Full Metal Jacket

re;

ok has anyone got the correct pic?

I don’t see how FMJ can be considered an anti-war or an anti-Vietnam movie – other than that it showcases some of the hideous viscera of war and how people are profoundly affected by same as well as how some people aren’t cut out for even preparing for war (Pyle) – in that sense every half decent war film can be considered ‘anti-war’… as they probably should be.

Yes, Joker wore a peace ‘button’ on his lid and some of the characters hint at the futility of war but I thought it was a fairly dispassionate examination of ‘the era’ and what young boys do when they’re let away from home for the first time in much the same way as ‘Born on the Fourth of July’ or ‘The Deer Hunter’ weren’t.

Not sure that anyone can say the characters are exaggerated, perhaps they are an amalgam of all soldiers – they seem to represent every average bunch of squaddies – the comedian, the straight bat, the average Joe and that one guy, who everyone is a little bit afraid of who does his best work under fire and is probably a reincarnation of Ghengis Khan and completely unsuited to civvie street…

As for the sets, I thought they were tremendous. Having to do without the verdent splendidity apparent in ‘BAT 21’ or ‘Hamburger Hill’, the urban battle scenes and the defoliated desolation as the M-60s rumbled towards Huy really put me in the movie….

IMHO, way better than ‘MASH’ which seemed to share the same Californian valley as all the Dukes of Hazzard Car chases and way better than ‘Battle of the Bulge’ which looks like Colorado or Gawd knows where… I was wainting for the Indian Scouts to appear on the ridgeline…

re;

you see her on the extras on the DVD.

But he was NOT a German citizen, Daz, he was born in the US…….you’ve lost your stake!;)

The best portrayal of an American Soldier has to be at the end of Empire of the Sun.
The soldier (General?) that hands the boy that tin of milk.

While I do agree, it’s a very stereotypical portrayal, no?

Great film, btw, one of my favourites. Jim is one character I can truly relate to (as much as a person outside of those experiences could).

Bit saddened that anyone feels we laugh at deaths of US soldiers. I have nothing but respect and have quite a big interest in the Vietnam War. I find it shocking how terribly vets were treated when they came home from that war.

I am not a fan of generalisations and all this UK bashing and implied unpleasantness to US soldiers by UK enthusiasts gets me down. There was a TV show about a Tornado sqn that was hardly flattering and one about a UK Sub, a UK frigate etc….

Any idea what the show about the Tornado sqn was called?

And how about that F-111 program?

The best portrayal of an American Soldier has to be at the end of Empire of the Sun.
The soldier (General?) that hands the boy that tin of milk.