Cara de guerra

Though I've read only a couple of dozen of the nearly 500 comments on this film, I didn't see any from ex-Marines who'd had the Parris Island experience. I went through PI in 1957. The time period in the picture would have been about 1967, since the in-country sequence includes the '68 Tet Offensive. Little had changed in those 10 years except the switch from M1s to M16s.

For the most part Kubrick got Parris Island right on the money. And why shouldn't he have, since his screen DI, Lee Ermey was in fact a real DI before he started acting (he played another DI in "The Boys of Company C," an earlier and lesser Vietnam flick)? He had a built- in technical adviser. The screams and insults and profanity and physical punishment were all part of the DIs armamentarium. When you're facing up to 75 young strangers you need to immediately establish absolute authority and hang on to it for 13 weeks. Furthermore, you want to break the breakable as soon as you can. My platoon had its Private Pyles and though none ended up as he does in "Full Metal Jacket," I remember that they simply disappeared from our ranks, never to be heard from again. Nothing Ermey as Sgt. Hartman does is exaggerated.

Kubrick, however, does exaggerate. Speaking of Pyle's ending, it's almost impossible for me to imagine that a recruit could manage to sneak a clip of live rounds away from the rifle range. Every shooter at the range has his own rifle coach, and every single round is very carefully accounted for. Kubrick started the killing one scene too early.

I've read that DIs nowadays are forbidden to use the time-honored f-word, and are not allowed to lay hands on recruits. I don't know if that's good or bad for training (I had my face slapped hard my first day of boot camp and that was just for openers), but then all of us old-timers like to brag about how tough it useta be!

A final note: It's interesting to compare "Full Metal Jacket" to another attempt at a portrayal of Parris Island, Jack Webb's "The DI," made around '55 or '56. Webb tries for authenticity, but as I was to learn a year or so later, his PI was a boy scout camp.

The first half of "Full Metal Jacket" is so intensely entertaining that director Stanley Kubrick can be forgiven for the slight come-down that follows. The opening scenes draw us into the strict world of "maggots" training to join the ranks of real men, otherwise known as Marines. We see the characters humiliated, yelled at like children, beaten and, in one tragic case, broken down. It's an unpleasant yet fascinating place to visit from the comfort and safety of our living room couches. Yet once the action shifts to the Vietnam War, when you would expect even better, something is lost. The characters seem less real and the atmosphere less intriguing. Overall, however, there aren't many faults to find with this effort, but be forewarned that it's certainly not for younger viewers.

Strange, as I sat to watch Full Metal Jacket for the first time in years, what I remembered most was Lee Emery's Sgt Hartman's rantings and Vincent D'Onofrio. In fact, it was Vincent D'Onofrio's Pvt Lawrence, known as "Gomer Pyle" that made this Stanley Kubrick film, truly memorable. I'm noticing this more and more as I get older and revisit old films. The performances, certain performances, even in supporting roles allow a film to keep growing with the passing of time. Full Metal Jacket a shattering film or I should say, two shattering films. The first part, the training, the intro is a masterpiece practically impossible to match up, so, the second part doesn't match it. But, still. A film-experience. Vincent D'Onofrio's performance even more powerful now, 30 years later. Enormous! The British skies over Vietnam is another reminder than an artist's eye knows no boundaries.

I was a Marine at Parris Island in 1977 and I can certainly tell this film is very accurate in every respect right down to the blanket party scene. The base that they used in England looks very much like Parris Island, right down to the Grinder and the barracks in the background. The part where they are running on the road with Joker carrying Pyle looks like the road to Elliots Beach. The Cadence is true to life as well as Senior Drill Instructor Hartmans dialect, all of the comments I can say 100% that I have heard on The Island and had them used on me. For a person who was there it had me fooled, although the O-Course and the rifle range are completely different in layout and looks. The inside of the barracks and the head are identical to the real thing. For anyone viewing this film trust me it doesn't get any closer to being Parris Island and I would say that the "Gunny" saw to that. As far as the in country segment it looks pretty much like the real photos I saw in USMC training films.

Full Metal Jacket is an excellent war film. All the characters are very well written, and represent very common characters in the military. There's always a class clown, a hardened individual that's respected, and someone who just isn't capable. The acting of Vincent D'Onofrio in this is exceptional, he only has a short amount of screen time, but his story is very sad and impactful. The second half of the film starts to become less enjoyable, but nevertheless it's still a good film.