Full Metal Jacket, the BEST Stanley Kubrick film?! (also that drill instructor was wild) 

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American Veteran here. R Lee Ermey's portrayal as Gunnery Sgt Hartman is the most accurate portrayal of an American Drill Sergeant in movie history. Hands down. Not judging it one way or another, just saying, it was ACCURATE.

"I would just quit." That's the thing. You can't.

Full metal jacket refers to a type of ammunition used by the military. The bullet is encased completely in a metal jacket.

While you may not expect it, Mel Gibson's"We Were Soldiers" does show both sides of this war. It's visually brutal.

R Lee Ermey wasn’t just acting he was an actual Drill Sargent and he served 11 years in the Marine Corps. RIP R Lee Ermey

Mary: Pyle is gonna die Viewers: You have no idea

My drill Sargeant father explained this to me perfectly in the early 80s there was serious reforms made across all military branches so you cannot be this extreme but in the Vietnam war and especially marines on their training island YES it was like that.

Marine Here, R Lee Ermey is one the best Drill Instructors put to Screen, He was Real Marine Corps Drill Instructor During Vietnam and to this day is the only Actor that Kubrick gave carte blance to for his lines! I was lucky enough to run into him at the PX at Quantico Air Station, Nicest guy ever. RIP - Ronald Lee Ermey (1944 - 2018)

As an ex-servicemen, Every time you called Gunnery Sergeant Hartman (the drill instructor) a Captain, I felt a twitch in my eye 😄

This was definitely an anti-war film by Kubrick. I graduated from Parris Island in 1986 and drill instructors never run out of material. This entire movie was actually filmed in England. PT Is physical training.

One of the greatest experiences of my life, was getting to meet Gunnery Sergeant Ronald Lee Ermey, USMC (Ret). He played Gunnery Sergeant Hartman, in the movie. He was an absolutely incredibly cool, laid-back guy, and even thanked me for the 4 little, piddlin' years I was in the Navy. I have a great photo of myself with him. He did so much great work for veterans and for the Marine Corps. He actually said that he played the role, to show how Drill Instructors should NOT behave. RIP, Gunny.

the actor who plays the guy you said "you hated" Adam Baldwin is really an amazingly cool guy. I met him at a comicon in Phoenix. He was in the room where they were signing autographs, and I didn't have any extra money to pay for an autograph, but I waited in line anyway to shake hands and express my thanks for their work. At the time, I had my son with me who was in his wheel chair and his name was Adam as well. I told him that I didn't have any money for photograph by I wanted to shake his hand and tell him what a fan I was, and he asked if he could give my son a picture and he hugged him. Adam loved the attention so much.

I served with the USMC from 1972 until 1980, and the boot camp scenes from this movie are very accurately portrayed the way it actually was, with a few minor exceptions. Recruits were not allowed to be physically abused, although that did happen on rare occasions. Recruits also understood that boot camp was as much about preparing you mentally as well as physically. It only takes a few hours before you realize that the Drill Instructor is playing mind games to intentionally stress you out. The hardest part, I found, was keeping a straight face. The Drill Instructor insults can be extremely clever and hilarious, as R. Lee Ermey demonstrated. The "Blanket Party" depicted in the movie was also something that really happened. Recruits that were always screwing up and getting the rest of their platoon punished may experience a blanket party. Two recruits will throw a blanket over their intended victim and hold them down so they can't move, while the other recruits would insert a bar of soap into a sock, and then hit the confined recruit in order to send the screw-up recruit a message. It takes more than just a few screw-ups before a blanket party is warranted, because everyone screws up.

At drill, instructor is a gunnery sergeant, not a captain

The UK weren't involved in Vietnam. The only foreign boots on the ground were mainly from the US, Australia, New Zealand and Korea.

R Lee Ermey was in multiple interviews for this movies promotion. He stated that during the Vietnam War he'd read the military news and scan the part for fallen soilders. He said he remembers ever marine he trained and saw hundreds of their names throughout the war. After the war he retired due to the toll of losing so many marines. R.I.P. Lee! A true gentle soul inside a hard shell

Also, those songs that they sing when they are running are called cadences which are meant to give them a rhythm to run to

"All they do is run and sing!" The reason for this is if you notice the cadence of the song always goes with the pace they are running/walking. It's to make sure everyone is stepping with their left and right foot at the same time and pace as everyone else in the formation.

This film is about Jungian depth psychology. Starting in paradise, Paris Island, South Carolina and ending in Hell; literally the flames of war in Vietnam. Kubrick stated as much in a book interview and they outright said it in the middle of the film when Joker said, “It’s about the duality of man sir. The Jungian thing.” Private Pile is reincarnated in the second act as animal. If you study Carl Jung, the Swiss paychiatrist, who Kubrick was immersed in, you’ll understand what he said with this film.

This is the Boot Camp my dad went through when he joined the Marines at this time. Marines are very, very tough. He was in Vietnam as well. 20 yr veteran before he retired. I was looking to join the service when I was growing up, so my dad showed me this to show me what I was gonna get myself into. I to am a 20 yrs retired veteran now. So you can see my dad didn't talk me out of it.

"I don't know anyone in this film" Actually, you do know a few: Joker = Matthew Modine (Dr. Brenner from "Stranger Things") Sgt Hartman = R Lee Ermey (the voice of the lead toy soldier from "Toy Story") Pvt. Pyle = Vincent D'Nofrio (Kingpin from "Daredevil") Stars and Stripes officer = John Terry (Christian Shepherd from "Lost") Animal Mother = Adam Baldwin (Jayne from "Firefly")

Also, Rambo was in the army. He wasn’t in the Marine Corps.

The Ken Burns documentary series on the Vietnam War is all you need. It's long, but very good.

Army vet here. The part at 13:17 is so accurate. When I was in I’ve seen our squad bays wreck for a wall locker being unlocked or for a rack not made correctly. Drill Sergeants and Drill Instructors will find ways to motivate trainees/recruits.

Mary, you might find this interesting - The guy who played "Animal Mother" played Jayne Cobb in Firefly.

Nobody is ever prepared for that scene

"if I didn't laugh, I would probably cry for them." That is actually a very crucial part of how men will cope with terrible situations like these. Things are so bad, that what else is there to do? You make fun of it. You make fun of everything. Dark and disturbing, horrible things, you make fun of it, because the alternative would be to succumb to weaknesses that could cost you your life and the lives of everyone around you.

censoring a loaded gun for youtube is wild, this generation is so uber soft.

Note: Australia made a TV miniseries about Australia's involvement in Vietnam, starring a young Nicole Kidman!

R. Lee Ermey has stated that if he ever saw another drill instructor acting like this he wouldve corrected the situation. And any good drill instructor wouldve noticed Pile's mental health.

8:43 if you were drafted quiting mean you go to prison for like 10 years

Wait a minute, you don't think South Vietnam asked for help vs the communist North Vietnam? Also please understand that in Vietnam that "civilians, women and children" were weaponized against the American soldiers.

Hi Mary, it's great you've seen this war classic. The guy that played the Drill Instructor was an actual DI during the Vietnam War and he was originally on set as a technical advisor, but ended up getting the role. The 'Vietnam' scenes were filmed in east London!

The Vietnam movie holy trinity is full metal jacket, apocalypse now and platoon. All capture the utter despair and futility.

I went through Parris Island in 88. The basic training sequence is incredibly accurate, however, even when I went through there was no open physical abuse of recruits. A Drill Instructor may take you into the Head(bathroom)and get rough with you physically (it happened to me), but the days of open and harsh physical abuse ended after the Vietnam War. For punishment they are going to make you do various calisthenics beyond the point of exhaustion. The other recruits taking out their frustrations on a specific recruit for a multitude of reasons (called a "Blanket Party") did occur when I went through and I'm sure it happens today as well.

Saw this in the theaters when it came out. My dad, a Navy Vietnam veteran wanted me to see it since I'd been set on being a Marine since I was a kid. He leaned over to me partway through the movie, "You still want to be a Marine?" Damn right I still wanted to be a Marine. And there's not a day that goes by that I don't miss my Corps. That sais, the hilarity of watching people today apply modern standards, morals, and sentiments to previous eras provides no end of entertainment.

Good Morning Vietnam would be a great movie for this theme!

Australians served in the Vietnam War alongside the Americans.

My uncle was a green beret and said the humor in this is exactly how they would joke around when they were out there

Im from Tennessee the first man that died in the Vietnam war is from my home town his name is tom Davis, drafted at 17 was killed within minutes of arriving in vietnam

The idea is if you’re gonna break and snap, then they would rather you do it in that situation then before you got to a combat situation where you rescue life and potentially the life of somebody else

R. Lee Ermey was just supposed to be an on set consultant for the actors since he was a Drill Instructor. The guy in the helicopter shooting civilians was supposed to be the drill instructor, but once Kubreck saw R. Lee Ermey running lines with the actors he switched to him burning the other guy.. You have to watch Kubreck's last film Eyes Wide Shut with Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. Strange and buried with symbolism. Kubreck was known for doing take after take after take on every scene, sometimes 70-90 takes to get what he wanted... Cruise and Nicole were married at the time and married in the movie... interesting dynamic

Recommendations: "Apocalypse Now" (1979, d. Francis Ford Coppola) "Platoon" (1986, d. Oliver Stone) "Casualties of War" (1989, d. Brian De Palma) And for more Kubrick: "Dr. Strangelove" (1964) "The Shining" (1980)

When Pyle is on the toilet he is loading his rifle, as you said at first. "Full Metal Jacket" references the actual ammunition, military ammunition has a metal jacket that's covering a lead center. Without that jacket, the round would "mushroom" on impact, and expanding ammunition is illegal in war, so the jacket makes the round "zip" through easier.

The thing about drill instructors is they're not supposed to be nice and friendly they're supposed to break you down so they can build you back up tougher as a Marine. And back then a lot of those guys didn't have a choice they were drafted into service and a lot of guys like joker joined that's how he became a journalist.

the entire movie was filmed in the UK. Parris Island boot camp was a British Army base in Cambridgeshire; Vietnam city and battle was a former post industrial gasworks in east London; 'paddy fields' are the Norfolk Broads and the interiors were shot in London studios.

I watched this movie for the first time just before I went to Marine bootcamp and thought "no way." I watched it again after bootcamp and thought, "Yeah, that's pretty much it."

Its likely that pyle was conscripted specifically *because* he wasn't very bright. He'd be one of the thousands of 'mcnamaras morons' that were basically a test to see how useful people like him could be in combat, to get rid of them and to essentially be expendable cannon fodder. Started as a directive straight from the US secretary of defense at the time and isn't something they like talking about these days for obvious reasons. That said, a competent DI would have recognized that pyle was starting to crack and would have gotten rid of him specifically to prevent an incident like that happening You might want to look into the movie dr strangelove as well

My grandfather was a drill instructor just like R. Lee in the beginning of the movie. He was a rough, tough SOB.

We were soldiers is probably the most accurate one ever

Good Film. the urban scenes were actually filmed in London. R Lee Ermey's was also technical advisor on "An Officer and a Gentleman" and helped Louis Gossett Jr with his portrayal of Sgt Foley. which won Louis Gossett Jr. an oscar

Did you notice that slow talking Animal Mother is played by the actor who plays Jayne in Firefly and Serenity? I like it how he is nicknamed Animal Mother, because he cares for his litter, just like any animal mother would.

"He's so mean!"😂😂 I love the drill instructor, best line's in the movie.....Wish he'd done more...

America's involvement in Vietnam was an attempt to stop the spread of communism, which had led to a lot of chaos and violence in Russia, China, and Korea, already. America, being capitalist, was fearful of what might happen to our global economic and military influence should communism take a strong hold of the Asiatic region. The war was handled terribly. American boys were told they were going to be heroes, but they arrived in a land where, unlike WW2, you couldn't easily tell the good buys from the bad guys. This, coupled with the stresses of extreme guerilla warfare, led many American troops to take the violent approach to erring on the side of caution, and this only created more enemies among people who otherwise would have tolerated or even welcomed the Americans. Fast forward a few years, and you've got new soldiers coming into a country they were told they were saving, but the locals hate them because of what earlier Americans have done. The problem grew worse and worse. On top of this, it's the first war to be covered by reporters and journalists in the field. The American public could see the gruesomeness of war, and the blamed anyone in a uniform, no matter that individual's conduct in the war. Returning vets were spat on at the airport, called baby-killers and rapists. Also, for years, the US government lied to the public about the number of troops killed or missing in action, so morale wouldn't suffer. Journalists Woodward and Bernstein of the Washington Post discovered this and went public. This was the most poorly-managed war in American history. The waves of its consequences are still felt in parts of American society.

"That's because they have the numbers." The US was outnumbered by the VC. They were in Vietnam, after all.

Mary: Clint Eastwood did a two-movie series about the battle for the island of Iwo Jima in WW2. "Flags of Our Fathers" was done in English, and done from the American perspective. "Letters from Iwo Jima" was done in Japanese, and done from the Japanese perspective on that battle.

I'm a by-product of Vietnam. I'm mostly (24%) Vietnamese, the rest of me is baltic states, irish, german mix. My grandfather was a Staff Sergeant in the Vietnam War and knocked up a local; mid war, then again at the end of the war. My mother and uncle. My Vietnamese grandmother is dead now. My grandfather came out of the war mostly level headed. He loves seeing heads explode in movies and tv shows though. Greatest thing ever to him.

For the record, I was in the Army. And it is physically impossible to get live rounds off the shooting range. The drill sergeants are very strict over checking that

Hamburger Hill, Platoon, Born on the Fourth of July, the China Beach pilot. The best Vietnam movies are the ones made by people who were actually there.

The songs are called cadences, designed to help them keep in step while double timing it (running).

Oh boy...welcome to the Kubrick insanity version of Vietnam...it definitely makes an impression, doesn't it? I have never seen it specifically stated by Kubrick anywhere, but Private Pyle is a clear representation of a real program that the Defense Department ran in the 1960s. It was called "Project 100,000" and it was a test to see whether the mental and physical parameters for serving in the US military could be widened to make the pool of potential service people larger. Between escalation in Vietnam and all the other military commitments of the Cold War in those days, the military was concerned about a shortage of people to serve. So they started testing whether recruits who were normally just a bit below the normal standard for IQ, or emotional stability, or physical fitness could be turned into effective military personnel. The same program probably would have led to Forrest Gump being recruited and serving in Vietnam. The program had various nicknames including "McNamara's Misfits" and "McNamara's Morons" in honor of Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara.

A solid pick, even if my personal picks are more towards Kubrick’s earlier works to later ones. DR STRANGELOVE (1964) and PATHS OF GLORY (1957) are my personal favorites. Also, I heavily recommend 2 Vietnam War films directed by Oliver Stone (a veteran himself): BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY (featuring a career best performance by Tom Cruise) and PLATOON (which won Best Picture).

"Gomer Pyle" was a character in a popular TV sitcom of the day. He was a country bumpkin who joined the Marines and occasionally drove his sergeant crazy with his naiveté

The Vietnam War was also referred to as the first televised War.

The UK wasn't involved in the Vietnam war, we refused to send troops.

I was in the Marines and R. Lee Ermy was spot on in his role. You don't have one of his character during boot camp, you have 3 or 4 of them and they are all as intense as Lee was. That was back in the 80's. I'm not sure about today.

When I went though Basic Combat Training (Boot Camp) in the US Army my training platoon had two nail chewing Vietnam combat vets as drill sergeants. They acted much the same way as the Marine drill instructor in this movie, although they were not allowed to strike us, but we quickly came to understand they weren't sadists they were in fact just doing their job. I didn't really care what they called us or how hard they worked us, I was there in part for the challenge, but I will note the lack of sleep was often tough to deal with. The drill sergeants had a short time to turn a bunch of soft American kids into soldiers, albeit still very green, and you don't do that with hand holding. They were in fact excellent NCO's and trainers.

I cant believe they had us watch this on the bus ride to USMC boot camp 😂😂

I don't get the blurring of the guns. Guns are shown on youtube all the time.

R.I.P. R. Lee Ermey

There are at least a couple of Private Pile’s in every boot camp

I visited Vietnam a few years back - lovely country and people. Met a Vienamese veteran who had fought alongside US forces - he shared some incites that callenged the usual narratives. Note, it's called the "Amercan War" in Vietnam

Mary, I joined the Marines in '75. There are many mechanisms in place with drill instructors that a mental deficiency would have been spotted in the first 10 days at the most. There were a couple of fellas in boot camp being discharged for certain problems. Pvt. Leonard Lawrence (Pyle) would not have made it to an obstacle course.

PT is "physical training".

Many excellent films are set in this war, including The Deer Hunter (1978), Apocalypse Now (1979), Platoon (1986), Hamburger Hill (1987), Casualties of War (1989), Born on the Fourth of July (1989), Bullet in the Head (1990), Heaven & Earth (1993), We Were Soldiers (2002), and Rescue Dawn (2006). All of these films are quite intense, and some quite graphic in their depiction of the cruelty and horror of the war, so they may not be to your liking or your taste. But they all treat the subject with the dignity it deserves.

21:47 ..."This war sequences, I wonder if they were actually shot in Vietnam"... No, they weren't. The entirety of the movie was shot in England, because Kubrick had the habit of never go longer than 10 miles away from his house... Guy's a fucking legend, indeed.

This is a rough film to watch, but this is the point. War is H377.

Hamburger Hill is my vote for a well made war film.

The punishment Pyle got was called a "blanket party". Quite painful but does not leave marks. (Which is why there are no hits to the face.) Also, as a rule, Marines are not conscripted.

Another American Veteran here ..... A "nice talking" drill/training instructor was someone to fear! In fact, back in 1977, when I went through Air Force Basic Training, we had this "Vietnam Era" training Instructor (TI) who loved to mess with your mind, by talking real nice, real low, real slow, and only 4" from your face (He would often poke you in the eye or nose with the brim of his campaign hat). He unnerved everyone in the squadron. One trainee even begged for the TI to just go ahead and punch him, instead of talking to him.

Private Pyle was played by the talented Vincent D’Onofrio. Amazing character actor. I would recommend watching him in The Whole Wide World (1996) with Renée Zellweger. He also plays the Marvel villain, Kingpin. The Vietnam War was a civil war, or a war of reunification, depending on how you look at it. The communist North versus a corrupt democratic South. America was slowly drawn into the conflict. It was first military advisors then it turned into a full commitment of combat troops and everything that came with that.

The reason they look unhappy is cause they were drafted, unlike the current US military, back during the Vietnam war you could be drafted which means your number gets called and you're forced to go, like jury duty where you can die.

While I was a US Soldier, not a Marine, basic training was similar but less intense than how it is portrayed in this movie. But, then again I was a soldier decades after the Vietnam War. In barracks people sleep head to foot to help prevent the spread of respiratory diseases. The singing while running or marching is to help people keep in step and help them breathe. In the USA 70% of people in the military age range are unfit for military service.

Ronald Lee Ermey plays the drill Sergeant in this movie. He was actually in the USMC as a Staff Sergeant and a honorary Gunnery Sargent. He portrayed the drill Sergeant just like the drill Sergeants in the Marine Corps perfectly. They really are that extreme….. Hooorrrraaahhhhh

I grew up with many children of South Vietnamese refugees in Northern California. They still hung the South Vietnamese flag in their homes and acted as though they were a nation in exile.

This has often been referred to the best half a film about the military. Referring specifically to the boot camp scenes. That is complete a credit to Ermey

5:47 Oh, yes, I had completely forgotten that we now have this new generation, who sees micro-aggressions everywhere in every conversation.

The US Marine Corps never accepted draftees. All of these recruits would have been volunteers.

The island they keep talking about is Parris Island off the coast of South Carolina. Such a beautiful place, I have had the pleasure of visiting a few times over the years.

'BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY'. Since you are watching Vietnam's war films and you have already reacted to some Tom Cruise films i recommend you to watch this masterpiece.

The thought of Stanley kubrick sitting down with his typewriter and writing the "me love you long time" and other Vietnamese dialogue is hilarious

Regarding your introduction, the UK did not get involved in the Vietnam War. It was one of the few times the UK openly disagreed with the Americans in a major conflict, leading to a diplomatic spat between Prime Minister Wilson and President Johnson in the late 60s.

I went to Infantry basic training in 1981. While this was well after the end of the Vietnam War our Drill Sgts were all combat veterans. The training depicted in the film was spot on. Our Drills were just like R Lee Emery. While the physical abuse was not as severe as in the film the Drill did do some Wall to Wall and Woodline counseling from time to time. Since I volunteered for military service and the US Infantry I had no one to blame but myself.

Regarding if the Vietnamese ever asked for the help, they did. The South Vietnamese government requested aid and help in ever increasing amounts.

My kid brother grew up watching this movie and decided to join the Marines. He was disappointed that Boot Camp and the Drill instructors WEREN't like Gunny Hartman (R. Lee Ermy). Honestly said the Marines had been politicized and watered down. When he got out of Boot Camp, he brought me a Gunny Hartman doll that would spout off a bunch of the lines from the movie. He did 2 Tours of Duty over in Afghanistan and that part of the world. He re-enlisted because he said he didn't want to leave his Marine brothers behind. Crazy bugger was always an overachiever. He'd be going to college, working 2 jobs and volunteering at church. Now he's got 5 kids and owns an HVAC company AND handles work at the the local Marine base. Love you bro.

All Kubrick movies from Lolita afterwards are all unique masterpieces. Each film has so many layers besides whats presented as a movie. Theres so much subtext in each movie, i have yet to see another director do what Kubrick has done. Please give each one a try

Yes the guy in the chopper was representing the several men who were "cracked". Vietcong were an insurgent force who hid among the civilian population and attacked unexpectedly in ambushes etc. Thats why the guys comments about them all being VC. They weren't ofcause but it felt that way after a while for those stuck in country.

To contrast Lee Ermey’s hardcore Drill Instructor, Monty Python has a pleasant captain in the army, in “the Meaning of Life”….off you go!

My dad was in the Marines and went to basic training at Parris Island and made me watch this movie like all the time growing up.