Vincent D'Onofrio is one of the most underrated actors of his generation. He can do anything. He's constantly working, and has such diverse characters. It's hard to believe the same person is Gomer Pyle in Full Metal Jacket, Thor in Adventures in Babysitting, Edgar/The Bug in Men in Black, and Kingpin in Daredevil/Hawkeye.
My Dad was a Vietnam veteran, '67-'68, artillery scout for the First Infantry division. He said this was very accurate, including boot camp. PTSD wrecked those poor guys, with little support. He was a great father and husband but drank to hide from the memories. Sometimes he would tell me about it. Love ya dad
My dad wasn't a ground pounder, he was in a hospital unit, and he would OCCASIONALLY tell me stories but not many. The Agent Orange got my dad. It caused cancer to a lot of guys, including my dad. Here's to our dads for what they did for us. And fuck all those hippies who spit on them back home.
Same with my friend Pheolix, who served with the Corps during Nam. The only thing he ever said about his duties was that his platoon was ordered to dump the Agent Orange nerve agent into the water before they were pulled out. I miss him every day and he was one of the best people I have known.
My wife and I met Gunny years ago, he couldn't have been more humble and kind to us. He was more interested in my service than talking about his. RIP Gunny.
@@rayspeakmon2954 I was never in the military although that was my intent. Instead I served as a civilian National Registered Paramedic for 30 years prior to retirement. I finally got to Washington DC, however, and visited one of the most humbling places on earth. It was on my bucket list, but I made it back x2. All three times I spent time watching no less than two consecutive Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Guard change ceremonies. One other VERY memorable event while there though was visiting the wall of Arlington's Colombarium, section 82, where GySgt. Ronald Lee Ermey's cremains were eventually inturred after his 04/18 passing on 01/18/2019 (if my old self hasnt confused my dates!). I wish every American could visit that place just once, it's unlike anything I've ever experienced. Thank you for your service; all of you who have ever served have my everlasting respect.
I joined in 1969 during the Vietnam War. This is as close to real as it gets. The drill Instructors were as mean as can be. I took a beating occasionally but made it through. They did prepare us to be Marines. I’m just happy to be here to talk about it
All we could hope for is that our fellow American citizens at least try to comprehend “Why” we of all branches exist’s to fight with overwhelming aggression in order to win wars in order to keep the global powers who are so desperately working on dismantling our American freedom back here at home. Just know that and will appreciate your pro American observation about what needs to happen quick in order for us to continue to be a FREE a America. none of this is guaranteed or entitled to any of us. It takes blood and sacrifice and a lot of it unfortunately.
@@russellwright1422 do you actually believe it? Mate, nobody outside USA doesn't care much about USA. You think you're center of the earth, you think everyone just wants your country down. Truth is that for most people in the world USA is just another country. Only reason why people pay any attention to you outside of trade and tourism is that you see yourselves as "police of planet" and you feel urge to bring your beliefs and values to other people not asking them if they want them. Just live in peace with yourself and trade and be equal friend of any other county and any other human. That's it.
As an Army veteran of 21yrs, Kudos to Stanley Kubrick. I retired in 1978 and was in Vietnam in 68-69. I thank God I wasn't in those rice paddies. I was in charge of Radio Relay sites. RIP for those guys who didn't come back.
I went through Paris Island in 1969 and this is the most accurate depiction of what Marine training was like back then. Training was harsh. The Marine Corps felt that if they could mentally cause you to break during training then you would probably break during combat, get yourself killed and probably some of your buddies as well.
San Diego, 2000. I would say except for the racial stuff pretty dead on. They didn't smack the **** out of us exactly. They 'adjusted our position'. Like one time when I smirked at a DI, he adjusted the position of my head into the metal frame of my rack a few times.
@@vasiliarkhipov2121 In my platoon there was some racially charged events similar to this movie. It only lasted for about a week as I remember and then we all settled into being scum bags, pukes, scrotums, ladies just to name a few. I think hitting the racial shit early was an attempt to see if anyone was sensitive to it because it didn't last.
Kubrick is famous for his attention to detail. When Joker kills the sniper the camera is at such an angle that when he brings the gun up and pulls the trigger his collar slowly covers his peace sign button so all that's visible symbolically is 'Born to Kill' on his helmet. This movie is about a lot of things but one of them is that we are all capable of pulling the trigger.
Kubrick's attention to detail is legend. They hired him to fake the moon landing, but he insisted they really go, so he could get the lighting right. 😎😎
@@Steve-cm2ys it is more than a mercy killing. it was also participating in a major, mass murderous crime, the invasion and destruction of south and north vietnam. That moment is the end of the joker hiding from his sins, and accepting that it is out of his hands anyway
This movie is set in 1967 or 68. The actor playing the DI, (drill instructor); was an actual DI in the corps. He was suppose to be an technical advisor but landed the role when he got the chance. A lot of people wonder why young men at the time would put themselves through this training. The draft was still in place and many would enlist to be able to pick the branch of service they would go into. R Lee Ermy had a show on the history channel called mail call where he would answer questions about the military. He also played House's father on the TV series House.
Gunny was a great guy. After he passed away one of the people close to him said that gunny did a lot for underprivileged people. His show on History Channel was an awesome show.
@@cshubs - Wait... you think he volunteered? Yeah no. Vietnam utilized the draft quite heavily. There's a pretty good chance that Pyle was a draftee. And just wait... the draft is coming back soon. And this time the women won't be exempt.
R. Lee Ermey, the drill instructor, was an actual drill instructor for a while. Kubrick originally hired him to be a technical advisor, but after seeing a tape of him berating extras on the film, he cast him as drill instructor. What a man.
The door gunner in the helicopter was originally cast as the Drill Instructor in "Ful Metal Jacket"! R. Lee Ermey made the entire film for me, as he didn't have to act at all because he actually lived it! I had the pleasure of meeting him in Iraq in 2003 during the 2nd Gulf War, as he was doing an episode of "Mail Call" about the A-10 Warthog! I even got to take a picture with him of me choking myself!!!
The scene where Joker shoots the sniper is some of the best silent facial acting ever. He is a mess before hand and if you watch closely the 1000 yard stare comes over his face. It's subtle and it's brilliant. He embodies "the change".
This movie is the one most realistic depiction of the crap real world Warriors went through in Viet-Nam. I was in the 101st Airborne, the war left scars,memories and fallen brothers. You can’t have any remorse for killing the enemy, great comments from y’all.
I was fortunate enough to meet R. Lee Ermey, at a local event several years back. He plays the Senior Drill Instructor, Gunnery Sergeant Hartmann. He was so laid back and cool. I still have the challenge coin that he handed me.
One of the many interesting background aspects of this movie was that although it doesn't look like it, it was filmed entirely in England. The boot camp scenes were filmed at a British military base, and the Vietnam battle scenes at an industrial complex near London that was scheduled for demolition. Hundreds of palm trees and other plants were brought in to make it a plausible stand-in for Vietnam.
Bassingbourn Barracks near Cambridge. I was a recruit there while it was being filmed. Some recruits were used as extras and they left the assault course intact so the Army could use it. It was put out of bounds because it was unsafe.
The door-gunner said: "Easy, you just don't lead them so much." Meaning: the women and children aren't as fast of runners as the VC (Viet Cong fighters), so he doesn't have to 'lead' (shoot in front of a running target) them with his machine-gun as much as he has to 'lead' a VC. Factoid: I was in Marine training on Parris Island when this movie was being filmed there.
I was about to make the same comment. I had been honorably discharged from the Marine Corps about 2 years before this came out, I got flashbacks from my Boot Camp memories during the first half of the movie. Parris Island - 1982 3rd Battalion - H Company Platoon 3018 OOH-RAH! MOS 7212 Missile Operator
That drill instructor is R Lee Earmy. He was a real drill instructor. He only worked on the movie to teach actors how to be a DI. But the director asked him to do it cuz it felt authentic
Saw FMJ in the theater when it came out and it was a devastating experience. The feeling in the theater after the triple hit of The Sniper scene, the Micky Mouse song and the black screen with the Stones' Painted Black playing was heavy, heavy, heavy stuff. Everyone just sat there for a few minutes trying to absorb it all. I went to the bathroom after it was over, along with a bunch of other people. ( No one left the movie to go pee, everyone was so glued to the film!) There were guys in the bathroom crying. ( they were 'Nam vets from what they were saying) It shook me up as I was 17 at the time. One of the guys looked at me and said, " Be thankful you weren't of age back then, it could have been YOU!" That stuck with me! It's a powerful film. Great review! I urge ya'll to go back and watch this movie again. I think you missed a lot of things. There's a lot going on in this film and you'll pick up some more of the subtlety, irony and dark humor that is there with repeated viewings!
That bathroom scene is literally "unforgettable" and demonstrates how even a small moment, sound or look can make a lifetime impression! Apocalypse Now is mandatory as well. "I love the smell of Napalm in the morning!"
I don't rewatch a lot of movies, but this feels like a great way to see all the highlights and remember the scenes while getting the enjoyment of watching it with someone who hasn't seen it. Your format is solid, and you both come across as very relatable and fun.
FYI,Platoon is another Vietnam era movie you should watch. It actually won Best Picture in 1988. Written and Directed by Oliver Stone,a Vietnam Veteran.
@@SwampmasterZ Casualties of War. That's a harrowing movie and definitely shows off MJF's dramatic acting skill. It helps that he had a good director too in Brian De Palma for that film.
When I went through basic we had a guy very similar to Pyle. Everyone tried to help him get through it, but sadly he died on the obstacle course from a blood clot in his leg that broke loose and went to his brain. There was a guy put in our unit that was flunking out of the unit ahead of us. They assigned him to me to get him up to speed. That meant I had to spend extra time with him like Joker did with Pyle. Thankfully, my guy pulled through it all. This movie brought back lots of memories. R.I.P. to all my brothers that didn't make it. Now I am against sending our young men and women to fight wars that we don't understand and we're not appreciated for.
I don't know what it is, but EVERY platoon in Basic has its own version of Gomer Pyle. I went thru in '89, and we had a good 'ol boy from W.V. He has never really worn shoes before, so boots really screwed him up.
@@timhonigs6859 it's almost statistical certain. Break up the population and it's turns out similar to a platoon hierarchy of capabilities. I had a Pvt Pyle in bootcamp. The military tries to reduce this with prescreening with the ASVAB but when recruitment numbers have dropped they'll drop standards.
@@jessecortez9449 I know the numbers will always work out that way. We had a practical application of that in stats in university. If there are 31 ppl in a class/room/section, there is a 50% chance that two ppl share the same bday. 1/365+2/365+3/365.... equates to about 50%. Always freaky to think of it in that manner.
This was my father's life when he enlisted in the Corps in 1963. He graduated from boot camp at Camp Pendleton in San Diego, California and was stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay, Oahu, Hawaii before he was ordered to Vietnam with the rest of his platoon. He never talked much about the war, too many flashbacks, but he would watch Full Metal Jacket and critique the movie. He would smile and look at me and say Hollywood went soft on the Boot Camp part of the movie. .He used to say that his biggest fear was not the NVA itself, but "Charlie" the rogue guerilla troops that could be anyone from a hooker carrying a knife, to an 8 year old child carrying a bomb in a shoebox. My dad had was very proud to be a Marine veteran, and I am so very proud of him but I knew better than to ask questions about his experiences in Vietnam because of his nightmares and he suffered from PTSD from his experience in Vietnam till the day he died in 2016.
Thanks for sharing this guys. The movie takes place in two halves: the first part take place in 1967, where some men are taking training in Parris Island, South Carolina. After the Gomer Pyle (played by Vincent D'Onofrio who gained 70 pounds, weighting 280 pounds for the character) committed suicide and the scene fades out, it came the second part, taking place in 1968, in the Battle of Hue, Vietnam.
Parris Island was my home for 13 weeks in 1977/78. I entered the Marine Corps a whopping 5ft 2in tall and 117lbs. I served 6 years. The first hour of this movie is pretty realistic of boot camp. I am still a proud Marine who wears his dress blues on the Marine Corps birthday and still perform military graveside services for deceased veterans. Marine Corps training prepared me for what I chose as a career afterward. First, a 9-1-1 dispatcher, then a correctional officer at a state prison. Semper Fi!
The “This is my rifle, this is my gun” scene, is what happens when you call your rifle a gun in front of the Drill Instructor. In ANY Naval service a rifle is never called a gun. It’s a weapon, a rifle, or a piece. So he was teaching them not to call it a gun. The term “GUN” is reserved for Naval deck guns. ( the big cannons on the ship).
@Tom Helms - agree. But I also see that you are missing the point, and concentrating on that particular small detail. In a larger "picture" > it doesn't matter. Nobody really cares about it at this point. Why should they? What is important is a much larger picture in this movie: how military is pushing young people to do something that they probably would never do in the first place, brainwash them too (and there is a lot of psychology behind that, and why military is doing it at that recruitment age) - to the point of breaking. And some of them should not even be there in the first place. All of that is well know in a psychology literature. Also, it is still happening now, just on a different level and much more subtle, as military can also pay for your education (mostly in US, as most of other countries don't have that stupid approach). So you have another level of psychology here: not just that some people shouldn't be in the military at all (as they will be prone to breaking, even during a basic training), but they are only there because of financial reasons. And that is completely wrong approach on many levels. At the end it all boils down to... education, but that is a completely different subject, especially comparing US to any of EU countries.
@@tannhauser5399, this is a comments section and one to a reaction video. Remarking on "small details" is the point here. No need for your sociological critique that hundreds of other pseudo-intellectuals will feel the need to make.
@@tannhauser5399 Um yeah, I wasn’t making a political statement. They both looked confused at why he had them grabbing their crotch saying “this is my gun”. And before you start with all the bull crap about the military is this or that, if you didn’t serve stfu. Unless you have “been there and done that” I have no interest in your opinions. Because if you didn’t “go” then you don’t “know.” So save the political assessment of the horrors of boot camp and service for someone who didn’t live it.
It was the same in all branches. You didn't call something a gun unless it was crew served or mounted on a vehicle. Someone in my training cycle mistakenly referred to his rifle as a gun when we were on the range, the drills had him holding his rifle overhead all day screaming, "this is my rifle."
The man who played the helicopter door gunner was originally cast as the drill instructor, but was later replaced by Ermy because he fit the role so perfectly ✌️
@@jerryfick613Improvised all his lines too. They actually had to edit some out because they thought it was too much. I can only imagine based on what they kept
As a vet i can say this movie came up many times during boot camp. The opening scene is very powerful and vivid. I think about my time in the Infantry a little bit, everyday.
The Vietnam scenes were filmed at Beckton gasworks in East London, they filmed all summer 1987, and we got £30 for each van-load of rubble we delivered into the film-set, to simulate the ruined town... the palm trees were sitting in skips, out of view of the cameras. The deserted area still has the palm trees visible today !
The guy who played the Drill sergeant was one in real life. When my father watched this movie was the first and only time I saw him shed a tear. He said watching the beginning reminded him when he was in basic training for the Marines during the Vietnam War. He said hearing those cadence every day you just can't forget. He also knew the drill instructor had to really be one you can't imitate those sounds
The scene on the obstacle where the Gunny starts screaming at Pyle to get off his obstacle -- the scene was supposed to end with Pyle at the top but R. Lee Ermy saw that Vincent D'Onofrio was really scared of heights and ran with it and they kept filming. Ermy was a real drill instructor and was hired as a technical advisor but Kubrick ended up giving the role of Gunnery Sergeant Hartmann to him and Ermy wrote the dialogue for it.
@@s1ck-s1de39 Well, he wrote and edited his own dialogue pulling from his repertoire of drill instructor material, but he also improvised on set at times, which is not something Kubrick normally allowed. It was a masterful performance.
Firstly, I love the channel. My father was a Combat Medic in the First Cavalry Division, 18th Medical Battalion, US Army 1967 & 68. He was at the battle of Wei City (which is the battle depicted in the movie). He has always said this and Apocalypse Now were the most accurate depictions of the war in Viet Nam. It still disturbs him to this day.
this is kind of random, but u should read the book "chickenhawk" by robert mason. it's about a first cav helo pilot that flew over a thousand missions. i read it in high school and i still think about it. i'm 50 now and retired military. your local library will have the paperback it was pretty popular in the 80's.
I am late to the party, but you two characterize the concept of combat pretty well. The pressures and PTSD are spot on. I watched with skepticism but was drawn in. From a combat veteran, I say excellent job.
I had a roommate who was a Marine. He said this was very accurate, at least it was still in 1988 when he joined. He said they had to PT through the night when a recruit snuck some ketchup - of all things - into the barracks. He said if it had happened again, they would have thrown the screw-up a blanket party.
Same happened to me in Navy bootcamp plenty of years ago. Somebody snuck a Nutrigrain bar and we were disciplined thru PT until the entire room, walls, and floor were wet!
I have a good friend who came back from his tour a year or so ago. He said the same; most accurate depiction of Marine boot camp he's seen. Though I'm not sure the drill sergeants can get away with being quite that rough on the enlistees anymore.
I was at Parris Island in the summer of 89 and I can attest to night time PT. lol. It's all behind me now but I still smile when I think of those times in the Corps. We started with 89. At the end of training just before graduation we were down 50%. Some got put back. Some just couldn't hack it. One guy lost it in medical.
Private Pyle in real life is Vincent D’Onofrio. He was working as a door man at a hotel in New York City while trying to start his acting career. This was his first film. A friend got him this gig. He was actually very lean and strong before but had to get chubby for the role. He played a powerful role tho. Sad but powerful. He said it was tough getting to that size which wasn’t even that big but he was able to gain some extra pounds. He dropped it like it was hot right after.
Gomer Pyle's performance is top notch. He's also seen in The Cell. He looks considerably different in that movie. The actor's name is Vincent D'Onofrio.
My father served in the Marine Corp in Vietnam. When he came back stateside, he was a Marine DI. Awesome Dad loved him to pieces. He drank a lot to cope, but when I grew up, I understood why. That man carried a lot of pain and survivor's guilt in silence.
"Full Metal Jacket" is an entirely different movie every time after the first that you watch it. The first time you watch it, you're probably watching Private Joker. Every time you watch it after the first, during the Boot Camp portion, you watch Pyle like a hawk, observing the breaking of his personality and the reformation of his new persona.
Pvt Pyle's new persona pushed that 7.62 at about 2200 feet per second on it's way to the sarge in the latrine...Sarge had a mandate to turn these guys into killers...mission accomplished....
The acting in this movie is brilliant. I think it's more or less about what war does to people, and it's all ugly. It's not pro or anti war, just shows that the people that are there are all just people. We haven't fought a just war since WWII. I don't think you should be able to send young men to die unless you send your own son too. Maybe that would give these people pause before they make decisions that affect so many people.
@@mplslawnguy3389 I believe the reason for the draft lottery during the Viet Nam war was intended to block efforts of the elite and powerful, politicians, from being able to dodge the draft or keep their own sons from going to fight in a war that they are controlling. However, there were so many exceptions/exemptions that it was still the poor and powerless that ended up in the trenches.
@@marticiawall1569 I don't think they were all poor and powerless, they just weren't rich and didn't have connections. Plenty of middle class guys went over there as well as poor.
I enjoyed your reaction to this one. Without getting into too much detail, my father is a Vietnam Veteran. He suffers now from PTSD and is in the beginning stages of dementia. He was in the Army, though, not the Marines. But I have respect for all of our veterans. He chose to go into the Army and wasn't drafted. I am glad he did because, through that, is how he eventually met my mother. They've been together over 50 years now. I am sure you can tell that I am proud of that. The one thing this movie didn't show, which I wish it did, is how the Veterans were treated when they came home. It was so disrespectful and horrible. I believe it was the first war where the Veterans did not come home to a hero's welcome.
One of the things that's easy to overlook is how young people are when we enlist. Teenagers in many cases. I enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1976 when I was seventeen, and that was a pretty good representation of what boot camp was like. I also landed in the infantry, as a mortarman, so I went to Infantry Training School after boot camp, and that was just boot camp II, although it only lasted four weeks. I served for twenty years - I never saw combat but I saw helicopter crashes that killed dozens of Marines, and had to help recover and identify the bodies of the dead Marines from the first crash I saw, a big one - a CH-53 with about thirty guys aboard went down and killed all but two. Aged me about fifty years in a day; I went from that immortal adolescent attitude to knowing with an absolute certainty, down to the marrow of my bones, that I am going to die, I might not get any warning, and what's left might not even look human. I'm in my 60s now, and at the end of the day with that first helo crash (Mindoro Island, Philippines, October 1977 - I was still eighteen) I think I had aged more since that morning than I have in the 46 years since then. I loved being in the Marine Corps, and still miss it almost 27 years after retiring, but it is a truly weird subculture in a lot of ways. You have to be a compatible kind of weird to thrive there.
@Asia&BJ When Joker asked the helicopter gunner how he could shoot women and children, the gunner jokingly said, "easy, you just don't lead them so much." He was saying that the women and children run slower than the men so you don't need to aim so far in front of them to have an accurate shot. Very morbid joke.
Deer Hunter is another movie about this forgotten war, I highly recommend it as it delves into lives of the characters before and after their tour of duty. One of my absolute favorites. It was my generation's war. You will be taken in emotionally just as you did in Full Metal Jacket.
I watched this with my dad when I was a little boy, he was a retired drill Sargent. I asked him if it was really this bad, he said sometimes it was worse. I changed my mind about going into the military...
same... watched this with my dad when i was a kid in Philippines. he's really into military history, used to tell me about Alexander the Great, Vietnam, WW1/2, Korean War, PH vs US war etc. i never understood why Gunny was being mean to his recruits. a decade or so later, i moved to the US and found out why they treat you like that in bootcamp... and tbh, i kinda miss it lol bootcamp would definitely make for a good show on TV 😂
One of my close friends, James Smith, yes, that was his name, did 2 tours of duty as a marine in Vietnam. He was a grunt, combat infantry. 1966 to 1969. He was wounded once but returned to active duty. When he returned to the US he was a different person. Even his wife Bonnie noticed that the person she said goodbye to was not the same person she welcomed home. He died in 1997 of cancer. Victim of agent orange.
This movie affected everyone in different, yet the same ways, because at the end of the day, we're all humans just living in the world in which we're born. We're only as crazy as that. R.I.P. Stanley Kubrick.
I absolutely adore you Asia and BJ. My mom had a massive stroke this week and is paralyzed on her right side and your videos are what got me through those long hospital visits and kept my mind off of real life for a moment so I thank you for that. You know you are doing something right when y'all have that special ability. Keep up the great job and can't wait until the next video. Sending much love from South Carolina ❤
Every time I see this movie I pick up something I hadn't realized before. Two things here: Joker is a very good teacher. He is patient and kind. I like to think the war didn't ruin that. And Pyle had a full magazine. If Joker hadn't brought him back a little by calling him by his real name, I think he was going to kill everybody he could until he ran out of ammo or someone took him down.
Stanley Kubrick was an amazing director. This was a really well done film. Great cast, great script. It felt like two movies, the Boot Camp portion stands alone, so does the subsequent in-country portion! A very powerful movie and another great reaction video.
I've always had love and respect for our men and women in the military for all the sacrifices they done to serve our country. protect our nation. And keep us safe and free. Asia thank you so much for your service I mean that from the bottom of my heart Asia may God bless you and your family. And God bless our our military with respect and kindness always your guys's big fan Christopher
And let me just add my Father and Uncles said this movie really depicted the Vietnam War…like all the things that happened and how they acted and spoke…it was spot on. It’s not my favorite movie but it’s been a favorite in my armed forces family.
From a quick perusal of the comments, there's not much to add, except to say that this Reaction video is one of the most empathetic and intelligent that I'm aware of, regarding a Vietnam war film. Many thanks for posting it on RUclips. Peace and Joy, good health, Blessings and Grace to you both, and to all of your families and friends from Santa Fe, NM.
@@ReelinwithAsiaandBJ You are most welcome. And thanks to you both for the Asia & BJ ♥️, plus for taking the time to send a Reply for which - considering the amount of comments your podcasts receive - is quite a feat, and is deeply appreciated! Would you mind if I recommend another little known film on the Vietnam war? It is entitled, "Go Tell The Spartans", and attempts to dramatize the more honorable intentions of the USA in that tragic war. If you don't mind my saying so, Love ya both, and wish you all the Best Blessings! R.T.
My mom was a trauma nurse in the AF during Vietnam, she still won't talk about what she had to deal with, and i am a 22 year navy vet, been deployed 11 times.
The end totally brings it home to what this movie is trying to tell everyone. That's why you were in the state of mind at the end of this movie. I could tell by the expression on both of your faces. I really enjoyed watching this movie with you guys. I watched also in the theater when it came out. Great Job.
You guys were bold taking this one. My hats off. The lady is obviously a vet, so happy veterans days. It's not all the same. Male, female, branch, fort and generation. It gets weaker as the years go on and the weapons advance.
To answer your question from the 17:24 timestamp: Gomer Pyle had been drafted. He was never cut out to be a soldier. He shouldn’t have been there in the first place. It was the last role Kubrick casted, as it was a role in which the character had to invoke empathy from the audience, and Kubrick was very picky about who would play the part. The actor did his job perfectly.
My dad went 3 times to Vietnam for the Marine Corps . I was born in 1962 when dad was a drill Sargent all my life dad was my hero my Superman father of 7 husband to one woman for 50 years there are no finer men and women than the ones who wear the eagle globe and anchor ❤ I served in the navy
During the Vietnam War, the US was drafting people that were clinically mentally handicapped even after viewing their medical files. I believe that Leonard (Pile) may have had existing issues before hand at least from my experience. We had someone like that when I was training. Always threatened to kill people and was very graphic and vulgar with threats. At first we laughed it off but none of us did when the 2 on fire watch said he was up all night staring at the people he hated most and was promptly removed after that. That kid was gonna hurt someone.
That would be project 100,000. They were disgustingly called "McNamara's Morons". Guys who had failed the iq or psych exams at first but then they were called when McNamara lowered the standards to "bring them out of poverty." Their death rates were way higher than the rest of the army. It's a damn shame.
I didnt know Asia was military. Thats dope. I went through USMC boot camp back in 2005. It wasn't as harsh but at the same time a lot of people struggled. I had a 13 year career before falling down a mountain and being medically discharged.
The term for the hazing with the soap bars is a blanket party. When I was in the Army in the mid 80's, screwups got pushed down the stairs by "the radar monster".... Is what it is.
I enjoyed watching. Your reactions were really genuine. Thank you for your service Asia. You both had empathy and I can just tell from your comments and reactions that you are kind individuals.
Thanks for your reaction to this. Although I'm not a war vet and was never sent to any official AOR (I am a veteran), once you put on that uniform you're no longer fighting for your country - you're more fighting to keep your brothers in arms alive and sane (whether in theater or not). I'm almost positive that the opposing side is on the same boat. This is such a brilliant movie and shows how difficult the world was during the Vietnam war - and also shows how there still has been so much senseless killing all the way up to this day...
That's about how it was. I served 20 years in the Marine Corps and two combat tours in Vietnam. The first tour as a machine gunner (0331) in 1965-66 and the second as a Platoon commander (0369) in 1970-71. I retired after 20 years and had a 30 year career as a California police officer ( Marin County). What I learned in the Marine Corps has helped me all my life. I highly recommend it to anyone needing direction and wishing to learn self discipline . Tom Boyte GySgt. USMC, retired Bronze Star, Purple Heart
Cool…My uncle served 2 tours in Vietnam too! Except he flew rescue helicopters and refused to talk about his experience. We did find out later from his ex-wife that he hadn’t fully finished his 2nd tour in Vietnam because during one trip out, he refused orders to detour from the intended flight path in a way that allowed soldiers on board to kill children and was kindly asked to finish his tour in Germany. So yeah this is about how it was for sure- but my uncle ended up an alcoholic who ruined his marriage when he got back to the states and moved across country because he couldn’t look his 3 young daughters in the eye anymore. He’s been sober and remarried for a long time now (but never had more children). He still flies helicopters (commercially) and refuses to talk about his time in Vietnam 🙃
I work in a retirement community and we have many Vietnam and other vets living here. We decided to rent some trollies and any vet that wanted to be in the annual city veteran parade was welcome to hop on the trollies and go. I think about 30 chose to go with us. As the parade started a few of them wanted to get off and walk alongside the slow moving trollies, then most of them did as we were coming up among the people. Some said they were nervous because when they got back from Nam they were spit on and yelled and it stuck in their minds all these years. But I had never seen such an amazing moment as when the thousands of people we came upon and walked by stood up out of their chairs and clapped for all these men we had with us. Many were even coming down and hugging them and shaking their hands telling them they were glad they were home. It was what these men needed to hear and feel that day. They held it together good but I cried nearly the whole parade watching this unfold. When we got into work the next morning we had several emails from their wives telling us thank you so much for doing that, that just that love and hugs from fellow citizens helped healed some of the war trauma and being spit on they'd been carrying for 50 years. I'll never forget that day as long as I live.
Thank you for your service! Love your commentary. Keep up the awesome work. I was in the Corps in 1970's. The boot camp portion was like I remembered it LOL. Our BC was 13 weeks.
This may be too late for you guys to read this but in case no one else has mentioned it, Private Pyle's nickname is a reference to an old sitcom of the same name (there's a channel I watch with a bunch of old TV shows including Gomer Pyle and honestly, I kinda like it 😅)
Watching the boot camp series now versus my first time as a teenager hits different. Now I know that the US Military targeted low intelligence men to fill their ranks as the war went on. So the story about Lawrence wasn't in the movie for dramatic effect only. It was an illustration of a true horrific story. Taking disadvantaged people and putting them in situations likely to twist even the best prepared man. A history of trauma we see playing out in society still today. Traumatized people prepared to traumatize others. Obviously many recover, but few come back without deep wounds or a struggle. Horrifying.
You guys should definitely check out Platoon (1986). It’s one of the most emotionally draining movies I’ve ever seen. There were a lot of Vietnam War movies around this time period in the late 80s, twenty years after the peak of the war.
Fun fact - the Vietnamese town scene was actually shot in East London. The area that now is known as Canary Wharf and it's surroundings; a concert by the French Synthesiser player (Jean Michelle Jarre) was filmed close to here. I grew up around that area.
I think Stanley Kubrick was underrated. He was against the Hollywood norm, but how else would we have such brilliant works? He did have personal issues that should have ended his career. But no one was bold enough like him to create such works. The Private Pyle end scene is a metaphor that no matter what branch anyone goes through, it could be the worst mental breakdown of their life as we all have faced different challenges. Ultimately, it could be their mental struggles and you couldn't do much other than be kind to them. If you're a vet struggling don't be afraid to reach out to a church, a friend, your VA, or your state's medical insurance system. Never be ashamed to aks for help when your nation asked for your help.
With the caveat that one must separate the art from the artist, it turns out Kubrick was a stubborn piece of shit. He remains my favourite director. As a person, he was OCD and on top of that, inconsiderate and self-centred. Being OCD made him put his whole life into the perfection of each movie. What is usually a disorder resulted in art. This movie is very affecting. The acting is perfect throughout. Had PTSD, got good treatment. Hope all can get what I did. Lastly, if you wonder why returning soldiers were mistreated, take a look at Joker's scene with "Born to Kill" and the peace sign. The USA was torn over this war. Just as importantly, they lost the war. Consider a war or two in the world right now. Civilians being shot at, mistreatment of the dead, breaking basic rules of decency. The reason for so much being centred on training is that for the first time the military found out how to make most soldiers want to kill. The training removes the basic social bond that we agree not to kill.
I went through boot camp in '85 and it's amazing how these drill instructors come up with these hilarious insults. The biggest differences I can see is there was almost never one drill instructor in the barracks. Also, live ammo is locked up out of reach for any recruits. The harshness us real, very authentic. My drill instructor called me Don Ho, a Hawaiian singer from back in the day. I'm actually First Nation, but they don't care. Their job is to tear you down and build you back up into a fighting machine.
Oki, nĭ‘skŏn. I was called either Tonto or Geronimo by my drill sgts in Basic at Ft Benning in 1986. They found out after I got a letter from my mom during the second week and they were doing mail call. One of them had been through Montana before and recognized the town and asked why I was getting mail from an Indian reservation. I explained that my mom was full Blackfoot and still lived there. That sealed the deal for me.
So many iconic moments and meme worthy bits in this movie, when it comes to the helicopter door gunner scene "you don't lead them as much" leading is just a fancy term for aiming in front of a moving target to account for the time in flight of the projectiles.
This isn't my favorite military movie but I believe Jesse Ventura, who was a Navy SEAL during this era (along with being a WWE star, actor, and future governor of Minnesota), when he said this is the most realistic war movie he had ever seen.
Ventura was NOT a SEAL! He was UDT, (Underwater Demolition Team.). There is a HUGE difference. Ventura wouldn’t know shit about the combat scenes, because he never saw combat. He was stationed in Subic Bay, Philippines.
Great reaction y’all, my dad was actually a gunner on a helicopter like you seen and that’s what his orders was if it moved you make it not move… man, woman, or child and yea this movie is pretty accurate from what he told me
My grandfather was a Vietnam vet… he never really spoke about his experience much. But when he did, he mentioned it was a cluster**** and that boot camp was not far off from what we saw here. I never pressed him for details, felt wrong of me to do that. He was a tough old bird, though Alzheimer’s kinda showed more that confused most of his family. We could only assume.
Stanley Kubrick to film is what Mozart was to music. He was born for it. He couldn’t hold anything back from getting the perfect shot, the perfect take, his vision had to be seen, and he shows it in every single film. But this film shows him even more of a film genius, building two narratives into one film, and by the end of it, you feel you have watched 2 totally different films. Masterpiece
The door gunner in the helicopter said, “You just don’t lead ‘em so much.” He didn’t have to aim as far in front of them because they run slower. Check out 1986’s Platoon for director Oliver Stone’s Vietnam movie.
When shooting at moving targets, you will need to lead that target in order to achieve a hit. So please aim in front of where you expect the target to orient itself.
I love Vincent D'Onofrio! Everything I've ever seen him in he has made much better than it would have been without him. Check out 1999's 'The Thirteenth Floor' sometime. It's in my DVD collection and I'm glad.👍✨✌
Since I was only 2 when this came out. It was quite a while before I could see it. Damn good cast. To include (but not limited to) Vincent D'Onofrio, Adam Baldwin, Dorian Harewoood, and R. Lee Ermey (RiP).
In my opinion, this IS Stanley Kubrick best film. I knew BJ would catch the song lines the Vietnamize Streetwalker blurts out at Joker sitting at the cafe. 😊 Classic !!! And Asia's expressions as the soldiers were becoming more & more desensitize to life as they were going deeper into war truly showed the warm soul Asia has for life. Great reaction video you two !!! Keep it going !!!
Barry Lyndon dude. Just saying, even tho it's only my opinion. In fact, actually i believe Full Metal Jacket is one of his weaker movies, even though the first half is masterful. I totally love this movie :)
My dad was in the army for 4 years back in the 90s. My grandfather was in the air force for 22 years. My stepdad growing up was in the navy for 6 years. A classmate of mine has made a career in the marines since we graduated ten years ago. From all the stories I've heard, I know that being in the military is not for the faint of heart, and i have the utmost respect for anyone who has served and is currently serving. They're doing something I never would be able to do. From a kid who grew up around vets, i salute you, Asia, and anyone who took the oath to protect this country from all enemies both foreign and domestic.
Vincent D'Onofrio is one of the most underrated actors of his generation. He can do anything. He's constantly working, and has such diverse characters. It's hard to believe the same person is Gomer Pyle in Full Metal Jacket, Thor in Adventures in Babysitting, Edgar/The Bug in Men in Black, and Kingpin in Daredevil/Hawkeye.
He also spent 7 years as Detective Goren on L&o: Criminal Intent.”
Also was a memorable character in 'The Salton Sea'(which is an underrated movie anyway)
He was also super ripped before this movie and had to intentionally work at getting fat and out of shape
Never go full Pyle!
@@kf8346 He was both Edgar and the bug. Dual role.
My Dad was a Vietnam veteran, '67-'68, artillery scout for the First Infantry division. He said this was very accurate, including boot camp. PTSD wrecked those poor guys, with little support. He was a great father and husband but drank to hide from the memories. Sometimes he would tell me about it. Love ya dad
Mine too. He was a lieutenant in the Marine Corps.
@@squaaaaak3178 those guys were just built different
@@jima6545 we daughters of such men are seldom heard from. It's a very interesting perspective that is often overlooked. I love my daddy very much.
My dad wasn't a ground pounder, he was in a hospital unit, and he would OCCASIONALLY tell me stories but not many. The Agent Orange got my dad. It caused cancer to a lot of guys, including my dad. Here's to our dads for what they did for us. And fuck all those hippies who spit on them back home.
Same with my friend Pheolix, who served with the Corps during Nam. The only thing he ever said about his duties was that his platoon was ordered to dump the Agent Orange nerve agent into the water before they were pulled out. I miss him every day and he was one of the best people I have known.
My wife and I met Gunny years ago, he couldn't have been more humble and kind to us. He was more interested in my service than talking about his. RIP Gunny.
He had PTSD from an RPG attack.
Got to met him in 2012. Great guy.
I am a Pussy, this made me tear up, greetings from The Netherlands.
@@corneliusantonius3108 It's ok, friend. I was a Marine and I appreciate your comment. 😊
@@rayspeakmon2954 I was never in the military although that was my intent. Instead I served as a civilian National Registered Paramedic for 30 years prior to retirement. I finally got to Washington DC, however, and visited one of the most humbling places on earth. It was on my bucket list, but I made it back x2. All three times I spent time watching no less than two consecutive Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Guard change ceremonies. One other VERY memorable event while there though was visiting the wall of Arlington's Colombarium, section 82, where GySgt. Ronald Lee Ermey's cremains were eventually inturred after his 04/18 passing on 01/18/2019 (if my old self hasnt confused my dates!). I wish every American could visit that place just once, it's unlike anything I've ever experienced. Thank you for your service; all of you who have ever served have my everlasting respect.
I joined in 1969 during the Vietnam War. This is as close to real as it gets. The drill Instructors were as mean as can be. I took a beating occasionally but made it through. They did prepare us to be Marines. I’m just happy to be here to talk about it
Semper Fi
Semper Fi.
Welcome home sir. Thank you for leading the way for us. I hope we lived up to the legacy you men set.
Semper Fi. Brother
@@gunnyslate5669 Oorah!
I never knew Asia was in the service from my family to you, thank you. We can never repay they service men and women for what they do. The true heros
All we could hope for is that our fellow American citizens at least try to comprehend “Why” we of all branches exist’s to fight with overwhelming aggression in order to win wars in order to keep the global powers who are so desperately working on dismantling our American freedom back here at home. Just know that and will appreciate your pro American observation about what needs to happen quick in order for us to continue to be a FREE a America. none of this is guaranteed or entitled to any of us. It takes blood and sacrifice and a lot of it unfortunately.
@@RadRat1978 40% of our military stays in the US, 60% are deployed over seas and into combat zones, about 10% see combat.
@@RadRat1978unless your a veteran yourself you should really keep your mouth shut about this.. unless it’s for thanking them
Absolutely! Thank you for your service Miss Asia
@@russellwright1422 do you actually believe it? Mate, nobody outside USA doesn't care much about USA. You think you're center of the earth, you think everyone just wants your country down. Truth is that for most people in the world USA is just another country. Only reason why people pay any attention to you outside of trade and tourism is that you see yourselves as "police of planet" and you feel urge to bring your beliefs and values to other people not asking them if they want them.
Just live in peace with yourself and trade and be equal friend of any other county and any other human. That's it.
As an Army veteran of 21yrs, Kudos to Stanley Kubrick. I retired in 1978 and was in Vietnam in 68-69. I thank God I wasn't in those rice paddies. I was in charge of Radio Relay sites. RIP for those guys who didn't come back.
Retired in 87
Welcome Home, Brother.
ill say - RIP to murdered Vietnamese ppl.
Salute.
I went through Paris Island in 1969 and this is the most accurate depiction of what Marine training was like back then. Training was harsh. The Marine Corps felt that if they could mentally cause you to break during training then you would probably break during combat, get yourself killed and probably some of your buddies as well.
True That!
I went thru PISC 3rd Bn in 1989 and it was only very slightly different then.
1982 Here on PISC... and yep, most accurate description of Marine Corps Boot in any movie!
San Diego, 2000. I would say except for the racial stuff pretty dead on. They didn't smack the **** out of us exactly. They 'adjusted our position'. Like one time when I smirked at a DI, he adjusted the position of my head into the metal frame of my rack a few times.
@@vasiliarkhipov2121 In my platoon there was some racially charged events similar to this movie. It only lasted for about a week as I remember and then we all settled into being scum bags, pukes, scrotums, ladies just to name a few. I think hitting the racial shit early was an attempt to see if anyone was sensitive to it because it didn't last.
Kubrick is famous for his attention to detail. When Joker kills the sniper the camera is at such an angle that when he brings the gun up and pulls the trigger his collar slowly covers his peace sign button so all that's visible symbolically is 'Born to Kill' on his helmet. This movie is about a lot of things but one of them is that we are all capable of pulling the trigger.
Awesome observation.
Kubrick's attention to detail is legend. They hired him to fake the moon landing, but he insisted they really go, so he could get the lighting right. 😎😎
I knew a Chinook pilot who did a mercy killing of a mortally wounded VC and he was the saddest person I have ever known.
@@Steve-cm2ys it is more than a mercy killing. it was also participating in a major, mass murderous crime, the invasion and destruction of south and north vietnam. That moment is the end of the joker hiding from his sins, and accepting that it is out of his hands anyway
@@Tijuanabill Lol, best comment in weeks. Made my day.
Asia, as a Veteran and very greatful American, thank you for your service.
My cousin Dave served in Vietnam. According to him, this movie was crazy accurate.
This movie is set in 1967 or 68. The actor playing the DI, (drill instructor); was an actual DI in the corps. He was suppose to be an technical advisor but landed the role when he got the chance. A lot of people wonder why young men at the time would put themselves through this training. The draft was still in place and many would enlist to be able to pick the branch of service they would go into. R Lee Ermy had a show on the history channel called mail call where he would answer questions about the military. He also played House's father on the TV series House.
He also played a DI in an earlier movie called "The Boys of Company C".. I think.
@@wyrmshadow4374 I actually forgot all about that movie. I only remember bits and pieces. I may have to check it out again
Gunny was a great guy. After he passed away one of the people close to him said that gunny did a lot for underprivileged people.
His show on History Channel was an awesome show.
Why would Pyle have volunteered for the Marines? He must have had an idea how hard they were, no?
@@cshubs - Wait... you think he volunteered? Yeah no. Vietnam utilized the draft quite heavily. There's a pretty good chance that Pyle was a draftee. And just wait... the draft is coming back soon. And this time the women won't be exempt.
R. Lee Ermey, the drill instructor, was an actual drill instructor for a while. Kubrick originally hired him to be a technical advisor, but after seeing a tape of him berating extras on the film, he cast him as drill instructor. What a man.
The door gunner in the helicopter was originally cast as the Drill Instructor in "Ful Metal Jacket"! R. Lee Ermey made the entire film for me, as he didn't have to act at all because he actually lived it! I had the pleasure of meeting him in Iraq in 2003 during the 2nd Gulf War, as he was doing an episode of "Mail Call" about the A-10 Warthog! I even got to take a picture with him of me choking myself!!!
When in the copter, when he was asked how he could shoot women and children, he said you just don’t lead them too much. Complete scum.
This movie made Ermey an icon and a legend. After he died his hometown (Palmdale, CA) named an avenue after him.
Berating extras is manly? Fuk that.
@@fractuss relax, the tape was for the actor they originally had to play the drill instructor to show how he needed to act.
The scene where Joker shoots the sniper is some of the best silent facial acting ever. He is a mess before hand and if you watch closely the 1000 yard stare comes over his face. It's subtle and it's brilliant. He embodies "the change".
This movie is the one most realistic depiction of the crap real world Warriors went through in Viet-Nam. I was in the 101st Airborne, the war left scars,memories and fallen brothers. You can’t have any remorse for killing the enemy, great comments from y’all.
@@billdavis8457 did you know a Guarnere?
@@hellletloosegameplay6119 no sir
@@hellletloosegameplay6119 nope never heard of him!
Original ending after he shoots her Animal Mother cuts her head off and throws it out the window
I was fortunate enough to meet R. Lee Ermey, at a local event several years back. He plays the Senior Drill Instructor, Gunnery Sergeant Hartmann. He was so laid back and cool. I still have the challenge coin that he handed me.
Luckyy. That's a relic to be passed down for sure
One of the many interesting background aspects of this movie was that although it doesn't look like it, it was filmed entirely in England. The boot camp scenes were filmed at a British military base, and the Vietnam battle scenes at an industrial complex near London that was scheduled for demolition. Hundreds of palm trees and other plants were brought in to make it a plausible stand-in for Vietnam.
Bassingbourn Barracks near Cambridge. I was a recruit there while it was being filmed. Some recruits were used as extras and they left the assault course intact so the Army could use it. It was put out of bounds because it was unsafe.
The door-gunner said: "Easy, you just don't lead them so much."
Meaning: the women and children aren't as fast of runners as the VC (Viet Cong fighters), so he doesn't have to 'lead' (shoot in front of a running target) them with his machine-gun as much as he has to 'lead' a VC.
Factoid: I was in Marine training on Parris Island when this movie was being filmed there.
He was the original actor hired to be the Drill Instructor until RLee upstaged him.
The war scenes were filmed in abandoned warehouses near london.
Good call. I was going to comment the same thing.
I was about to make the same comment. I had been honorably discharged from the Marine Corps about 2 years before this came out, I got flashbacks from my Boot Camp memories during the first half of the movie.
Parris Island - 1982
3rd Battalion - H Company
Platoon 3018 OOH-RAH!
MOS 7212 Missile Operator
The gunner was played by Ray Liotta.
Someone like that guy is going to go back to the States and probably end up being a serial killer.
That drill instructor is R Lee Earmy. He was a real drill instructor. He only worked on the movie to teach actors how to be a DI. But the director asked him to do it cuz it felt authentic
Saw FMJ in the theater when it came out and it was a devastating experience. The feeling in the theater after the triple hit of The Sniper scene, the Micky Mouse song and the black screen with the Stones' Painted Black playing was heavy, heavy, heavy stuff. Everyone just sat there for a few minutes trying to absorb it all.
I went to the bathroom after it was over, along with a bunch of other people. ( No one left the movie to go pee, everyone was so glued to the film!) There were guys in the bathroom crying. ( they were 'Nam vets from what they were saying) It shook me up as I was 17 at the time. One of the guys looked at me and said, " Be thankful you weren't of age back then, it could have been YOU!" That stuck with me! It's a powerful film.
Great review! I urge ya'll to go back and watch this movie again. I think you missed a lot of things. There's a lot going on in this film and you'll pick up some more of the subtlety, irony and dark humor that is there with repeated viewings!
Paint _it_ Black*
That bathroom scene is literally "unforgettable" and demonstrates how even a small moment, sound or look can make a lifetime impression! Apocalypse Now is mandatory as well. "I love the smell of Napalm in the morning!"
Platoon also.
Hamburger hill
I don't rewatch a lot of movies, but this feels like a great way to see all the highlights and remember the scenes while getting the enjoyment of watching it with someone who hasn't seen it. Your format is solid, and you both come across as very relatable and fun.
Hey, Thanks so much Cory!!
FYI,Platoon is another Vietnam era movie you should watch. It actually won Best Picture in 1988. Written and Directed by Oliver Stone,a Vietnam Veteran.
Agreed, as intense as FMJ, but from a different angle.
Platoon is one of the most amazing things I've ever seen on film
My dad couldn't watch that one. He had flashbacks.
There is another good one with Michael J Fox ,I just can't think of the name right now
@@SwampmasterZ Casualties of War. That's a harrowing movie and definitely shows off MJF's dramatic acting skill. It helps that he had a good director too in Brian De Palma for that film.
When I went through basic we had a guy very similar to Pyle. Everyone tried to help him get through it, but sadly he died on the obstacle course from a blood clot in his leg that broke loose and went to his brain. There was a guy put in our unit that was flunking out of the unit ahead of us. They assigned him to me to get him up to speed. That meant I had to spend extra time with him like Joker did with Pyle. Thankfully, my guy pulled through it all. This movie brought back lots of memories. R.I.P. to all my brothers that didn't make it. Now I am against sending our young men and women to fight wars that we don't understand and we're not appreciated for.
I don't know what it is, but EVERY platoon in Basic has its own version of Gomer Pyle.
I went thru in '89, and we had a good 'ol boy from W.V. He has never really worn shoes before, so boots really screwed him up.
@@timhonigs6859 it's almost statistical certain. Break up the population and it's turns out similar to a platoon hierarchy of capabilities. I had a Pvt Pyle in bootcamp. The military tries to reduce this with prescreening with the ASVAB but when recruitment numbers have dropped they'll drop standards.
@@jessecortez9449 I know the numbers will always work out that way. We had a practical application of that in stats in university.
If there are 31 ppl in a class/room/section, there is a 50% chance that two ppl share the same bday. 1/365+2/365+3/365.... equates to about 50%. Always freaky to think of it in that manner.
We all had a Gomer Pyle, if you didn’t it was probably you!
@@MrYellowClyde haha. Good point.
Asia's faces are priceless and they show how powerful that film is (made by a true Master of Cinema)...
This was my father's life when he enlisted in the Corps in 1963. He graduated from boot camp at Camp Pendleton in San Diego, California and was stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay, Oahu, Hawaii before he was ordered to Vietnam with the rest of his platoon. He never talked much about the war, too many flashbacks, but he would watch Full Metal Jacket and critique the movie. He would smile and look at me and say Hollywood went soft on the Boot Camp part of the movie. .He used to say that his biggest fear was not the NVA itself, but "Charlie" the rogue guerilla troops that could be anyone from a hooker carrying a knife, to an 8 year old child carrying a bomb in a shoebox. My dad had was very proud to be a Marine veteran, and I am so very proud of him but I knew better than to ask questions about his experiences in Vietnam because of his nightmares and he suffered from PTSD from his experience in Vietnam till the day he died in 2016.
Thanks for sharing this guys. The movie takes place in two halves: the first part take place in 1967, where some men are taking training in Parris Island, South Carolina. After the Gomer Pyle (played by Vincent D'Onofrio who gained 70 pounds, weighting 280 pounds for the character) committed suicide and the scene fades out, it came the second part, taking place in 1968, in the Battle of Hue, Vietnam.
Parris Island, South Carolina.
@@rayspeakmon2954 thanks for the correction bro. The comment is now updated.
Parris Island was my home for 13 weeks in 1977/78. I entered the Marine Corps a whopping 5ft 2in tall and 117lbs. I served 6 years. The first hour of this movie is pretty realistic of boot camp. I am still a proud Marine who wears his dress blues on the Marine Corps birthday and still perform military graveside services for deceased veterans. Marine Corps training prepared me for what I chose as a career afterward. First, a 9-1-1 dispatcher, then a correctional officer at a state prison. Semper Fi!
The “This is my rifle, this is my gun” scene, is what happens when you call your rifle a gun in front of the Drill Instructor. In ANY Naval service a rifle is never called a gun. It’s a weapon, a rifle, or a piece. So he was teaching them not to call it a gun. The term “GUN” is reserved for Naval deck guns. ( the big cannons on the ship).
@Tom Helms - agree.
But I also see that you are missing the point, and concentrating on that particular small detail.
In a larger "picture" > it doesn't matter. Nobody really cares about it at this point. Why should they?
What is important is a much larger picture in this movie: how military is pushing young people to do something that they probably would never do in the first place, brainwash them too (and there is a lot of psychology behind that, and why military is doing it at that recruitment age) - to the point of breaking. And some of them should not even be there in the first place. All of that is well know in a psychology literature.
Also, it is still happening now, just on a different level and much more subtle, as military can also pay for your education (mostly in US, as most of other countries don't have that stupid approach).
So you have another level of psychology here: not just that some people shouldn't be in the military at all (as they will be prone to breaking, even during a basic training), but they are only there because of financial reasons. And that is completely wrong approach on many levels.
At the end it all boils down to... education, but that is a completely different subject, especially comparing US to any of EU countries.
@@tannhauser5399, this is a comments section and one to a reaction video. Remarking on "small details" is the point here. No need for your sociological critique that hundreds of other pseudo-intellectuals will feel the need to make.
@@tannhauser5399 Um yeah, I wasn’t making a political statement. They both looked confused at why he had them grabbing their crotch saying “this is my gun”. And before you start with all the bull crap about the military is this or that, if you didn’t serve stfu. Unless you have “been there and done that” I have no interest in your opinions.
Because if you didn’t “go” then you don’t “know.”
So save the political assessment of the horrors of boot camp and service for someone who didn’t live it.
@@tannhauser5399 a bit woke are we?
It was the same in all branches. You didn't call something a gun unless it was crew served or mounted on a vehicle. Someone in my training cycle mistakenly referred to his rifle as a gun when we were on the range, the drills had him holding his rifle overhead all day screaming, "this is my rifle."
The man who played the helicopter door gunner was originally cast as the drill instructor, but was later replaced by Ermy because he fit the role so perfectly ✌️
Ermy actively sought and took the role because he believed he he was the only one who could do it well.
I think he was right.
@@jerryfick613Improvised all his lines too. They actually had to edit some out because they thought it was too much. I can only imagine based on what they kept
Probably because Ermey was an actual marine drill instructor
The scene where they all beat Pyle up really got to me.Even the guy who was helping him took part,& I think that’s what broke him and made him snap😢
As a vet i can say this movie came up many times during boot camp. The opening scene is very powerful and vivid. I think about my time in the Infantry a little bit, everyday.
The Vietnam scenes were filmed at Beckton gasworks in East London, they filmed all summer 1987, and we got £30 for each van-load of rubble we delivered into the film-set, to simulate the ruined town... the palm trees were sitting in skips, out of view of the cameras. The deserted area still has the palm trees visible today !
It’s a housing estate now.
@@TONE11111 that’s really interesting. I hope to be able to check it out someday
@@kansastintcompany find "An East London adventure in Beckton (4K) " video on you-tube from john rogers ...
The whole movie was shot near London, England including the Vietnam scenes.
The guy who played the Drill sergeant was one in real life. When my father watched this movie was the first and only time I saw him shed a tear. He said watching the beginning reminded him when he was in basic training for the Marines during the Vietnam War. He said hearing those cadence every day you just can't forget. He also knew the drill instructor had to really be one you can't imitate those sounds
The scene on the obstacle where the Gunny starts screaming at Pyle to get off his obstacle -- the scene was supposed to end with Pyle at the top but R. Lee Ermy saw that Vincent D'Onofrio was really scared of heights and ran with it and they kept filming. Ermy was a real drill instructor and was hired as a technical advisor but Kubrick ended up giving the role of Gunnery Sergeant Hartmann to him and Ermy wrote the dialogue for it.
Ermy didnt even have to write dialogue, iirc he went off top
@@s1ck-s1de39 Well, he wrote and edited his own dialogue pulling from his repertoire of drill instructor material, but he also improvised on set at times, which is not something Kubrick normally allowed. It was a masterful performance.
Firstly, I love the channel. My father was a Combat Medic in the First Cavalry Division, 18th Medical Battalion, US Army 1967 & 68. He was at the battle of Wei City (which is the battle depicted in the movie). He has always said this and Apocalypse Now were the most accurate depictions of the war in Viet Nam. It still disturbs him to this day.
I believe you meant the Battle of Hue (Pronounced, "Way" City. There is a U.S. Navy Destroyer named after that battle.
this is kind of random, but u should read the book "chickenhawk" by robert mason. it's about a first cav helo pilot that flew over a thousand missions. i read it in high school and i still think about it. i'm 50 now and retired military. your local library will have the paperback it was pretty popular in the 80's.
I am late to the party, but you two characterize the concept of combat pretty well. The pressures and PTSD are spot on. I watched with skepticism but was drawn in. From a combat veteran, I say excellent job.
I had a roommate who was a Marine. He said this was very accurate, at least it was still in 1988 when he joined. He said they had to PT through the night when a recruit snuck some ketchup - of all things - into the barracks. He said if it had happened again, they would have thrown the screw-up a blanket party.
Same happened to me in Navy bootcamp plenty of years ago. Somebody snuck a Nutrigrain bar and we were disciplined thru PT until the entire room, walls, and floor were wet!
Yeah..my Dad is a Vietnam vet..he said this was very accurate..except for boot camp sergeants being shot by insane guys
My uncle was there also..though he was a gunner in choppers..Army air cav
I have a good friend who came back from his tour a year or so ago. He said the same; most accurate depiction of Marine boot camp he's seen. Though I'm not sure the drill sergeants can get away with being quite that rough on the enlistees anymore.
I was at Parris Island in the summer of 89 and I can attest to night time PT. lol. It's all behind me now but I still smile when I think of those times in the Corps. We started with 89. At the end of training just before graduation we were down 50%. Some got put back. Some just couldn't hack it. One guy lost it in medical.
Private Pyle in real life is Vincent D’Onofrio. He was working as a door man at a hotel in New York City while trying to start his acting career. This was his first film. A friend got him this gig. He was actually very lean and strong before but had to get chubby for the role. He played a powerful role tho. Sad but powerful. He said it was tough getting to that size which wasn’t even that big but he was able to gain some extra pounds. He dropped it like it was hot right after.
Gomer Pyle's performance is top notch. He's also seen in The Cell. He looks considerably different in that movie. The actor's name is Vincent D'Onofrio.
That horse scene 🐎 from The Cell.
For those of us not in the know, maybe Asia will share her unit and mos with us....
Thank You for your service ❤❤❤
My father served in the Marine Corp in Vietnam. When he came back stateside, he was a Marine DI. Awesome Dad loved him to pieces. He drank a lot to cope, but when I grew up, I understood why. That man carried a lot of pain and survivor's guilt in silence.
"Full Metal Jacket" is an entirely different movie every time after the first that you watch it. The first time you watch it, you're probably watching Private Joker. Every time you watch it after the first, during the Boot Camp portion, you watch Pyle like a hawk, observing the breaking of his personality and the reformation of his new persona.
Pvt Pyle's new persona pushed that 7.62 at about 2200 feet per second on it's way to the sarge in the latrine...Sarge had a mandate to turn these guys into killers...mission accomplished....
The acting in this movie is brilliant. I think it's more or less about what war does to people, and it's all ugly. It's not pro or anti war, just shows that the people that are there are all just people. We haven't fought a just war since WWII. I don't think you should be able to send young men to die unless you send your own son too. Maybe that would give these people pause before they make decisions that affect so many people.
@@mplslawnguy3389 I believe the reason for the draft lottery during the Viet Nam war was intended to block efforts of the elite and powerful, politicians, from being able to dodge the draft or keep their own sons from going to fight in a war that they are controlling. However, there were so many exceptions/exemptions that it was still the poor and powerless that ended up in the trenches.
@@marticiawall1569 I don't think they were all poor and powerless, they just weren't rich and didn't have connections. Plenty of middle class guys went over there as well as poor.
I enjoyed your reaction to this one. Without getting into too much detail, my father is a Vietnam Veteran. He suffers now from PTSD and is in the beginning stages of dementia. He was in the Army, though, not the Marines. But I have respect for all of our veterans. He chose to go into the Army and wasn't drafted. I am glad he did because, through that, is how he eventually met my mother. They've been together over 50 years now. I am sure you can tell that I am proud of that. The one thing this movie didn't show, which I wish it did, is how the Veterans were treated when they came home. It was so disrespectful and horrible. I believe it was the first war where the Veterans did not come home to a hero's welcome.
Just wanted to say, I appreciate how respectful you are to your reaction audience. Thank you.
One of the things that's easy to overlook is how young people are when we enlist. Teenagers in many cases. I enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1976 when I was seventeen, and that was a pretty good representation of what boot camp was like. I also landed in the infantry, as a mortarman, so I went to Infantry Training School after boot camp, and that was just boot camp II, although it only lasted four weeks.
I served for twenty years - I never saw combat but I saw helicopter crashes that killed dozens of Marines, and had to help recover and identify the bodies of the dead Marines from the first crash I saw, a big one - a CH-53 with about thirty guys aboard went down and killed all but two. Aged me about fifty years in a day; I went from that immortal adolescent attitude to knowing with an absolute certainty, down to the marrow of my bones, that I am going to die, I might not get any warning, and what's left might not even look human. I'm in my 60s now, and at the end of the day with that first helo crash (Mindoro Island, Philippines, October 1977 - I was still eighteen) I think I had aged more since that morning than I have in the 46 years since then.
I loved being in the Marine Corps, and still miss it almost 27 years after retiring, but it is a truly weird subculture in a lot of ways. You have to be a compatible kind of weird to thrive there.
@Asia&BJ When Joker asked the helicopter gunner how he could shoot women and children, the gunner jokingly said, "easy, you just don't lead them so much." He was saying that the women and children run slower than the men so you don't need to aim so far in front of them to have an accurate shot. Very morbid joke.
Deer Hunter is another movie about this forgotten war, I highly recommend it as it delves into lives of the characters before and after their tour of duty. One of my absolute favorites. It was my generation's war. You will be taken in emotionally just as you did in Full Metal Jacket.
I watched this with my dad when I was a little boy, he was a retired drill Sargent. I asked him if it was really this bad, he said sometimes it was worse. I changed my mind about going into the military...
My father was in the airforce, jumped in front of a truck when I was 2..
It's nothing like this nowadays. My dad was in the Corp in the late 60s, my dad refers to this as the "Old Corp".
@@Trenchv1 my condolences...
same... watched this with my dad when i was a kid in Philippines. he's really into military history, used to tell me about Alexander the Great, Vietnam, WW1/2, Korean War, PH vs US war etc. i never understood why Gunny was being mean to his recruits. a decade or so later, i moved to the US and found out why they treat you like that in bootcamp... and tbh, i kinda miss it lol bootcamp would definitely make for a good show on TV 😂
My son joined the marines partly due to this move and the honor he found with it.. lovelovelove ❤️😘😍
stanley kubrick is a genius, all his movies are worth a watch
One of my close friends, James Smith, yes, that was his name, did 2 tours of duty as a marine in Vietnam. He was a grunt, combat infantry. 1966 to 1969. He was wounded once but returned to active duty. When he returned to the US he was a different person. Even his wife Bonnie noticed that the person she said goodbye to was not the same person she welcomed home. He died in 1997 of cancer. Victim of agent orange.
This movie affected everyone in different, yet the same ways, because at the end of the day, we're all humans just living in the world in which we're born. We're only as crazy as that. R.I.P. Stanley Kubrick.
I absolutely adore you Asia and BJ. My mom had a massive stroke this week and is paralyzed on her right side and your videos are what got me through those long hospital visits and kept my mind off of real life for a moment so I thank you for that. You know you are doing something right when y'all have that special ability. Keep up the great job and can't wait until the next video. Sending much love from South Carolina ❤
Every time I see this movie I pick up something I hadn't realized before. Two things here:
Joker is a very good teacher. He is patient and kind. I like to think the war didn't ruin that.
And Pyle had a full magazine. If Joker hadn't brought him back a little by calling him by his real name, I think he was going to kill everybody he could until he ran out of ammo or someone took him down.
From some of the comments that you made Asia, I get the impression that you may have served. If so, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!
On further watching... I'm about 100% sure you served. AGAIN... THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!!!!
Stanley Kubrick was an amazing director. This was a really well done film. Great cast, great script. It felt like two movies, the Boot Camp portion stands alone, so does the subsequent in-country portion!
A very powerful movie and another great reaction video.
His last work was Eyes Wide Shut with Tom Cruise and his then wife Nicole Kidman
@@BRGKasumi77Main Even that was pretty good.
I've always had love and respect for our men and women in the military for all the sacrifices they done to serve our country. protect our nation. And keep us safe and free. Asia thank you so much for your service I mean that from the bottom of my heart Asia may God bless you and your family. And God bless our our military with respect and kindness always your guys's big fan Christopher
And let me just add my Father and Uncles said this movie really depicted the Vietnam War…like all the things that happened and how they acted and spoke…it was spot on. It’s not my favorite movie but it’s been a favorite in my armed forces family.
From a quick perusal of the comments, there's not much to add, except to say that this Reaction video is one of the most empathetic and intelligent that I'm aware of, regarding a Vietnam war film. Many thanks for posting it on RUclips.
Peace and Joy, good health, Blessings and Grace to you both, and to all of your families and friends from Santa Fe, NM.
Thanks so much!! ❤️❤️
@@ReelinwithAsiaandBJ You are most welcome.
And thanks to you both for the Asia & BJ ♥️, plus for taking the time to send a Reply for which - considering the amount of comments your podcasts receive - is quite a feat, and is deeply appreciated!
Would you mind if I recommend another little known film on the Vietnam war?
It is entitled, "Go Tell The Spartans", and attempts to dramatize the more honorable intentions of the USA in that tragic war.
If you don't mind my saying so, Love ya both, and wish you all the Best Blessings!
R.T.
Thanks once again for the Asia & BJ ♥️.
Didn't realize you were military, Asia. Thank you for your service.
My mom was a trauma nurse in the AF during Vietnam, she still won't talk about what she had to deal with, and i am a 22 year navy vet, been deployed 11 times.
Thank you, Squid! Semper Fi!
In times of war, no enemy could best the Navy and Marine Corps team!
And thanks for your service, my brother.
The end totally brings it home to what this movie is trying to tell everyone. That's why you were in the state of mind at the end of this movie. I could tell by the expression on both of your faces. I really enjoyed watching this movie with you guys. I watched also in the theater when it came out. Great Job.
You guys were bold taking this one. My hats off. The lady is obviously a vet, so happy veterans days. It's not all the same. Male, female, branch, fort and generation. It gets weaker as the years go on and the weapons advance.
RIP R. Lee Erney, he also voiced the Sargent in Toy Story 1-3 (1944-2018)
To answer your question from the 17:24 timestamp: Gomer Pyle had been drafted. He was never cut out to be a soldier. He shouldn’t have been there in the first place.
It was the last role Kubrick casted, as it was a role in which the character had to invoke empathy from the audience, and Kubrick was very picky about who would play the part. The actor did his job perfectly.
As a vet hope ya'll enjoyed this
Thank you for your service and if you dont mind me asking where did you serve
My dad served two tours of duty in Vietnam 67-69 he said it was hell over there.
My dad went 3 times to Vietnam for the Marine Corps . I was born in 1962 when dad was a drill Sargent all my life dad was my hero my Superman father of 7 husband to one woman for 50 years there are no finer men and women than the ones who wear the eagle globe and anchor ❤ I served in the navy
During the Vietnam War, the US was drafting people that were clinically mentally handicapped even after viewing their medical files. I believe that Leonard (Pile) may have had existing issues before hand at least from my experience. We had someone like that when I was training. Always threatened to kill people and was very graphic and vulgar with threats. At first we laughed it off but none of us did when the 2 on fire watch said he was up all night staring at the people he hated most and was promptly removed after that. That kid was gonna hurt someone.
That would be project 100,000. They were disgustingly called "McNamara's Morons". Guys who had failed the iq or psych exams at first but then they were called when McNamara lowered the standards to "bring them out of poverty." Their death rates were way higher than the rest of the army. It's a damn shame.
I didnt know Asia was military. Thats dope. I went through USMC boot camp back in 2005. It wasn't as harsh but at the same time a lot of people struggled. I had a 13 year career before falling down a mountain and being medically discharged.
Figured if she was a Vet. She would know about a blanket party
It use to be that hard....
@@dalekronk496 I believe the Navy and Marines call it a Code Red, army calls it a blanket party. Its splitting hairs, but no big deal
The term for the hazing with the soap bars is a blanket party. When I was in the Army in the mid 80's, screwups got pushed down the stairs by "the radar monster".... Is what it is.
I enjoyed watching. Your reactions were really genuine. Thank you for your service Asia. You both had empathy and I can just tell from your comments and reactions that you are kind individuals.
I love seeing Matthew Modine (Joker) then and now. So different! Seeing him in Stranger Things as Papa I lost it, I was so happy he was in it.
Thanks for your reaction to this. Although I'm not a war vet and was never sent to any official AOR (I am a veteran), once you put on that uniform you're no longer fighting for your country - you're more fighting to keep your brothers in arms alive and sane (whether in theater or not). I'm almost positive that the opposing side is on the same boat.
This is such a brilliant movie and shows how difficult the world was during the Vietnam war - and also shows how there still has been so much senseless killing all the way up to this day...
This movie is like riding an emotional rollercoaster. One of my favorites.
The aspect of anything Stanley Kubrick made, he was always on another level with the story. That alone makes me among his greatest admirers.
A 'code red' is what the Marines called 'mass punishment' from the platoon.
That's about how it was. I served 20 years in the Marine Corps and two combat tours in Vietnam. The first tour as a machine gunner (0331) in 1965-66 and the second as a Platoon commander (0369) in 1970-71. I retired after 20 years and had a 30 year career as a California police officer ( Marin County). What I learned in the Marine Corps has helped me all my life. I highly recommend it to anyone needing direction and wishing to learn self discipline .
Tom Boyte
GySgt. USMC, retired
Bronze Star, Purple Heart
True. Military service me helped me get thru being bullied kid into person who found self worth.
Wild that you were there.
Thank you for your service 💜
do you know a colonel named Jim by chance?
Cool…My uncle served 2 tours in Vietnam too! Except he flew rescue helicopters and refused to talk about his experience. We did find out later from his ex-wife that he hadn’t fully finished his 2nd tour in Vietnam because during one trip out, he refused orders to detour from the intended flight path in a way that allowed soldiers on board to kill children and was kindly asked to finish his tour in Germany. So yeah this is about how it was for sure- but my uncle ended up an alcoholic who ruined his marriage when he got back to the states and moved across country because he couldn’t look his 3 young daughters in the eye anymore. He’s been sober and remarried for a long time now (but never had more children). He still flies helicopters (commercially) and refuses to talk about his time in Vietnam 🙃
I work in a retirement community and we have many Vietnam and other vets living here. We decided to rent some trollies and any vet that wanted to be in the annual city veteran parade was welcome to hop on the trollies and go. I think about 30 chose to go with us. As the parade started a few of them wanted to get off and walk alongside the slow moving trollies, then most of them did as we were coming up among the people. Some said they were nervous because when they got back from Nam they were spit on and yelled and it stuck in their minds all these years. But I had never seen such an amazing moment as when the thousands of people we came upon and walked by stood up out of their chairs and clapped for all these men we had with us. Many were even coming down and hugging them and shaking their hands telling them they were glad they were home. It was what these men needed to hear and feel that day. They held it together good but I cried nearly the whole parade watching this unfold. When we got into work the next morning we had several emails from their wives telling us thank you so much for doing that, that just that love and hugs from fellow citizens helped healed some of the war trauma and being spit on they'd been carrying for 50 years. I'll never forget that day as long as I live.
Thank “you” ❤️❤️
Thank you for your service! Love your commentary. Keep up the awesome work. I was in the Corps in 1970's. The boot camp portion was like I remembered it LOL. Our BC was 13 weeks.
Hey, Thanks for your service Eric! Much love to you
@@ReelinwithAsiaandBJ thank you. You guys rock!
RIP, Gunnery Sergeant R. Lee Ermey. The host of Heaven is well-trained now! I was never a Marine, Army here, but Semper Fidelis!
This may be too late for you guys to read this but in case no one else has mentioned it, Private Pyle's nickname is a reference to an old sitcom of the same name (there's a channel I watch with a bunch of old TV shows including Gomer Pyle and honestly, I kinda like it 😅)
Watching the boot camp series now versus my first time as a teenager hits different. Now I know that the US Military targeted low intelligence men to fill their ranks as the war went on. So the story about Lawrence wasn't in the movie for dramatic effect only. It was an illustration of a true horrific story. Taking disadvantaged people and putting them in situations likely to twist even the best prepared man. A history of trauma we see playing out in society still today. Traumatized people prepared to traumatize others. Obviously many recover, but few come back without deep wounds or a struggle. Horrifying.
Smh low intelligence? I've served with guys with 150 plus IQs. You are so wrong it's beautiful.
Man guys I’ve been watching your music reactions for so long not knowing you did movies. I’ve been watching them all day. You all are so good! Thanks.
Hey, Thanks Michael!! Welcome in Fam!!
You guys should definitely check out Platoon (1986). It’s one of the most emotionally draining movies I’ve ever seen. There were a lot of Vietnam War movies around this time period in the late 80s, twenty years after the peak of the war.
Also check out Apocalypse Now and We Were Soldiers
Fun fact - the Vietnamese town scene was actually shot in East London. The area that now is known as Canary Wharf and it's surroundings; a concert by the French Synthesiser player (Jean Michelle Jarre) was filmed close to here. I grew up around that area.
I think Stanley Kubrick was underrated. He was against the Hollywood norm, but how else would we have such brilliant works? He did have personal issues that should have ended his career. But no one was bold enough like him to create such works. The Private Pyle end scene is a metaphor that no matter what branch anyone goes through, it could be the worst mental breakdown of their life as we all have faced different challenges. Ultimately, it could be their mental struggles and you couldn't do much other than be kind to them. If you're a vet struggling don't be afraid to reach out to a church, a friend, your VA, or your state's medical insurance system. Never be ashamed to aks for help when your nation asked for your help.
Stanley Kubrick is one of the most acclaimed directors of all time, how is he underrated?
With the caveat that one must separate the art from the artist, it turns out Kubrick was a stubborn piece of shit. He remains my favourite director. As a person, he was OCD and on top of that, inconsiderate and self-centred. Being OCD made him put his whole life into the perfection of each movie. What is usually a disorder resulted in art. This movie is very affecting. The acting is perfect throughout.
Had PTSD, got good treatment. Hope all can get what I did.
Lastly, if you wonder why returning soldiers were mistreated, take a look at Joker's scene with "Born to Kill" and the peace sign. The USA was torn over this war. Just as importantly, they lost the war.
Consider a war or two in the world right now. Civilians being shot at, mistreatment of the dead, breaking basic rules of decency. The reason for so much being centred on training is that for the first time the military found out how to make most soldiers want to kill. The training removes the basic social bond that we agree not to kill.
I went through boot camp in '85 and it's amazing how these drill instructors come up with these hilarious insults. The biggest differences I can see is there was almost never one drill instructor in the barracks. Also, live ammo is locked up out of reach for any recruits. The harshness us real, very authentic. My drill instructor called me Don Ho, a Hawaiian singer from back in the day. I'm actually First Nation, but they don't care. Their job is to tear you down and build you back up into a fighting machine.
@wyomarine Apparently time changed that, but for the timeline of the movie it makes perfect sense.
Oki, nĭ‘skŏn. I was called either Tonto or Geronimo by my drill sgts in Basic at Ft Benning in 1986. They found out after I got a letter from my mom during the second week and they were doing mail call. One of them had been through Montana before and recognized the town and asked why I was getting mail from an Indian reservation. I explained that my mom was full Blackfoot and still lived there. That sealed the deal for me.
So many iconic moments and meme worthy bits in this movie, when it comes to the helicopter door gunner scene "you don't lead them as much" leading is just a fancy term for aiming in front of a moving target to account for the time in flight of the projectiles.
This isn't my favorite military movie but I believe Jesse Ventura, who was a Navy SEAL during this era (along with being a WWE star, actor, and future governor of Minnesota), when he said this is the most realistic war movie he had ever seen.
Ventura was NOT a SEAL! He was UDT, (Underwater Demolition Team.). There is a HUGE difference.
Ventura wouldn’t know shit about the combat scenes, because he never saw combat. He was stationed in Subic Bay, Philippines.
Great reaction y’all, my dad was actually a gunner on a helicopter like you seen and that’s what his orders was if it moved you make it not move… man, woman, or child and yea this movie is pretty accurate from what he told me
The drill instructor in this movie did not have a script. He was a real marine corp drill instructor back in the day. RIP RLee Ermey
My grandfather was a Vietnam vet… he never really spoke about his experience much. But when he did, he mentioned it was a cluster**** and that boot camp was not far off from what we saw here. I never pressed him for details, felt wrong of me to do that. He was a tough old bird, though Alzheimer’s kinda showed more that confused most of his family. We could only assume.
Stanley Kubrick to film is what Mozart was to music. He was born for it. He couldn’t hold anything back from getting the perfect shot, the perfect take, his vision had to be seen, and he shows it in every single film. But this film shows him even more of a film genius, building two narratives into one film, and by the end of it, you feel you have watched 2 totally different films. Masterpiece
2 mediocre movies in 1
@@deckzone3000 biggest cap on the Internet
The door gunner in the helicopter said, “You just don’t lead ‘em so much.” He didn’t have to aim as far in front of them because they run slower. Check out 1986’s Platoon for director Oliver Stone’s Vietnam movie.
Asia sounds like shes been through it. If I'm right thank you for your service. Great videos.
When shooting at moving targets,
you will need to lead that target in order to achieve a hit.
So please aim in front of where you expect the target to orient itself.
I love Vincent D'Onofrio! Everything I've ever seen him in he has made much better than it would have been without him. Check out 1999's 'The Thirteenth Floor' sometime. It's in my DVD collection and I'm glad.👍✨✌
I love that movie
Since I was only 2 when this came out. It was quite a while before I could see it. Damn good cast. To include (but not limited to) Vincent D'Onofrio, Adam Baldwin, Dorian Harewoood, and R. Lee Ermey (RiP).
In my opinion, this IS Stanley Kubrick best film. I knew BJ would catch the song lines the Vietnamize Streetwalker blurts out at Joker sitting at the cafe. 😊 Classic !!! And Asia's expressions as the soldiers were becoming more & more desensitize to life as they were going deeper into war truly showed the warm soul Asia has for life. Great reaction video you two !!! Keep it going !!!
Barry Lyndon dude. Just saying, even tho it's only my opinion. In fact, actually i believe Full Metal Jacket is one of his weaker movies, even though the first half is masterful. I totally love this movie :)
@@filegrabber1 Barry Lyndon and Eyes wide shut are his masterpieces.
My dad was in the army for 4 years back in the 90s. My grandfather was in the air force for 22 years. My stepdad growing up was in the navy for 6 years. A classmate of mine has made a career in the marines since we graduated ten years ago. From all the stories I've heard, I know that being in the military is not for the faint of heart, and i have the utmost respect for anyone who has served and is currently serving. They're doing something I never would be able to do.
From a kid who grew up around vets, i salute you, Asia, and anyone who took the oath to protect this country from all enemies both foreign and domestic.
This movie has a great soundtrack,Bird is the word by The Trashmen,Wooly bully,Paint It Black by The Rolling Stones,Those Boots by Nancy Sinatra
The song is “Surfin’ Bird.”
It was a combination of two R&B hits by The Rivingtons, "The Bird's the Word" and "Papa-Oom-Mow-Mow".