1986--Platoon, Oliver Stone

1986—Platoon, Oliver Stone

Nominated: Children of a Lesser God, Hannah and her Sisters, The Mission, A Room with a View

Should have won: Platoon

Be sure to see: Demons, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, The Fly, Henry: A Portrait of a Serial Killer, Stand By Me

“I like it here. You get to do what you want, nobody fucks with you. The only worry you got is dying and if that happens, you won't know about it anyway.”--Bunny

“We been kicking other people's asses for so long I figure it's time we got ours kicked”--Sgt. Elias

     Based on writer/director Oliver Stone's actual experience in Vietnam, Platoon opens with new recruits being ribbed by seasoned soldiers. Chris Taylor, a new recruit, narrates in the form of writing a letter to his grandmother. He wonders if he'll make it. He has doubts pretty early; he has a long way to go. Taylor is assigned to a platoon that eventually splits into two groups after confrontations. One group is led by the battle-scarred Sgt. Barnes who is a tough, no nonsense character; the other by Sgt. Elias who is more compassionate. Though this is supposedly taken from Stone's actual experiences, the splitting into groups reminded me of William Golding's Lord of the Flies.

     At first, the others are hard on Taylor, but after a round of shotgunning (in this case literally) marijuana, he seems to get along. But the movie turns serious, almost Apocalypse Now-like. A village is torched and Barnes could be court marshaled for it. The scene reminded me of 1980's Cannibal Holocaust. A movie I highly recommend only to those who can stomach it. You know who you are. If you aren't, here is your warning to steer clear. 

    

    Platoon moves very swiftly; it never drags. At times I felt like I was in there with the rest of the men, particularly in a very intense scene after Taylor's watch is over and he falls asleep. With the enemy approaching; the man on guard is asleep; there are scenes of ants that seem as relentless in their attacks as the soldiers do; and the wide openness of the jungle makes it impossible to predict which direction the enemy will attack. I enjoyed the movie Full Metal Jacket a lot but other than the hidden landmines, it is fairly easy to predict where the enemy will strike. It is kind of linear. The sniper is in the building. The troops fire at people fleeing from building to building, etc. In Platoon’s jungle, however, I would wish for eyes on the back of my head.

     Each character is given a distinct personality, particularly Barnes who is not someone anyone would want to tangle with, though most want to see him killed. But I was drawn to Bunny, though I didn't like his name. I am still unsure why they came up with that name for him because he was a pretty hard character though he doesn't pass the eyeball test for toughness.

     The movie has one of the most famous death scenes of all time and certainly the most famous to make it to the cover of the box and the publicity poster. Curiously, also on the poster you see USMC dog tags though the platoon in the film is from the Army. Seems to me like someone would have caught that. 

     Platoon is one of the best war movies ever made but I don't think it has much rewatchability value because of its intensity. I enjoyed it more than The Deer Hunter but not quite as much as Apocalypse Now, Full Metal Jacket, or even the early All Quiet on the Western Front.