Full Metal Jacket

For other uses, see Full metal jacket (disambiguation).

Full Metal Jacket
Against a white backdrop is a camouflaged military helmet with "Born to Kill" written on it, a peace sign attached to it, and a row of bullets lined up inside the helmet strap. Above the helmet are the words, "In Vietnam the wind doesn't blow it sucks."
Theatrical release poster
Directed byStanley Kubrick
Screenplay by
Based onThe Short-Timers
by Gustav Hasford
Produced byStanley Kubrick
Starring
CinematographyDouglas Milsome
Edited byMartin Hunter
Music byVivian Kubrick
(as Abigail Mead)
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • June 17, 1987 (1987-06-17) (Beverly Hills premiere)
  • June 26, 1987 (1987-06-26) (US)
  • September 11, 1987 (1987-09-11) (UK)
Running time
116 minutes[1]
Countries
  • United Kingdom
  • United States[2]
Languages
  • English
  • Vietnamese
Budget$16.5–30 million[3][4]
Box office$120 million[5]

Full Metal Jacket is a 1987 war 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.

The storyline follows a platoon of U.S. Marines through their boot camp training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina. The first half of the film focuses primarily on privates J.T. Davis and Leonard Lawrence, nicknamed "Joker" and "Pyle" respectively, who struggle under their abusive drill instructor, Gunnery Sergeant Hartman. The second half portrays the experiences of Joker and other Marines in the Vietnamese cities of Da Nang and Huế during the Tet Offensive of the Vietnam War.[6] The film's title refers to the full metal jacket bullet used by military servicemen.

Warner Bros. released Full Metal Jacket in the United States on June 26, 1987. It was the last of Kubrick's films to be released during his lifetime. The film received critical acclaim, grossed $120 million against a budget of $16.5–30 million and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.[7] The film was also nominated for two BAFTA Awards, and Ermey was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture for his performance. In 2001, the American Film Institute placed the film at number 95 in its poll titled "AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills."[8]

  1. ^ "FULL METAL JACKET". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
  2. ^ "Full Metal Jacket (1987)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on July 11, 2012. Retrieved October 20, 2011.
  3. ^ "AFI|Catalog - Full Metal Jacket". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on August 29, 2019. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
  4. ^ "Full Metal Jacket (1987)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on December 23, 2011. Retrieved August 1, 2011.
  5. ^ "Kubrick Keeps 'em in Dark with 'Eyes Wide Shut'". Los Angeles Times. September 29, 1998. p. 2. Archived from the original on January 12, 2019. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
  6. ^ Dittmar, Linda; Michaud, Gene (1990). From Hanoi to Hollywood: The Vietnam War in American Film. Rutgers University Press. p. 31. ISBN 9780813515878.
  7. ^ "Awards Database Search". Archived from the original on February 8, 2009. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
  8. ^ "AFI'S 100 Most Thrilling American Films". afi.com. American Film Institute. Archived from the original on December 25, 2013. Retrieved August 19, 2016. 2001