- Full Metal Jacket (allthetropes.org)
Full Metal Jacket is the story of the Vietnam War seen through the eyes of a US Marine known to the audience as “Joker”. The movie, directed by Stanley Kubrick, is split into two parts. The first part follows Joker alongside his fellow Marine recruits through Boot Camp as they suffer under the colorful Gunnery Sergeant Hartman (played by R. Lee Ermey in his most famous role), and the second part follows Joker’s struggle to keep his humanity while he covers the Vietnam War as a combat correspondent.
- How Kubrick Turns Men into Weapons | Full Metal Jacket (YouTube)
Full Metal Jacket sees Kubrick explore the Vietnam war, he focusses on the experiences of the American soldiers and how they are transformed from normal people, with unique personalties and experiences, to reprogrammed soldiers ready to kill at a moments notice. Through characters such as Pvt. Pyle and Pvt. Joker, Kubrick looks at this idea from multiple angles and, with a heavy layer of irony, depicts the Vietnam War in a unique way that no other film has captured since.
- How Kubrick Uses the Camera (YouTube)
Kubrick is one of the most influential directors of the 20th Century, his career spanning almost five decades. He is perhaps best known for his bordering on insane attention to detail when it came to what’s in the frame, requiring take after take until the shot was perfect. This video looks at a handful of his most interesting shots, and breaking them down, examining how they elevate the themes of their films, and the visual techniques that are on display.
- Full Metal Jacket (Wikipedia)
Full Metal Jacket is a 1987 psychological war drama film directed and produced by Stanley Kubrick from a screenplay he co-wrote with Michael Herr and Gustav Hasford. The film is based on Hasford’s 1979 autobiographical novel The Short-Timers. It stars Matthew Modine, R. Lee Ermey, Vincent D’Onofrio, Adam Baldwin, Dorian Harewood, and Arliss Howard.