Platoon (Special Edition)
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Movie Reviews of Platoon (Special Edition)
Movie Review: Realistic, Yet Hopeless War Story.
Summary: 5 Stars
Based upon director and writer Oliver Stone's own experiences in Vietnam, PLATOON was the first major motion picture about that war directed by a veteran from that conflict. The movie revolves around a young American soldier, Pvt. Chris Taylor (a young Charlie Sheen) and the platoon he lives and fights with during his tour of duty. The battle sequences are very gritty, graphic, and realistic. Taylor serves under the direct leadership of Sgt. Elias Grodin (Willem Dafoe), but both men are under the command of Staff Sgt. Bob Barnes (Tom Berenger). Grodin and Barnes have two completely different views of leadership and opposing worldviews. Grodin represents everything that is good and noble and worth fighting for in the conflict, while Barnes represents all the evil and ugliness of the war. At its core then, PLATOON is a movie about the internal war for one soldier's soul between good and evil. Though Stone based the film upon his own experiences, there are scenes that have been embellished and the view Stone presents is only one view of the war--see the film WE WERE SOLDIERS for the opposite view as presented by Stone in PLATOON.
Despite the negative outlook upon life, the military, and the Vietnam War, PLATOON is probably Oliver Stone's best movie to date. Stone's direction of the film is brilliant from the two-week boot camp the actors endured before principal filming, to the fine details such as the color of the wrapping paper on the cigarettes, to filming in sequence, to recognizing the talent of Johnny Depp, Stone illustrated in PLATOON was that he was a great director and one to be reckoned with. The film contains fine performances: Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe, Charlie Sheen, Forest Whitaker, Francesco Quinn, John C. McGinley, and Johnny Depp all give powerful portrayals that ground the movie in humanity, despite the deep metaphysical connotations. PLATOON won the 1986 Oscar for Best Picture, Stone won the Best Director Oscar, and also received a nomination for Best Original Screenplay.
I was surprised and found that I enjoyed PLATOON, though there were several parts of the film that I found myself aghast. I've never been in battle myself, but I do know that war is hell. Nevertheless, I cannot bring myself to agree with the film's negative worldview and ultimately the loss of one's soul to evil. Despite this, there are many positive things within the movie. This is a movie that any film buff should see and people who enjoy war movies might enjoy it as well (though they might prefer something more hopeful such as SAVING PRIVATE RYAN or WE WERE SOLDIERS).
Movie Review: Exceptional
Summary: 5 Stars
Though I am too young to have served in Viet Nam, I can still easily identify with many aspects of this gripping and seemingly realistic portrayal of jungle guerilla warfare, probably because as a youngster I observed the behavior and listened intently to veterans who had returned from that country, even as late as 1975. Being a former Marine and understanding the fighter's metality, I suppose the greatest impact of this film for me comes from living the events through those who actually were there.
Platoon has it all:
- severe combat fatigue and the failing morale of those who were performing extended back-to-back tours with limited or no rest and relaxation (R and R) leave and who began to question the validity of what they were doing
- clique mentalities/a breakdown of comradery
- substance abuse (opium/marijuana) as a way to cope with the mounting stress from isolation, periods of non-activity and bouts of unrelenting firefights
- frustration over the uncertainty of who the enemy really was and how many of their own would die before it was all over with
- weather extremes that would change almost in an instant
- biting and stinging insects and blood-sucking leeches
- crickets, birds and other animals that would fall silent, indicating the approach the enemy
- and, of course, PLENTY of face-to-face combat
At the apex of all this is criminal activity (some seemingly justified) and a cover up as the fog of war prevails, and an idealistic "college boy" (Charlie Sheen)--who turned down an officer's commission so that he could roll up his sleeves and be a "regular soldier"--gets caught up in the middle of the bitter rivalry between the sadistic Staff Sergeant Barnes (played by Berenger) and his good natured but tainted subordinate Sergeant Elias (played by William Dafoe).
In the end Sheen's character looks back on his experience and attempts to contemplate the rationale behind it all.
There are plenty of great reviews of this film. I cannot begin to adequately summarize it, but suffice it to say that this is arguably the best cinematic rendition of the struggles in Viet Nam ever filmed. Hamburger Hill would probably come in second, with Casualties of War (Michael J. Fox), We Were Soldiers (Mel Gibson) and Full Metal Jacket (R. Lee Ermey) competing for third.
The DVD quality is excellent and the scenery realistic. It appears to have been filmed in Thailand or some place remarkably similar to Viet Nam.
Movie Review: Not the best war film but it's a great one anyways
Summary: 5 Stars
During the time of Apocalypse Now, Francis Ford Coppola in a duel egoist/proud statement, he said the film wasn't about Vietnam, it was Vietnam. Well Platoon in essence isn't Vietnam, it's just a movie that happens to be about that war. Well it's certainly a well-made war film, it's not of the absolute best war films like others are but it's still definately worth a watch anyways.
Inspired by Oliver Stone's own experiences in Vietnam, the film finds college idealist Chris Taylor volunteering for Vietnam, believing that poor people shouldn't be the only ones in service while the rich ones could stay home. Entering his group as an untrained rookie, everyone else basically gets on his case about everything. He's also torn between 2 rival factions within his very own group: one led by Sgt Elias and the other by Staff Sgt Barnes. Unlike most war movies which tend to have a certain objective (Private Ryan in the Spielberg film, killing Colonel Kurtz in Apocalpyse Now), Platoon is basically about surviving until you can go home.
One of the nice things about the Taylor character is that even at times he gets caught up in the war and quickly catching himself. One scene has him almost sadistically firing his weapon at a Vietnamese's feet, using the old "dance!" gag, but 10 minutes later he's stopping a gang rape before it takes place. There's not a lot of quiet reflection throughout the film but you can tell they're being affected by it, including the well-known "thousand yard stare".
It's funny that Platoon ended up winning Best Picture and Director even though to me JFK is the perfect Oliver Stone film. While Platoon is certainly a great war film, personally I found JFK to be better but oh well. Like World War II, you can say that one film is the quintessential Vietnam film whether you think it's Apocalypse Now, Platoon, or even lesser known films like Hamburger Hill. Regardless it's nice to have another film about the Vietnam experience. To me the Coppola film is about the long-term effects war has while this is more about that initial time in wartime.
The film essentially is being triple dipped as their was an initial release, the Special Edition and I hear of an Anniversary edition. I'd recommend the Special Edition and didn't actually find out about the third until I after I bought this one. It's a good war movie but I'd wait until the next release.
Movie Review: An Epic Masterpiece And Powerful Testament.
Summary: 5 Stars
Hollywood has always had very diverse angles when it comes to making movies about the Vietnam war. Francis Coppola and Michael Cimino painted good but overly melodramatic and mostly glossy movies about the war in films like "Apocalypse Now" and "The Deer Hunter." Oliver Stone's "Platoon" remains the greatest, the most realistic and haunting depiction ever. The heart of the impact of the movie lies in the fact that Stone served in Vietnam, can't shake it and used his brilliance as an artist to depict his experiences and the experiences of many, in one of the greatest war films ever made. "Platoon" is real and alive, taking us deep into the jungles and never ceases to show us the realities of what happened, ultimately evoking the feelings of many veterans who came back either shattered or changed forever by a senseless war. The photography by Robert Richardson is gritty but yet also rich when capturing the vast jungle landscapes. The violence is not fun but realistic and truthful to what war really is and Stone brilliantly depicts how normal men thrown into such a hostile, primitive scenario can easily go mad and turn into violent killers. The characters are incredibly authentic, these don't feel like typical heroic war movie people, who have a super-hero quality to them, these are frightened young men caught in the realities of warfare. Charlie Sheen gives probably his best performance here and sometimes we can easily relate to him. "Platoon" also stands as a very influential film and if you look closely at it's style and pacing, you realize films like "Saving Private Ryan" and "Black Hawk Down" are the descendants of "Platoon," those two other movies have a lot to owe to this one. This special edition DVD is a great package featuring a great documentary titled "Tour Of The Inferno" where the actors and Stone himself talk in detail about the hard process of making the film. Johnny Depp appears and remembers thinking of Stone as a "madman, one of those guys who walk the fine line between brilliance and explosion of the brain." Indeed, "Platoon" would have been a big mess under less-talented hands. This is a magnificent tribute to those who fought and a searing document for the new generations watching the movie, a lesson about where we should not tread and the power of trying to survive and how life goes on. A powerful masterpiece, timeless and epic.Movie Review: Stone's Best Film
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm not the biggest fan of Oliver Stone's work. There's no denying his skill as a director, but it's his disingenuous politics are what turn me off. I found "JFK" to be one of the most deceitful paranoid fantasies ever put to film. What made that film so dangerous was that it was so well crafted that people believed it. "Platoon" is a different animal completely. This is the work of a man who is trying to come to grips with his past and ultimately put those ghosts to rest. There have been many great films about the Vietnam conflict("The Deer Hunter", "Apocalypse Now","Full Metal Jacket") but those were works of men who hadn't experienced first-hand the war. You can sense the urgency of Stone wanting to tell his story. The fire-fights, the battles, the fear are all palpable to the audience. Stone enlists a first-rate cast (Charlie Sheen, Willem Dafoe, Tom Berenger, John C. McGinley, Forrest Whitaker, Keith David, Johnny Depp to name a few) that actually feels like a platoon. Stone's alter ego here is Chris(Sheen) a college kid who dropped out to enlist in the Marines. The internal conflict is Sheen being torn between two father figures, the "good" Sgt. Elias(Dafoe) and the "bad" Sgt. Barnes(Berenger). The way these two conflicting personalities are written is heavy-handed at times. The scene where Elias is trying to evade his North Vietnamese pursuers he stumbles and lifts his arms upward like a crucified Christ figure. A later scene in a trench, a drunken scarred Barnes gives a speech to the platoon under a twisted string of Christmas lights that gives off a halo effect. Dafoe and particularly Berenger overcome some of these indulgences in the script by giving full-bodied performances. Despite some reservations, "Platoon" was a very important film when it came out in 1986. There were still young men who had returned home from the conflict who had not come to terms with that period of their life. This film was great catharsis for them. The emphasis in this film was on the soldiers and it's important for today's audience to appreciate the sacrifices of these men then and now.