FILMMAKER MOVIE REACTION!! Full Metal Jacket (1987) FIRST TIME REACTION!! 

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!

The actor who played the drill sergeant was R. Lee Ermey and he served 11 years in the Marine Corps! Kubrick was also so impressed with his improv that he let him ad-lib all his scenes, which was unheard of as Stanley's a pretty serious director that doesn't really like when people mess around with his scripts.

The actor playing thr drill instructor, actually was a former drill instructor

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.”

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 😂

“This guy looks like Brandon likes movies” this guy 😂😂

"When did this become a horror story?" It was always a horror story.

R. Lee Ermey wasn't just acting, he was an actual Drill Sargent. Watch Mail Call...Rest In Peace R. Lee

Everyone gangsta until gunny sgt Hartman says 'WHO SAID THAT?'.

"Why does this guy look like Wilson Fisk?" Because the actor who played Wilson Fisk also played Pyle in this film.

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.

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.

Perfect timing for what would've been Kubrick's birthday a few days back!

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.

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.

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.

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.

lol, if "Brandon likes Movie" he couldn't make a whole channel only for that movie!

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!

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.

"Strangelove" is my favorite Kubrick's film.

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

This film is a masterpiece that will never get old

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

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.

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.

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.

That's Adam Baldwin who plays Jayne Cobb on Firefly that you are likening to Brandon Loves Movies.

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.

"I guess its only uphill from here" Me: "yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah"

This entire film, including the Vietnam parts, were filmed in the UK

The deer hunter is very similar. It's a psychological war film.

Drill Seargent plays the same character as a ghost in "The Frighteners"

Every Stanley Kubrick movie is beautifully shot. I appreciate every scene. Such a perfectionist.

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.

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

It was all improv, he shot the same scenes several times using different lines and they put together the best ones

As with most Kubrick films, the framing is part of the story.

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.

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.

The Drill Sargent was actually in Apocalypse Now as a Chopper pilot

My dad is a US Marine (once a Marine always a Marine - never call them ex-Marines) and Vietnam vet (Canadian who volunteered). Drill Sergeants did indeed physically (slaps, smashing heads into chalkboards, etc) and verbally dress down recruits. Different times.

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.

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.

This film is amazing, i remember first time seeing it- i was blown away! it really succeeds at showing the horrors of War.

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.

Most accurate description of PI having been there I have ever seen. Fun fact...if you ever get a letter at mail call with your first name on it instead of "Recruit" and your last name you get a trip to the quarterdeck. My uncle had been in during Nam. He would write me a letter every few weeks with my first name on it just because he knew what would happen. When I graduated I was like you are an evil genius.

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.

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.

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

For anyone not old enough to get the Private Pyle reference, Gomer Pyle was a character played by Jim Nabors on the Andy Griffith Show whose character - a good-natured klutz - joined the Marines, which spawned a spin-off series "Gomer Pyle USMC". The show was wildly popular in its time. When Nabors passed away just a few years ago, the Marine Corps issued a public statement: *Semper Fi, Gomer Pyle. Rest in peace Jim Nabors, one of the few to ever be named an Honorary Marine.*

“When did this become a horror film?!” …. Pretty much right there at that exact moment.

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!

I highly recommend The Deer Hunter and Gran Torino. Great films

What makes this movies set design even better is knowing that, because of Kubricks refusal to travel, the entire film was shot in England , the 2nd half in Londons docklands area which was being redeveloped at the time.

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.

Did anyone mention that R. Lee Ermey was really a Drill Instructor, yet?

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

R Lee Ermey was in earlier Vietnam movies “The Boys in Company C” as a Jr Drill instructor and a Helo pilot in “Apocalypse Now” while working as a tech advisor. He was hired to be Tech Ad in “Full Metal Jacket”, but after making a tape of what the Sr. Drill Instructor lines should be, was given the part. Then made a living as military/police roles in movies/TV/videos games. The USMC gave him a honorary promotion to Gunnery Sergeant because he played one so often.

R. Lee Ermey was indeed a real life Marine drill instructor. And Stanley Kubrick let him improvise a lot of his lines. Fun fact: when he says the line about giving a guy a reach-around, Kubrick yelled cut and said to Ermey "What the f**k is a reach-around?" Ermey has had small roles in a ton of films. You might recognize him from "Seven" as the Police Captain, "Toy Story" as the voice of Sarge, "Apocalypse Now" as a helicopter pilot (a VERY brief appearance), and many others.

“We were soldiers” is a great film that’s based on actual events

"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.

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!!

This is the best war/military movie yet made. Kubrick was a genius filmmaker.

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.

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!

I just got out the Navy after only 1 enlistment. At Recruit Training Command, when I got my hair buzzed off, and looked in the mirror, I totally could not recognize myself. Felt like a new person

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.

R. Lee Ermey was the green toy soldier in Toy Story!

One of the crazy thing about this movie is that it was entirely filmed in England

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.

As you all know, Kubrick also made 2001, and the monolith from that film makes an appearance in this movie. You can see it burning in the background as Cowboy lays dying.

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.

Ever since Firefly, I'm glad to see its alumni like Adam Baldwin in anything else.

Several years ago I used to be an EMT-I working for MedStar, the ambulance company in Fort Worth Texas. One of my partners did an absolutely spot on impression of "Private Pyle". He was built just like the character, tall, heavy set, had his head shaved. He would do the part where he would have his chin lowered and his lips would be curling back, and he would do the line "I AM IN A WORLD OF SHIT!" Holy shit it was freaking frightening and brilliant to watch. Good times. : )

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.

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 have to be a broken record & say "the deer hunter" is a great psychological war film

The bootcamp scene is the most realistic reproduction of my bootcamp experience that I have ever seen.

He was an actual DI in the 1960's. That is why it comes so easy for him to perform on the set.

Yessss!!! I’ve been waiting on this for a minute 😎

The Gomer Pile actor is the great Vincent D'Onofrio

I know many people have said that Gunny was a Marine and severs as a drill instructor during the Vietnam war but for the movie he was originally only a technical advisor for the Marine corps aspect. He had tried to get a roll and when the individual who was supposed to be the drill instructor didn’t show up to do some lines he filled in. Stanley Kubrick fell in love and it was history. He’s a marine, most of his lines were of script because it was genuine.

Possibly mentioned, the entire movie was filmed in England. The battle of Hue City was filmed at the London gas works, many of the buildings were already partially demolished.

the door gunner killing innocents was originally going to play the drill Sargent but it was changed last minute

Shot on location . . . . . in London Dock yards :)

Lee Ermey was an actual drill instructor when he was young this is why he makes it look so real.

Others mentioned Ermy being a real drill sergeant, but the entire story is crazy when you look at it. - He hadnt acted in anything before - Kubrick had already hired someone for the role - Kubrick is not only known for not letting people improvise, but he's known for making them do over a hundred takes at times. Almost all of Ermy's dialog was improvised, and he never repeated himself. - They changed the first half of the movie significantly due to hiring Ermy and letting him riff. It is insane that someone like Kubrick would not only hire someone with no acting experience and let him improv, but that he would throw so much work away and change half of his movie around it. As far as I know, the drill sergeant wasnt meant to play nearly as big a role. They even modified the shots to focus more on him. Im sure hiring Ermy was a change that required hundreds of hours of work from Kubrick.

If you haven't seen it already I highly, highly recommend "Good Morning Vietnam". One of Robin Williams best roles...

I don’t know if anyone has said it yet but next should be a clockwork orange.

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.

Kubrick started as a sort of NY photographer Wunderkind. That experience colored all his cinematography. He had a viewfinder that would allow him to look thru the exact lens he was going to use to use. Where did he get such a device? He had it made for him. He was the only director with such a viewfinder. He would walk around his set looking thru that thing until he would finally stop and say, "Put the Camera here, at this height". He totally controlled his compositions.

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.

"How can you shoot women and children?" "Easy! You just don't lead them so much." oof

The fact that he was a real marine drill sergeant definitely deserves respect for both his service and incredible acting 🫡. Even though I've never been in the military I'd definitely follow him to battle. First I would have to survive his recruitment training. Joke: And work on my warface. R. Lee Ermey ghost: Well what do we got here private joker number 2.

The whole thing was shot in an around London, England. All of it. That is the most amazing thing for me. An incredible accomplishment.