I served in the Air Force 1971-74. This was the first Vietnam movie I saw, fresh from having served during that era. I’ve always felt this movie comes closest to Portraying what serving during that dreadful time felt like. There might be bigger budget movies, but this one captured the feel of the time perfectly. The scene where the tarp is ripped away displaying the HAPPY BIRTHDAY COL DEARBORN banner after being told their mission was essential and lives were lost was the perfect metaphor for the entire Vietnam “conflict”. The soccer game does seem contrived and MASH -ish, but all the rest was just as it should be. Even when we won, we lost… 58,000 of American sons. Never forget our POW/MIAs.
Just a FYI--I was in the REAL Platoon 163, Company C, 1st Recruit Training Regiment, MCRD San Diego. 20 August to 12 November 1963. Our Senior D.I. was Sgt. Hansen, Assistant D.I.'s were Sgt. Chapman and Sgt. King. True story! Served in Nam '65/'66. Semper Fi!
In 1967 my single mom Carol moved us into Naval housing right across the street from MCRD on Barnett Avenue. Born and raised in San Diego I was four and had a buzzcut a plastic helmet and toy machine gun. Carol grew up about one mile from MCRD in Point Loma. Married at 16 by the time she was 19 she had two children. Working full time with a e husband that never paid her one penny of child support money was tight. On Saturday she would take my older sister and me to Sav On store for a ten cent ice cream. Sav on was about three blocks from MCRD. It was inevitable a young marine would chat her up in the store and the shocking look on their faces when Carol told them she was our mother and not our older sister. Mom was a battered woman and wasn’t really ready for any kind of relationship. We lived on Barnett avenue for about 14 months1967-68. I don’t think Carol wanted to get in a romance with a marine who would soon be deploying to Vietnam. But she started going on double date s with the lady we shared the apartment. with. At Sav On marines would buy me ice cream cones candy bars all sorts of stuff. In 1968 we moved about two miles away to Ocean Beach. Carol was born in Hollywood in July 1943 but her parents Hazel and Ernie moved her and her four sisters to Point Loma in 1947. So she grew up about a mile from MCRD and Ntc. Carol did become involved with a marine named Jay. Who did go to Vietnam. When I was about seven I asked Carol what happened to Jay she would tear up and say “ Oh he moved back to the Bay Area. For over fifty years I’ve wondered how many of the marines I knew from MCRD made it back home alive. To all the marines who bought me candy bars and ice cream cones way back in 1967-68 thank you And for the trips to the zoo to the beach and SDSU football games. Thanks for all your kindness to a four year old boy with a buzzcut. Most important Lu thanks for treating a 23 year old single mom with two small children who had been a battered wife,thanks for treating Carol like she was a young Hollywood starlet. For almost 55 years I’ve wondered how many of the marines who helped us out way back whe n made it back home
We used Private in 1982 Parris Island.. During that time frame, 3rd Battalion were the only ones using recruit.. 2nd Bn. Fox Co. Platoon 2015 PISC 12Feb. - 6 May 1982.. SF!
One of my favorite movies as a kid. My dad said that the boot camp was very accurate (he was in the Marines back in the 60's) He even goes on with stories about the hispanic DI in the movie stating he would absolutely believe they based him on his DI named Ochoa. Great movie. Thanks for your input. Not sure if you have watched The D.I. with Jack Webb as I just discovered your channel. But that is another movie that comes to mind as one I watched with my dad.
Pretty sure Hispanics join the usmc too! So I wouldn't be surprised to see a Hispanic instructor! It's a bit like watching a film about Lord Nelson of the Royal Navy and seeing French, Spanish and Black sailors on his flag ship Victory!. In reality there was! 😉
I have this movie on DVD and The Billy Ray Pike character(Andrew Stevens) has commentary you can activate as the movie goes along, and he claimed the entire movie was shot in the Philippines. And the MCRD was an actual Philippine Marine Corps Base.
I own it..good movie. I joined the Corps almost because of it. L Co.3/8. Love the Corps. This movie was so close to boot as it gets. Was at MCRD San Diego 1983. Ermey was a DI for real. And this was filmed in same area for Gomer Pyle by the quonset huts. Thats why barracks looks small.
In 1978 and a year after high school graduation I'd signed up to join the U.S. Coast Guard. I took a date (our first) with me to see this film the very night before I left for boot-camp. It truly helped me prepare for the worst while hoping for the best. The worst actually happened as us recruits found out that Coast Guard boot-camp in California was the second worst as compared to the Marines at that time - lucky me! To this day, I still watch clips of this movie a few times a week. That first date gal, wrote me lovely letters every week for the nine weeks of boot-camp, all soaked with her perfume and she won numerous "beauty contests" as the D.I.'s checked out our lockers every week. After graduation from boot-camp I got to spend a few days on leave with Janet and I inquired about the possibility of marriage, she wasn't anywhere near ready for that and so I moved on, very reluctantly.
You can't really compare FMJ with this movie. If you think about it, this movie was more like a WW2 movie but set in Vietnam. FMJ was a Vietnam movie set in England.
I saw this one by accident... It came on STARZ back in 2002, and it fucked me up... I didn't cry for FMJ, I barely teared-up for Hamburger Hill, but I cried like a bitch for this one... Top notch acting!
It was set in 1967. They should've had M-14's on the grinder. Not M16A1's! The match at the end, was the beginning of the Tet offensive. When the Capt/Company CO, tells them to loose or go to Khe Sahn, that was no joke! Khe Sahn was a meat grinder before Tet hit the fan! The fire base they ended up at was Kahn Deim. 1/9, was out of there. In June of 1967, 1/9 got hit hard on the trace, Kahn Diem to Gloria, Operation Bufflo. Yeah, the only math that passed muster on that op was fuck and 2, make 8! Sorry, I'm kinda going off. It was a good movie.
I was medically cleared at meps. I wasnt smoked the first day off the bus at receiving but they kept us awake for 24hrs. After the first day it was open season and if someone fucked up, we all paid for it. (From the army by the way) Ft. Benning, Georgia.
Two other movies you might not be aware of R. Lee Ermey being in. In the movie "Apocalypse Now" R. Lee Ermey is a helicopter pilot during the scene where they are attacking a Viet Cong village. Also, R. Lee Ermey plays a main character as a Sergeant Major in the movie "The Siege of Firebase Gloria".
Shot on former US Navy base , Sangley point , Cavite Philippines. Now a Boot camp for Philippines Marines. All the background Marines are actually Philippine Marine recruits.
This movie hits so many real points about military service on a real level! Training (working as one). Attachment to instructor! (Father figure). The looking out for each other (brothers in arms). Reality of bullshit you have to do (pointless tasks). Reality of gorilla warfare (rarely know how many enemy you kill, and body count never as high as you expect). and one of the first films I saw as a child showing how powerful a grenade actually is (no massive fireball, and real damage only happens up close!!) I loved this film as a child! And looking at it again now after 40 years and 13years of service makes even more sense now! As for football/soccer game, those that know, know sports get you an easier life!
Remember this movie represented the 60’s and America was not politically correct yet. I served in the Corps like my father who is a Vietnam vet and is actually pretty close to the real thing. I don’t think any movie will be100% accurate other than Platoon.
R Lee Ermy basically wrote his own dialog here. The director told him to just do what he would normally do in each situation. And I swear, I recognized the other Drill Instructors when I was in boot camp. USMC 1977-1983 MOS 0369
Sorry I didn’t mean to repeat myself I wanted to say Isaw The Boys in Company C in 1978 at the Frontier drive in on Midway about six blocks from M c R D. I was 15 since the film was set in 1967 when we lived right across the street from the base, all these memories came flooding back to me. So I have a real soft spot in my heart for this film and for the actors in it Stan Shaw,Michael Lembeck, Andrew Stevens , Craig “Jesus Christ Wasson and of course the incomparable incredible R Lee Ermey. If anyone is interested Craig Wasson started in another film about Vietnam the early days of the war called Go Tell The Spartans”. It stars Craig and Burt Lancaster. You might review it Mr Salty! Thank you.
Great movie. I consider it the REAL FMJ. One thing I noticed: Andrew Stephens (Private Ray Pike) looks like Josh Hutcherson (Peeta Melark from "Hunger Games")
My dad took my brother and I back in 1978 to this movie it was the first movie about the Vietnam war I seen and when I watched Full Metal Jacket when I seen Lee Emery as the drill sargent in Full Metal Jacket it brought memories of going to the movies and seeing The Boys of Company C. The best movie I believe about the Vietnam war was Platoon but The Boys in Company C isn't a bad movie and you have to remember that it was made three years after the fall of Saigon the war was still a raw sore on the AMERICAN mind which finally has healed I believe it took a while for that wound to heal.
Anyone who has gone to USN or USMC boot camp has had as their first thoughts after getting off the bus: "What in the hell am I doing here?" (Anyone with a different experience, please comment.) Too much hair left on top for that 1st haircut. USMC & USN didn't issue skivvie brief, it was boxers. Just wrong kind of underwear. R. Lee 'promoted' from Sgt. (E5) to S. Sgt. (E6) from start of the movie to the scene with the graduates loaded on the duece-and-a-half. S. Sgt. was Gunny's rank when he was medically discharged I believe. My WAG at the Bos'uns pipe (it's a "pipe" not a whistle, (you oughta know that!! ;-)) -- word was being passed for something or other and the film editor was only able to filter out the voice following and not the shrill of the pipe. Similar happened in Final Countdown in the theater version where dialog on the bridge related to discussing the Japanese while the USS Nimitiz was miles at sea. In the background you could hear the "now hear this" pipe followed by something like "Now muster a 20 hand working party with Chief so-and-so at the after brow." It was filtered out later as too many sailors who watched the movie new full well a brow was not extended to the pier while at sea. I think Boy's in Company C was the first of the genre I watched. Also saw Apocalypse Now, FMJ, We Were Soldiers, and Platoon. Favorite was Boys. Would be great if someone scripted and produced a movie on the USN Swifties (Swift Boats). Though grunts in 'Nam appear to be favored more by movie producers, I'd like to think a good one could be made that depicts the efforts of squids over there, where there was some extraordinary heroism.
@@TheSaltySeaman Ha! BMs need to be picked on. Keep 'em where the belong in the pecking order ;-)) Same sort of thing, I guess, of sub sailors declaring that there are only two types of vessels: boats and targets. I was on the latter, albeit a 'can.
Underwear notwithstanding, the imperialism, absurdity of the body count, and folly of ignoring history are accurate in the film. Fitzgerald, Francis, "Fire in the Lake: Americans in Vietnam."
when I stepped of the bus in NTC RTC San Diego in 1969 I lit up a cigarette and immediately had it slapped out of my face and told to drop and give twenty five pushups!
I went to Basic Training November 1980 US Army, attended NJROTC abbreviated ‘boot camp at Recruit Training Center San Diego in 1975 and first naval cruise, USS New Orleans LPH 11, from San Diego to Pearl Harbor in 1976. I am from Air Force family with the exception of one Vietnam cousin who was Army and my other cousin whose husband was headed for Vietnam but on graduation day his orders were changed for Germany. My battalion senior field Drill Sergeant served in Vietnam with my senior Drill Sergeant (Henderson) of Bravo Platoon with our Alpha Platoon Drill Sergeant (Dickson) who was ahead of our training cycle. Three sergeants that were together in Vietnam, in the Army, one highly decorated. Maybe because you were Navy and easily swayed by the directors of Platoon or Full Metal Jacket and am not saying that drug use was not in use, but those that were in Vietnam that I have met that were infantry - did not want to be impaired. Support troops may have indulged - I wasn’t there. Those members of my family in the Air Force relied on other troops for base protection, their stories of being in Da Nang during Tet and their lack of weapons is harrowing. My active service time started in aviation and continued in medical where in my time both military specialties required drug testing. This movie does start off in week ‘zero’; amnesty box, initial issue, immunizations, hair cuts, and paper work completion. I have spent time in Quonset huts - movie portray them as small, you also sleep foot to head and not the same direction, prevents needless talking and creates greater distance to help prevent the spread of illness. The movie indirectly shows team building. Washington’s initial reason for joining was to create a drug route but through friendships that goal became mute. Leadership through an incompetent commander and a very competent and caring officer is representative of some officers I served under. The dialogue of the movie is pretty much what it was back then. The Mexican drill sergeant, he was not Mexican and is definitely Filipino. The Boys in Company C is probably one of the closes to realty along with Hamburger Hill.
Have you seen or reviewed another Vietnam Marine movie called "Tribes?" It is set during 1969-70 and is set entirely at MCRD San Diego. It stars Darrin MacGavin, Earl Holliman & Jan Michael Vincent as a draftee hippie "type" Very good little known Vietnam era film and unlike "Boys in Company C" the boot camp is actually filmed at MCRD San Diego (& Camp Pendleton too) wheras "Boys in Company C" boot camp scenes were filmed in the Philippines as the the DoD didn't allow usage of any Marine Corps facilities or personnel during the movie shootings on film. Tribes is more of a "culture clash" type story l liked it but that's just me.
When I saw Full Metal Jacket and R. Lee came on the screen, I said "Oh this guy is stealing the persona of that Sgt in BfC-C and had to look for this on VHS back then and realize it was the same Guy (Because he wasn't well known until after that) and I saw a documentary which His first acting was an extra in "Your's Mine And Ours" apparently. The original with Henry Fonda and Lucile Ball where Henry is out to sea on the USS Enterprise. that came out I think 69-70. you can see R. Lee in the background for like 2 seconds but as a deck crewman. He' was always funny to watch and even his tv show was pretty cool.
I have actually heard people who went to Marine bootcamp in the 60s who said Boys in Company C boot camp was more accurate than the FMJ boot camp. (high & tight fades notwithstanding)
ugh.... A squid talking about Marine Corps boot camp is worthless.... :) A LOT of guys in Vietnam had tattoos - And R Lee Ermey was a Marine, was in The Nam, was a drill instructor and had them tattoos all along.... I guess Me being older, having seen this film when I was a kid and being a Marine in the mid '80's having grown up around war vets from WWII through Viet Nam makes it hard for me to listen to your commentary - You definitely are incorrect with some of your assumptions but like you say, we all have our opinions... If you haven't seen it yet, look for The Siege Of Firebase Gloria - Also staring R Lee Ermey
@The Salty Seaman Good review. Hope your next review on Navy will be either Battleship (very modern), Flight of The Intruder (retro modern), or the classics The Last Detail or The Sand Pebbles
People always want to see FMJ as an accurate portrayal of the marines during the Vietnam war and that it's the movie to watch before you go to marine basic. Or any basic training for that matter... The thing is Kubrick didn't really intend for it to be accurate in it's portrayal of the marines, he wanted it to be a massive shock to the people watching it. FMJ is a surreal, overstimulating blast of fear, strict discipline and cruelty to prepare the viewers for the violence and anarchy of Vietnam. Stop watching FMJ as a documentary and see it more as an experience.
I was at Paris Island from June 2 to August 25, 1987., Platoon 2060... We were referred to as Privates. It was also quite common for us to to be in the rack before 2000.. probably because we were up around 0300. PT while it's cooler I would think.
You have to remember this was way before our fucked up PC world. But it's fairly accurate as far as how they talked and treated them. Back then, it wasn't uncommon for a D I to beat the crap out of a recruit who was a fuck up. It's all pretty much the same in the Army during the 50's and 60's.
My boot camp was like FMJ in 1966 Parris Island. Only difference is Pyle would have never had a live round. Every bullet accounted for after a day at range
@@stanjohns5752 I tried to join when I was 18,seizures,a brain injury and a chromosomal abnormality kept me out. Believe me, I was PISSED off, I wanted to serve
Idk how somone can tell something fake or realistic unless you were in vietnam my grandpa says platoon is the only good one aswell as some of this movie
My Dad was in Nam in the USMC and KOREA to. He said half these Nam movies were bullshit! They had on olive drab boxers not briefs. You never stick your head up while preforming the back crawl under the bob wire with M-60 machine gun fire going off. Because you get your head blown off! I was in 1987 to 1991. Taking pictures and shit while on patrol. Garbage.
my father served in the marines. i did not. i know he was offended by the ending of the "boot camp" scene in Full metal jacket that a puke recruit could smuggle live rounds into a barracks. and that nut . the marines would have fallen over each other to section 8 that clown. he said some of FMJ was so realistic it was spooky. and some was so phony it was pathetic. the jelly doughnut scene was just silly. in company c , right off the bat the hippie Jesus character is a cliche of a cliche, and that Hispanic DI is too portly and chubby . he looks like he was first in line for mess call. but he says just the funnies things. i use the line oh we have Jesus Christ with us to this day
Telling gunny how to do his job all this crap was fresh in his memory fyi these were not all volunteers a lot were conscripted the saddest story you can hear is gunny telling his experience of sending half trained soldiers to die because they didn’t have the time fyi gunny had quit by this movie fyi soccer if you had been in the military you would know if good at sports you get out of the shit our boxing team was in the wrong country to us eating steaks any potential military recruits do sport it’s safer in the rear with the gear than up the front with the cu*ts
in Australia we were called conscripts,it worked on the lottery system,a number of marbles were pulled out of a barrel,from 1-31 they started with the month and marbles denoted birthday then you were either in or out for 18 months,you also had the option of going back to your native country if you didnt want to serve but couldnt return for 7 years. pay was $90 per fortnight and you were in for 18 months.
WRONG! Although some draftees DID serve in the Marine Corps the overwhelming number remained enlisted volunteers. I met my 1st draftee in Nam in late 1966 and was stunned when he told me he was drafted.
