C.! If they don't run, they're well disciplined V.C.!"*
RocKiteman _ 2001 tubuku tubuku its not to damn tubuku!
RocKiteman _ 2001 LMAOOOOOO BEST LINE EVER! !!
kyokogodai lol! I love that whole scene in the movie! This movie came when was in the 1st or second grade and remember watching for time at the movies where my sister worked she was 16 she use take to work with i got to watch movies all day until she got off from work! And this is one of the movies i picked that day as a little kid and loved it and still do, that scene even as a little kid at the time made crack up laughing! Lol!
"Got some ARVN rifles. Never been fired and only dropped once!"
Easy, you just don't lead 'em so much!!
"a pudgy weakling who the Marines turn into a psycho"
I may have pinpointed why Ebert didn't like the movie.
LOL!
😆 Lol!!! Bingo!
Ebert said that the actor who played him was the best thing about the movie.
@@AlexColberg Vincent D'onofrio. He is one of the best character actors in the business.
LOL! I'm surprised Siskel didn't think of that one.
Gene Siskel had it right on this one, Full Metal Jacket has stood the test of time.
The first part of the movie, basic training, stands out, but the second half falters, in my opinion.
It only falters if you haven't experienced that side of War in the military ..
Ebert was right that platoon was a better movie in most ways, more emotional with a better pay off. I love both movies but I often wonder what would have happened if FMJ had come out before Platoon.
It's a classic!
a lot of the dark, ugly humor seemed to go right over ebert's head. all of the things he doesn't like are what make the movie great. he's looking for the classic cliche' war movie about war, and this movie is more about the other ugly stuff that goes with it, and less about the cliche' war stuff. he has it almost exactly backwards.
When Ebert missed the mark, he missed it by a MILE. LOL
A light year.
He has his your opinions you have yours... anyone who disagrees with you could say the exact same back. I for one loved it but don't take it to heart if he doesn't
@@kylekondit9709 I never took his review to heart. I just disagreed with it.
I love his point of view when he doesn’t like a movie I love. But it sucks that he compared FMJ to Platoon. Two totally different statements on the military and the nature of war.
regardless of who likes or didn’t like the movie in the review, I miss such real and passionate reviews on television. There are some great UA-camrs who do great reviews but nobody does such great debate better thank Siskel and Ebert
At times they disagreed...badly! Then, there were those times when they fully agreed with each other. Sometimes, the agreeing was basically...and at times, it was 100%! Any way that you slice it, it was still fun to watch... especially when they both got it wrong...or right!
When a reporter asked Kubrick if he was concerned about FMJ coming out at the same time as Platoon, he said something like 'Why should I be concerned? Platoon is a Hollywood war picture. If it was made 20 years ago it would have starred John Wayne and Frankie Avalon. No, I'm not concerned at all.'
Leftist narrative ? What are you talking about ? Or do you just love the fact that you know two big words so you like the throw them out when every you get a chance? Stone was in Nam so I guess he knows what it was like. How was the movie leftist?
Kubrick is a great director but that statement is asinine. Platoon would never have starred John Wayne . John Wayne would not have been in a war movie that portrayed the real attitudes and real abuses of the soldiers . He was very right wing and would not have touched Platoon . Interestingly Kubrick actually did asked Wayne to play the part of the B52 pilot in Dr. Strangelove but he turned the part down because he saw the film as "pinko." So it's rather odd that he would imply in a disparaging manner that Stone would do what he actually did do....Platoon is a superior film. The first half of FMJ is good but the second half is week
At least Oliver Stone was in the fucking war...
Tommy Haynes
There is nothing superior about Platoon. At the very basic craft of film making, FMJ hovers above it. FMJ's Vietnam scenes are dirty, lived in, run down, and war scarred. The Marines in standard combat gear look disheveled and weary. Platoon's soldiers dressed in rag tag gear sometimes look as clean as if they are wearing inspection ready uniforms. The dialog is also theater stage level dramatic in Platoon. I know every moment that these are actors. FMJ's characters sell me as real troops. It's infinitely more immersive.
T James That's kind of odd seeing as how he wanted to make FMJ a decade earlier but waited because of Apocalypse Now coming out around the same time
Without Full Metal Jacket, we would've never been blessed with the classic 2 Live Crew song Me So Horny.
It is indeed a blessing.
Funny and poignant
@Mr Lopez It's not Christmas without Me So Horny on the radio. It's as much a festive tradition as egg Nog and Bing Crosby.
@carpe diem The Vietnamese hooker gave the iconic line "Me love you long time, me so horny". That inspired the rap song.
😂😂😂🤘🤘🤘
R.Lee Ermy...this was his Masterpiece,, R.Lee Ermey was truly in his element...nobody else could have played that part the way Ermey did it...
Have you ever seen Boys in Company C? Lee was in the Philippines taking acting classes and was cast as a junior DI. He was so much better than the other actor he was "promoted" and that helped him be cast in FMJ.
lol, everyone hated each of Kubricks movies when they FIRST came out, and then a year or two later everyone hails it as a masterpiece.
Dylan Thompson I liked Eyes Wide Shut.
That's cuz he was at another level. It probably frustrated many a critic and movie goer not getting what they had just seen, or what its point was. Then they find out the movie is sinking into their brain slowly, and before they know it, they can't get its scenes out of their heads. Kubrick was a master.
Eric Wesson very true! I like his movies because every time I rewatch them, any of them, I get a different experience. Sometimes it’s a deeper experience or I get a different take on a scene. Kubrick is a master.
Eric Wesson , I will definitely check out that channel. Ever since I saw that Room 237 documentary about The Shining I was on a mission to study Kubrick’s films. I always enjoyed them even as teen and in my twenties but now I’m older and studying them is so rewarding.
Dylan Thompson true dat
We lost a legend. R.I.P. Gunny
And Siskel & Ebert as well RIP
This was released while I was doing my 3rd year in the Corps. This was so close to what Parris Island was I could smell the pine sol and brackish water. You learn to fear that drill instructor until one day you realize you respect the hell out of that man. You’ll remember him the rest of your life.
Semper fu€king Fi!!!
I don't respect any of my drill sergeants. I hope they all rot in hell.
"Semper fucking fi!!!" ? You also punch your gunny in the face for not respecting you? If everyone on who claimed to be military online was telling the truth you could build the Tower of Babel with DD214's
@@trboook3300
Go fuck yourself. I got my DD-214
EAS’d in 89. Couldn’t give a fuck what you think
I've always respected Gene and Roger's ability to argue their points, even if I don't agree with them.
The hilarious thing is immediately after this, Roger disagrees with Gene again and gives a thumbs up to Benji the Hunted. Gene looked like he was ready to leap out of his chair and strangle him.
pronkb000 ha ha ha ha
Roger Ebert was always
a liberal Jew
hey you Except he wasn't Jewish, Gene was.
Lol have u seen the home alone 3 review? Ebert said Home Alone 3 was 10,000 league's better than the ironic Home alone 1 &2 . Gene was so dumbfounded, as well as most of us were , he ended up speechless and wanted to walk out of the review.
I Prefer Full Metal Jacket Over Platoon!
Because you're 16yrs old!
no because he has an opinion...
I think they are both great-but as one of the critics pointed out one was shot in the stinking hot jungle and one was shot in an urban wasteland. So that produces a different way of looking at it. Either way, war is hell no matter where.
Durins Bane
Actually FMJ was shot in cold England in a 6-7 story warehouse district, when Hue was a 1-2 story tropical hot city. Kubrick was too lazy to get himself to Asia to make it realistic. Platoon is about the Vietnam War, FMJ is more of an action movie. Kubrick didn't even have an ending planned hence the dumb mickey mouse ending. Ermey was so disappointed in Kubrick's depiction he made his own nam flick: Siege Of Firebase Gloria
Same.
Gene was on target here. Roger didn't know what he was talking about.
Don't know about Full Metal Jacket specifically, but I do know, that Roger Ebert would often change his mind about movies, that he just didn't "get" initially years after reviewing them and admit, that he was wrong. I can respect him for that.
I'm with Ebert here. After the training scenes, it goes downhill.
I agree with him, Platoon came out the year before, Full Metal Jacket is an artists version of the war, Platoon was a combat infantryman's version.
Because he disagrees with your view of the movie? 🤔
This is one of the few times such a thing can be said. Roger was occasionally wrong, as he is here, but Gene missed far too often.
In my opinion, FMJ survived all these years because of the first half of the movie.
Yep. Lee Earny IS that movie in most people's minds.
Truth. Starts out as one of the greatest movies ever, turns into every decent war movie ever after boot camp.
No doubt, the opening 15 minutes of Ermeys performance had me hooked when I first saw FMJ
It's like two movie shorts put together incoherently. One has nothing to do with the other. I have never liked this movie.
I think you're wrong lots of great scenes and the second part , maybe after you eat the peanuts out of my shi-it, get some get some, this is a fine example of Louisiana black snake and it ain't too goddamn booku, is that a piece button on uniform and I guess you didn't hear the word the bird is the word baba baba baba baba baba baba baba baba baba baba baba baba baba bubba bubba bubba bubba bubba bubba
Wow Ebert was really out to lunch on this one. Siskel was dead on.
In their review of Casino, it was Siskel who was nuts and Ebert right on.
That's what made the duo so great, because at any given time, at least one of them would always be right.
I agree. Ebert didn't know what he was talking about in this movie. My uncle was in Vietnam and was amazed on how accuate this film was.
TheEriczeppe - Utterly irrelevant. And I agree with Siskel.
lel.
You can’t compare this to platoon- it’s almost another genre entirely.
This is accurate. I don't like Platoon much, but I understand why it is beloved. FMJ is one of my favorite movies. That it in itself shows how they are completely different.
Spot on. But FMJ and Platoon are great, but they're really different types of movies. It's like comparing Interstellar and Gravity just because they both take place in space.
Agreed. Platoon is a moral fable about choosing between two father figures representing opposed moralities. It uses the Vietnam War as a backdrop. It’s well told and resolves itself nicely. It’s complete.
FMJ is incomplete by design. It ends abruptly without a movie-style resolution (although it certainly has a culmination with the sniper, it doesn’t tell us what to do with it). The abrupt ending is foreshadowed by Leonard’s death. Leonard’s life is cut short. The movie is cut short. Real life doesn’t contain a 3rd act and neither does war.
I dunno, I think that’s pretty genius. The culmination of the drama doesn’t feel like a resolution. The coda of the march back doesn’t help resolve what we think or feel about what Joker did.
"How tall are you, Ebert?" "Sir, 5-foot 9, sir." "5-foot 9, I didn't know they stack s*** that high!"
Bwahahaha!! 👍🏿
It's bulls*** sir, it weights more and packs a punch. I'm very proud of it.
Ebert couldn’t have been more wrong. This movie has stood the test of time. My friends and I quote from it all the time and have done, for over 20 years.
People quote from Caddy Shack, too.
Quoting from a movie doesn't make it an all-time great or CaddyShack would be the all time best movie... lol
"Eskimo pussy is mighty cold."
I think a movie like Caddy Shack is different because it’s a screwball comedy and humor changes between generations. Contemporary 20 year olds find Caddy Shack agonizing but I guarantee most would respond to Full Metal Jacket as audiences did back in the 80s. The themes explored are still important today and that’s the key to standing the test of time
It should be understood that most Kubrick movies required a solid 15 years to age, like a fine wine. Personally, I’m a huge Kubrick fan and love everything he ever made.
I've still never seen Barry Lyndon. How do you think it rates?
@@archstanton3430 oh man.. please watch it. One of his finest pieces of work. Come back here and let us know if you liked it :)
“A solid 15 years to age, like a fine wine”
Painfully bad take.
@@archstanton3430 omg, you have to see Barry Lyndon. Great story, and some scenes are just like paintings, it's unreal, you won't forget it 🙂
EWS is a big sh*t show, sorry.
Full metal jacket was a thousand times better than platoon.
Without Gunny it would have been mediocre. The first part of the movie is interesting as hell, then once they go to the Viet Nam scenes, I kind of lose interest. I think Platoon is a better film really.
@@richardbuse228 I disagree, the shock factor from the first act carries over to the Vietnam act as most of the characters in that act are basically reflections of the characters from the first act. Animal Mother's basically Private Pyle if his mind only cracked a little and he didn't kill himself as an example.
I personally like both movies equally...but that's just me talking. Not being disrespectful of your opinion, or anything like that... just evoking an opinion....
@@buzzytrombone4353 That, my friend, is an excellent point! Gotta say, though...Gunny Hartman pushed Pvt. Lawrence (Gomer Pyle), way too hard...and paid the price for it, with a bullet straight through his heart!
Nope. Platoon was better. Too much cringy stuff in FMJ.
Ah, Roger Ebert.
The man who thought that The Big Lebowski was an inferior version of Kingpin, just because they both feature bowling.
To be fair to Ebert, he did put the Big Lebowski in his list of great movies. That's pretty high praise from him.
I was about to ask how he could even compare Jeffrey Lebowski to Wilson Fisk, but then I realized I'm a fucking moron.
Yep, he also disliked One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Raising Arizona.
Simon Henrichsen that was hilarious. I almost choked on my cornflakes...
Siskel disliked Big Lebowski. Ebert liked it.
They’re both right. The boot-camp part is absolutely mesmerizing. The part about Vietnam is just pretty good.
Totally. First half of film: 5 stars. Second half: 3 1/2 stars.
@@lanceschaina3084 first half was 5 stars,second half was 3 stars,
It beats the hell outta Platoon. Talk about incredibly over-rated.
I have to respectfully disagree. The second half and the depiction of the Marines is, despite the "action", a more subtle, but equally strong. 5 stars on both sides.
@@Celticjesus that’s a fair opinion
I, personally, didn't care for Platoon. Saw it once. That was enough for me. I can't remember one line from the whole movie. Full Metal Jacket, I can watch again and again.
@chris younts Sheen was alright. I just didn't care for the movie. Modine wouldn't have been my first choice but overall I thought the movie was better.
Exactly, Platoon is a dim memory. FMJ is a classic. I can remember dozens of lines. Every expression and delivery of those lines. This movie is 10 times better than Platoon every thought about being.
I agree with you. But, "Holy shit, did you see the way that fuckin' head came apart?" might ring a bell.
It did feel pandering and ponderous. Films that try too hard to eek out sentiment instead of just letting the viewer get lost in the movie and decide for themselves. Like Kubrick does.
@@motorpsykler If I remember right, that was "Bunny" talking to Taylor, about the way he just killed that Vietnamese dude. That was definitely a kill that never should've happened. That poor guy didn't understand a word of English. Bunny was merciless to that poor guy...no mercy was shown to Bunny's victim at all.
Gunny Hartman is a legend. Some of the best dialogue in film history.
mitch cumstein He actually improvised a lot of his dialogue. Ermey was originally hired to train the actors and keep the film true to life, but Kubrick was so impressed with Ermey's colorful persona that he became part of the film.
RocStarr913 the huey waist gunner originally was to play the D.I. but ended up with one of the most memorable lines in cinema,.
That he made up most of the dialogue only makes his performance better. Without him that movie isn't half as good.
Lester Diamond ii
Ebert was WAY off. "Full Metal Jacket" is a recognized classic, much more so than Platoon.
Platoon was great. I watched it again last night for the first time in years. Tom Berenger was unbelievably good in it. Even Charlie Sheen was great
Well, i am not sure!
While Platoon was Stone's view of the war Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket is really about young men being turned into killing machines which is really what the end of movie is about with the soldiers singing Mickey Mouse Club while Joker has his voice over. Kubrick was interested in something deeper and much darker than Stone when he made his movie. (Side note Path of Glory is Kubrick's anti-war movie).
Shows what a hack oliver stone was.. Kubrick had no military experience and Oliver Stone was actually a Vietnam vet but oliver stone's platoon is flaccid
@@CoIoneIPanic Stone's Platoon was about the war and more to the point about the internal fighting n America military.
@@stephennootens916 What it was about is less important than the fact that it's cheesy
@@CoIoneIPanic I didn't think it was cheesy.
@@stephennootens916 I will allow your opinion to stand however I watched platoon recently and it seems sappy, unnecessarily patriotic and the acting is not sincere. As you can see by other comments, platoon is scorned by vets.
As the years have passed i think this film is considered one of Kubricks best
Yeah, the problem with FMJ was the timing in which it was released. Just a couple years earlier, Platoon was reaping huge acclaim and quickly becoming the next great Vietnam war movie after Apocolypse Now. FMJ was just one movie too much about Vietnam at the time, and the critics just couldn't agree that it was great, because it would appear to be critics just loving any war movie about Vietnam at the time. The '80s had tons of movies about Vietnam, and this was just lumped in with some of them at the time. However, as time passed, it really separated itself from the pack and became a much-loved movie based on what veterans themselves thought was the most accurate depiction of boot camp they'd ever seen in a movie. So it was the actual veterans that changed the minds of most critics about the movie years later.
I rate a movie greatness based upon whether I would watch it again. FMJ is a movie I can watch over again. Platoon is not.
Joseph Madratz exactly!
his last masterpiece.
SIKE01 I liked EYES WIDE SHUT just as well and the conspiracy behind his death
I’m stunned at Ebert’s reaction to this movie. I wasn’t in the Marines, but I was in the Army and I can tell you - we were terrified of our drill instructors. Nowhere near as bad as FMJ, but pure fear nonetheless. Outstanding film.
I love that I can watch any review from these two and never be sure which one I'll agree with.
Ebert steals Siskel’s time like Gene held all of Robert’s donuts
I'm an Army veteran. And my entire company saw this movie in basic training. Obviously these civilians have no clue. This movie is and was an instant classic. And became a cult classic due to R.Lee Ermy's performance.
You guys watched a movie in boot camp? Ain't no way they let us watch a movie in Navy boot camp. I guess boot camp has changed now.
Maybe it was post basic in AIT?? Been alot of years
Yes, but the R. Lee part was only 40% of the movie. The rest was not very interesting.
@@residentgomez I was in Marine boot camp in 1998. We watched a movie in the base theater on thanksgiving, we watched Full Metal Jacket in the squad bay on Christmas.
Army 84-87, Marines 88-92. Didn't get to enjoy movies in either Basic or Boot lol.
I watch platoon once and never had the desire to see it again. Full Metal Jacket is Iconic and entertaining while still making its point. An all-time favorite.
Same I never really enjoyed platoon
I saw Platoon in the theater, thought it was amazing but oddly I have never felt the urge to watch it again (now nearly 35 years later and I still feel that way). FMJ I can watch again and again.
It would appear that film history is on mr siskels side.
Having rewatched both movies recently and having not seen Platoon in 16 years I have to agree that Full Metal Jacket is the better film. It is far more memorable. The first half just never leaves your mind thanks to Eremy and Vincent D'Onofrio. And while the second half suffers in comparison it is still strong. Platoon is excellent and had great acting as well as great war sequences but I agree with Siskel comparing the two is apples and oranges. Both films were made by acclaimed filmmakers and were both about Vietnam but otherwise they really have nothing in common. Platoon was about the Army and a civil war against members of the Platoon whereas Full Metal Jacket was about the transformation of turning Marines into warriors and the result of that. Platoon is great but you dont remember much about it after watching it. FMJ on the other hand is far more memorable.
Platoon has a satisfying resolution. It wraps itself up. It has a prepackaged message. FMJ is unsatisfying and feels incomplete-and that’s its genius. It’s what gives it its staying power. Think back to when you watched it and it ended. Was your first reaction, “Wait, is that it?” Ebert is correct that Kubrick used standard tropes of war movies, but then Kubrick turned them upside down, defying our expectations. I’m surprised Rodger didn’t examine why he didn’t like the movie, why he found it dissatisfying.
i literally remember EVERYTHING about platoon (because i've seen it so many times).
@@plasticweapon Yeah, OP is insane by saying FMJ is "FAR MORE memorable" and that nobody remembers Platoon after watching it lol. That's just bullshit, to be honest.
20+ years later and Platoon feels like it was made for tv, while full metal jacket still dazzles.
Are you drunk? Platoon made for TV? Which parts? the rapings, the murders, the drugs, the racism, the constant swearing? FMJ was an action film, Platoon is the greatest war movie ever.
360SRH 2 Platoon is a soap opera. It's a ballad. It's a tribute. Full Metal Jacket is blood and guts.
"blood and guts"? Riiight, I bet you loved batman vs Superman. Platoon is what's real; fraggings (if you know what that means) rapings, drugs, racism, etc... But oh wait they play some classical music in it. It must be a soap opera! FMJ is a mess of an action flick
no I don't care for superhero/ comic based movies. so just chill.
You know there is more to a great war movie than just "blood and guts" If hollywood-action-horror-gore is all that mattered go watch that chick flick/horror movie "hacksaw ridge" for kicks.
Every kid whose fixing to go to boot camp in the Marines needs to watch this before going 😄
I fully agree with you on that! A recruit needs to be strong not only physically, but mentally, too. Pvt. Lawrence (Gomer Pyle), wasn't strong enough, mentally and emotionally, and cracked like an egg under pressure! Gunny Hartman just didn't know when to stop egging this guy on...and paid the price for his bullying, with a bullet straight through his heart!
@@ronaldshank7589 in real life, pyle would have been a diabetic.
the more I watch these, the more I'm shocked how often Ebert can't see a masterpiece right in front of him.
FMJ is overrated as soon as the movie leaves Boot Camp it's all downhill.
Ebert was out of his mind here, history has proven Siskel right!
Thanks for posting this, Henry! Great stuff (I'm with Siskel on this-- FMJ was amazing)
Ebert did a better job of explaining his disappointment with the film in his written review. He wrote that in its second act, "the movie disintegrates into a series of self-contained set pieces, none of them quite satisfying.” He acknowledged the great performances of Ermey and D’Onofrio, but said that was part of the problem with the film-that it “never recovers after they leave the scene." I’d have to agree. Modine did well, but Ermey and D’Onofrio’s performances were indelible.
I totally agree with that!. Once Ermy dies the film dies.. it just goes flat after the bootcamp scenes. Platoon was much more rewatchable
Gene Siskel was dead on. ...
na lol Ebert had it right.. ebert was the best.. siskel was always so clueless.. i mean he gave 'thumbs down' to predator, casino, the crow, dark city, boogie nights.. etc
knk4ever83 Agreed!
@FRENZEX ebert was always right, kid lol.. and those movies stunk lol and are over rated.. ebert was the best movie critic, period
No film ever captured basic training like Full Metal Jacket.
You mean boot camp?
I wasin bootcamp 1966 and the training was spot on
Dude, I saw this a week before I went to bootcamp. It's so accurate.
@@junkymcjunkster It's odd because it captures the stress and fatigue of boot camp even though most of the things that are in the movie can't (shouldn't) be done anymore.
@@motorcyclepete8498 In some countries, like Canada, Bootcamp is actually called Basic Training
I was almost always online with Siskel, Ebert always had a bit more of a stuck up, over-analyzed look on things. When Cowboy got shot, I was just floored...that guy came up throughout the whole film, going through Basic, then all the guys go their separate ways, then suddenly we're reunited, you see him play soldier, then he's in charge by consequence, and then boom...the sniper clips him through a hole in the wall of all things...he's down, and he tries to tough it out, but his body just gives up and then you see Joker go into revenge-mode...The Marine takes over and the ending, wow, that creepy industrial score, the hunt, the visuals, the drama and the outro narration.... it's just brilliant.
Siskel says it right at 6:20 , the build up until there was enormous and the kill has huge impact.
What was disturbing to me, was the fact that the Sniper that they were up against, was a young lady, of all things! Then, after they find her and shoot her, she's laying there, mortally wounded, begging for them to kill her. That was such a tragic scene in that movie! I couldn't even hit a Woman, let alone kill her. I was raised with better manners than that, and yet...I don't know what I would have done, given the situation at hand. I probably would've gone against "Proper protocol", and at least have had enough mercy to, if she'd allow me, to hold her, and comfort her until she died, even if she could've even pulled out a weapon, and killed me for being an "Enemy"! I just don't have it in me to hurt a Woman-Ever!
@@ronaldshank7589 guess why drill camp's job is to break somebody down and build them back up? To get such stuff out. By doing what you said you might do, you endanger not only yourself, but also the rest of your squad and potentially a mission and civilians.
@@undertakernumberone1 True, that’s the why. Joker would have wasted the sniper right off if his gun hadn’t jammed. Rafter man shot her without hesitation. But when it came down to killing her, a young girl, it was a heavy moment. It’s the culmination when Joker pulls the trigger. Even to put her out of her misery (she was begging them to kill her), that act would stay with anyone for the rest of their lives. And I think it stays with us, the viewers.
The desensitizing one receives allows one to act quickly and ruthlessly. But it doesn’t stop you from being human. It doesn’t stop you from feeling and thinking afterwards.
I usually side with Ebert, but in this case, he is completely wrong. Siskel was on point this time.
My father was drafted and served in the Vietnam War. He said the boot camp scene was dead on what it was like. Full Metal Jacket is a masterpiece.
The boot camp monologue, which comprised the first
half of the movie, is classic.
FMJ is a movie that stands repeated watchings.
PBS should rerun these. I'd be interested in hearing their takes on now classic movies.
Man I forgot how great this show was. I love Ebert but on this Siskel was completely on point. Both really gifted writers and critics the likes of which we won’t see again. Alas
The drill sergeant guy stole this movie. Lines like "Bullshit, I'll bet you could suck the chrome off a tail pipe" stayed with me.
Ethan Davidson except it was "bullshit! I bet you could suck a golf ball through a garden hose!" Lmao
It didbt stay with you very well cause he never said that line.
"Chrome off a trailer hitch", different scene
TexicanMr Different character, too.
5' 4" I didn't know they could stack shit that high
Without the slapping, that was boot camp exactly. Every second of it flashed me back. Great film.
Ebert is out of his mind. This reeks of a vendetta of some sort.
He was being pretentious. Cliché my arse!
I see what Ebert means though. The film does drop off significantly in the 2nd half. I sort of get what he means also about the shots/sniper scenario being done before. Still a great movie. I think Ebert loved The Shining so much that this movie ended up disappointing unrealistic expectations. I'm guessing he was kinder in his review of Eyes Wide Shut
He is being a politically correct liberal.
Don't know about Full Metal Jacket specifically, but I do know, that Roger Ebert would often change his mind about movies, that he just didn't "get" initially years after reviewing them and admit, that he was wrong. I can respect him for that.
Platoon did not age well. FMJ on the other hand became a classic.
Platoon is also fantastic. Barnes and Elias made sure of that. What do you know about war anyway?
Nothing. Maybe you confuse motion pictures with reality? Why exactly did you go ad hominem directly when discussing the qualities of movies? Because I do not like a movie you like? Geez. You like Platoon. I think it didn't age well and is very 1980s. What's your point with my "war experience"? So I can't have an opinion about Star Wars because I never fought for the rebellion?
@@OliverJWeber obviously, you need to re-watch platoon; If someone said "hasta la Vista baby" while discussing Terminator 2 you wouldn´t be a literal-jim about it.
@@chrisv384 Ah! That was meant to be a quote from the movie? Wasn't it something like "What do you know about dying" instead?
I concur FMJ is a classic.The recruit traning part wad very accurate.The war part was taken from the book the Battle of Hue City
This film is a "Master Piece". 33 years later and it's still great. Ebert, when your wrong you're WRONG!!!!
99 times out of a hundred.
Meh. I thought the second half was boring, unmemorable and looked kind of fake. Other than the great scenes with R. Lee and Donofrio I thought the movie paled in comparison to Platoon and Saving Private Ryan.
I always agreed with Siskel's reviews and only sometimes agreed with Ebert. Siskel was dead on here.
Greatest war movie made. The Gunny was an amazing American.
Still my favorite as well
R Lee Ermey wasn't acting. As a former SDI he was just doing his old job on camera and he did it spot on! He so dominated that role that you don't notice that the other DIs are rarely seen and never say a word.
Greatest war movie ever made? Not quite..not even top 10. It has its place, tho.
There are many great war movies. Unfortunately there are far more bad ones. Full Metal Jacket is a great one among many.
Apocalypse Now. Nuff said.
Sorry Roger, I WENT thru basic training at Parris Island in 1972 and the first half of this movie is the closest you're ever going to get to the real thing without going back in time and enlisting and experiencing it for yourself and every Marine I've talked to has said the same thing. It was so real because Lee Ermy WAS a real Vietnam vet and USMC drill instructor. IT WAS THE REAL THING!! I know, I was there!!
Full Metal Jacket.....Filmed entirely in England, including the Vietnam scenes....Mind Blown!
That can’t be true
@@TheWinstonSlip Kubrick hated flying so all his films are shot in uk. The tv show Episodes with Matt Leblanc was also all filmed in uk.
In eyes wide shut there are shots of New York but they are all done by second unit director.
Is that mindblowing? My thoughts about the battle scenes were always, "If that's Vietnam, I'm an airplane."
@@pronkb000 The scene with the prostitute when the kung fu guy steals Joker's camera, looks a lot like Vietnam, to be fair.
Well. I think the verdict is in. This movie is a freaking classic now.
I saw FMJ and Platoon when they were new. Years later I can vividly remember many scenes from FMJ, but very little of Platoon. I liked Platoon at the time, but honest to God, it doesn't have the sticking power of FMJ.
I agreed with Siskel much more often than Ebert. I think Ebert was teased a lot in elementary school
The first half of the movie is a masterpiece.
Ebert got picked on his whole life...but not nearly enough.
Damn you sound like H. L. Mencken or Dorothy Parker.
As a Marine I loved this movie. I never liked Platoon.
They were Army.
platoon was too hollywoodish. . .
Ebert was judging the story, Siskel is judging the context. I loved how passionate they got in this discussion, and that's you know it's good. If it gets a war of words between Siskel and Ebert, it's worth noting.
classic just like any kubrick pictures, also a timeless gem
Man, that line when the Lieutenant was trying to have his people come up with news that was fit to print, only to be disrespected by Pfc. Joker. That Lieutenant set him straight, right then and there! Then, he really got steamed at Joker! Lieutenant:"Joker! You're still here?!? Leave, most Ricky-Tick, and take Rafterman with you! You're responsible for him"!!! Good call for the Lieutenant right there. He took care of the problem (Joker), once and for all!!!
@@ronaldshank7589 is this john wayne, is this me?
@@khav11 Sounds like Ol' Joker is struggling with reality here. GySgt. Hartman set him straight quick, fast, & in a hurry! Gunny Hartman didn't have time to put up with a bunch of nonsense.
I actually understand Ebert's reaction. Initially, you can feel disappointed, but It's one of those movies that gets better, the more times you see it. Spielberg had similar feelings to Ebert's, but it ended up as one of his favorite pictures.
The boot camp sequence is better than platoon. And platoon is kick-ass.
Always loved watching these two argue. I was watching way back in the 70s.
I'm with Siskel on this one, Ebert missed the boat here. Over time FMJ has outlasted Platoon. Platoon is preachy and perhaps and doesn't stay with you in the way that Full Metal Jacket does or Apocalypse Now. Platoon is more a movie of its time but doesn't stand the test of time.
Right, Apocalypse Now , the director's cut long version really ties that movie all together .The version I saw in the theater did not connect the dots . The directors cut puts it up at the FMJ level.
I think before watching this movie Roger Ebert drank some Jack Daniels
My Dad took me to see FMJ when it came out about a month before I joined the Army. He leaned over to me after the Drill Sgt punched Joker and said "Theyre not supposed to do that but they do. This is how it is." The 18yo me was like "oh -hit! What have I gotten myself into" Good times.
Yeah they haven't beat on recruits since Vietnam. Isolated incidents surely happen but if found out the DIs face stiff consequences. Army 84-87 and Marines 88-92. Semper Fi.
@@russellmcgurn4217 Jeez! Were you a glutton for punishment or was the Army too cushy? :) Thank God you Marines are on our side! :)
@@blondknight99 I went in at 17. Did Basic at Ft Sill in 84 and it wasn't too cushy back then. It was actually comparable to Boot Camp, just about 5 weeks shorter. It definitely primed me for the Marines and I loved my time in both branches. And yes, I guess I'm a glutton for punishment. Semper Fi.
Ebert you tripping.
What can I say......never take the word of a reviewer. This movie clearly proved to be iconic and was years ahead of its time.
Ebert so conceitedly dissing Full Metal Jacket came off sounding like a total head case. But then, this is the same guy who reviewed Scarface without ever once mentioning the pivotal, wonderfully played role of Paul Shenar as Alejandro Sosa.
he WAS a total headcase.
"Not until ya eat the peanuts, outta my sheeeiit!"
Animal Mother:"Ya talk the talk...do ya walk the walk"?!? Animal Mother was hilarious!
Well, I went to see this with my firiend at a local cinema in 1987, just afer our military service… the opening and the rest of it was just too awesome..
What the hell does Butterball know. They wouldn't even let him in the Brownies, let alone the Marines. This movie was too realistic.
At the time it was released, I would have agreed with Ebert. Now though, I have done a complete turnaround. Siskel was ultimately right. Me and Ebert...we wuz wrong!!!
Doby Pilgrim During the time these films were released, I liked them both, but preferred Platoon. But for a long time now, I have viewed FMJ as the better movie. A classic, actually. I don't view Platoon as being a classic.
The only time I saw either Platoon or Full Metal Jacket was at the theater as a 10-11 year old. The only scenes from either I can remember today belong to Full Metal Jacket.
Why do people correlate "memorable" and "quotable" with being a superior film?
@@rae-everything Because the remarkable moments of your life are also the memorable ones? Because nobody remembers every time they ate at McDonald's? Because the only thing anyone can remember about Magnum P.I. is the guy had a hairy chest and a mustache and drove a Ferrari but try and remember one scene from that show or any other garbage, fluff TV show or movie and you'll find there was nothing in it worthy of space in your memory banks? Because why is this even a question. lol
@@samd1405 More can be memorable about a film than just snappy dialogue. And, sometimes what we remember is more about how much we're paying attention. And, just because something becomes a meme doesn't make it clever. There's a reason "greatest" movies lists and "most memorable" movies lists might look different enough. A movie is so much more than just punchy lines. That's why it's a question, I suppose.
Also, as an aside. Doesn't Platoon have a few famous quotes and scenes? I can think of a few, and I've never seen the movie. And, I was alive when it released.
This is what made these two great. Two great minds with different takes on reputable film.
The performances in this film were just amazing! Vincent D'Onofrino is outstanding.
For years I saw Vincent on Law And Order without realizing he was that guy. Incredible actor.
Ebert is completely off base here. Full Metal Jacket towers miles above Platoon. Platoon is one of Oliver Stone's most unmemorable, uninspired films. Full Metal Jacket is one of the most memorable war movies ever made, topped only by the masterpiece, Apocalypse Now.
You don't know much about the history of the VietNam war do you?
Deer Hunter is way better.
B schuler
1) Apocalypse Now
2) The Deer Hunter
3) Platoon
thin red line
I think Full Metal Jacket is actually way better than Apocalypse Now as well. But yeah, Ebert is out to lunch on this one.
Full Metal Jacket was an emotional, conscientious ride. It stays with you long afterward. Kubrick knew how to craft essential timeless iconic scenes and moments.
One of the most quotable films of all time.
Ebert actually complained about this movie being “routine”!?
Alex It is compared to many movies Stanley Kubrick made before. Still very good though. Kubrick still was in a class all by himself.
@@RocStarr913 Didn't the routine refer to the number of Vietnam war movies that had been done to death in the 70s and 80s... FMJ was late to the party?
@@RocStarr913 æ
Every Marine I've spoken with says the boot camp segment is the most real depiction they're seen on film. It's a classic for that reason alone.
I think time has shown that Gene was right.
One of my all time favorite movies
Roger Ebert doesn’t deserve any of the reputation he received, the reputation of being the greatest reviewer
Siskel on the other hand, clearly has a open mind and actually loves movies
Ebert deserves his reputation simply on the basis of his reviews of Armageddon and National Treasure.
I understand your
sentiment, but I
think that Ebert
proved his love
his movies over
and over again.
I will forever give
Ebert credit for
RAVING about
"Boogie Nights,"
naming it as one
of his 10 best films of
the year, while Siskel
could only compliment
the (great) casting.
Ebert was right on the
mark with "Boogie
Nights"--I agree!!!
This movies boot camp scenes are extremely realistic, minus the fact that there are 3 to 4 drill instructors. Much better than platoon