Semper Fi: Do or Die
Semper Fi: Do or Die
The film Full Metal Jacket is an intense and gritty examination of the United States Marine Corps basic training program and following that, the Marine grunts’ experiences in Vietnam in 1968 during the Tet Offensive. Expertly directed by Stanley Kubrick and premiering in 1987, Full Metal Jacket is Private Joker’s story, is narrated in his voice, and the viewer sees the conflicts through his eyes. It is a film worth watching for the caliber of acting, for the illustrative plot, and ultimately, for the message it presents about the hell of war.
The opening segment of the movie depicts all of the rigors and trials of basic training, from the head shaving, to climbing course obstacles, to drill and marching, to performing menial chores called details, and is dominated by a loud, abusive, foul mouthed and strict presence. Lee Ermey’s depiction of Gunnery Sergeant Hartman is every military recruit’s worst nightmare of a drill instructor. Jack Kroll of Newsweek states “Ermey, a real former Marine D.I. in his first acting role, takes the classic, jut-jawed, insult-barking D.I. and turns him into a fearsome figure that mingles horrific black comedy and pure psychosis” (64). Indeed, Ermey delivers the most vicious of profanity laced insults straight faced and with a vehemence that cannot be doubted. Sergeant Hartman truly believes that his way of doing things in his beloved Corps is the one true way.
Vincent D’Onofrio also delivers a stellar performance as overweight, slow-witted and brutalized Private Pyle. D’Onofrio brings Pyle to life and shows the development of psychosis over the course of the basic training scenes. When we first meet Pyle, he cannot seem to keep himself from mindlessly smiling as a nervous reaction to Hartman’s roared insults. He endures physical and mental abuse above and beyond that of the other recruits because he cannot seem to function at their level. After the whole platoon is punished repeatedly for Pyle’s screw ups, the
The film Full Metal Jacket is an intense and gritty examination of the United States Marine Corps basic training program and following that, the Marine grunts’ experiences in Vietnam in 1968 during the Tet Offensive. Expertly directed by Stanley Kubrick and premiering in 1987, Full Metal Jacket is Private Joker’s story, is narrated in his voice, and the viewer sees the conflicts through his eyes. It is a film worth watching for the caliber of acting, for the illustrative plot, and ultimately, for the message it presents about the hell of war.
The opening segment of the movie depicts all of the rigors and trials of basic training, from the head shaving, to climbing course obstacles, to drill and marching, to performing menial chores called details, and is dominated by a loud, abusive, foul mouthed and strict presence. Lee Ermey’s depiction of Gunnery Sergeant Hartman is every military recruit’s worst nightmare of a drill instructor. Jack Kroll of Newsweek states “Ermey, a real former Marine D.I. in his first acting role, takes the classic, jut-jawed, insult-barking D.I. and turns him into a fearsome figure that mingles horrific black comedy and pure psychosis” (64). Indeed, Ermey delivers the most vicious of profanity laced insults straight faced and with a vehemence that cannot be doubted. Sergeant Hartman truly believes that his way of doing things in his beloved Corps is the one true way.
Vincent D’Onofrio also delivers a stellar performance as overweight, slow-witted and brutalized Private Pyle. D’Onofrio brings Pyle to life and shows the development of psychosis over the course of the basic training scenes. When we first meet Pyle, he cannot seem to keep himself from mindlessly smiling as a nervous reaction to Hartman’s roared insults. He endures physical and mental abuse above and beyond that of the other recruits because he cannot seem to function at their level. After the whole platoon is punished repeatedly for Pyle’s screw ups, the