My dad was a Vietnam vet. My brother and I saw this in the theater when it was released. We were in our mid/late teens and left the theater trembling and in tears. The film had a very divided reaction from the Vietnam veteran community. Ironically the ones who criticized it were largely unaware that Stone served two tours (he volunteered) in combat and was decorated for bravery. I've spoken to many vets who hated it when it came out but have since come to appreciate it. In 1986 the war and its complexities were still open wounds for many and it was difficult to grapple with them. One guy told me "I couldn't admit to myself at the time how true it was. My mind rebelled against the fact that I had seen and done those kinds of horrors."
"Platoon it made me just visibly nervous those guys out in the jungle on on ambush. The other part of it I was going God that wasn't happening sure wasn't where I was but that's Hollywood." "oh and no one smoked at night. I don't mean pot. cigarettes our guys didn't smoke pot you you're going to be out in combat with a guy that smokes pot. I don't think so. You aren't going to be with him, he isn't right. No one did that they do it in the movies." Source Vietnam War veteran Richard Tangel interview Vietnam Voices: 'You're alert all the time. If you're not alert, you're going to die' My dad is also a Vietnam Vet and he said these movies are pure BS. It's just to slander the vets that's all.
@cyclone8974 loads of Americans were taking some sort of drugs so your talking shit. I believed that 1in5 were addicted at some time during their tour.
I grew up in the 80s, and a lot of kids had fathers who'd been in Vietnam. One of my friend's dad had been a tunnel rat, because he was short and slim - so much so that when my friend and I were around 14 years old we were almost the same height as his dad. I remember the man as being exceptionally quiet, and he had this half intense, half lost look about him. My friend always said that we needed to be very, very quiet whenever he was around, and we always played outside, never in his house. About ten years after I graduated high school I ran into some folks who had kept up with my friend and his family. Turned out that my friend's parents got divorced just a few years after we all graduated, and his dad took his own life not long afterwards. War will always collect its bloody toll, even many long years after it is "over".
Over 50 years for me. I was a survivor. My brother & many brothers in arms are heros. They did not make it home, but they are in my thoughts daily. Thank you for reviewing this film.
Oliver Stone was the officer on the radio in the bunker that got blown up. The purpose of the towels or scarves was two-fold; 1st, to keep insects like the airborne ants that flew from the trees above down onto our necks. 2nd was to control the sweat.
I was 17 when this movie came out. This is the only movie my dad ever took me to see. He was in vietnam and he never talked about it. Maybe this was his way of doing it. This movie will always get me. Thanks for the reaction.
I served as a fire platoon leader in the Army so I understand a green lieutenant, often little more than a college kid who went through ROTC and an officer basic course, faces challenges as a new platoon leader but the failures depicted in this movie on Wolfe's part are unforgiveable. Fortunately in the real world platoon sergeants are highly experienced professionals who are almost invariably very supportive of new platoon leaders, helping them develop into competent junior officers; not pathological monsters like Barnes.
@@dritzzdarkwood4727read into these killings. Unfortunatelly it wasnt just a green LT, the problems run deeper. It started from an abrasive battalion commander and trickled down. Like Napoleon said, there arent bad soldiers, only bad commanders.
This movie is part of Oliver Stone's informal trilogy on the Vietnam war, the other two being "Born on the Fourth of July" (1989) with Tom Cruise in the lead as real life veteran Ron Kovic - incidentally Tom Cruise's best performance in my opinion - and "Heaven & Earth" (1993) about a young Vietnamese woman trying to survive the war. That one stars Tommy Lee Jones with not just his best scene ever, but one of the greatest and most chilling performances in a scene ever. 😮
The village massacre is reminiscent of the real massacre of My Lai by US forces in 1968. Wiki: "At least 347 and up to 504 civilians, almost all women, children, and elderly men, were murdered by U.S. soldiers from C Company, 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 11th Brigade and B Company, 4th Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, 11th Brigade of the 23rd (Americal) Division (organized as part of Task Force Barker). Some of the women were gang-raped and their bodies mutilated, and some soldiers mutilated and raped children as young as 12".
I remember seeing this at its release. There were many vets in the theater. I can't tell you how many were brought to tears as well as those that walked out, they were traumatized. This film at that time was like no other war film seen before.
Its inclusion in "Platoon" and "The Mission" really pushed it into the popular conscious to the point where I believe the young people now use it as a meme. BTW Ames, you really need to react to "The Mission"; it's masterpiece. Some of the best cinemetography of the 80s, compelling script, Roland Joffe directed, Ennio Morricone score, starring De Niro, Jeremy Irons, Liam Neeson, Aidan Quinn...
@@fusiliers It started to be noticed in pop culture with "The Elephant Man", though. I didn't know it was also used in "The Mission"... Are really sure of that?
@@georgezee5173 Good catch! Although I've seen the movie at least a dozen times, it's been a few years since the last viewing. My brain conflated Barber with Morricone's "Ave Maria Guarani".
Show me one actor in this movie that didn't act his ass off. But, yeah - Tom, Willem, and Charlie are very prominent here, but I also remembered Whitaker, Depp, and when I first saw "Scrubs" I was yelling int my screen towards Dr Cox "I loved you in Platoon!"
Great reaction Ames like always, Platoon is the landmark definition of a war film. Pulse-pounding sequences stacked on well-performed portrayal of soldiers (Sheen, Berenger & Dafoe) as well as a couple of heart-wrenching scenes that would be somewhat difficult to view. The film is Oliver Stone's most significant to date, especially since it's based off his own personal experience in the Vietnam War. And some fun facts about this movie a number of actors who eventually became very famous, such as Johnny Depp, but others didn’t have much luck in auditioning. Ben Stiller walked into the audition room, but was turned down by Oliver Stone before he could even talk. The director said Stiller was “too cute” to be in such a gritty movie. Tom Berenger and Willem Dafoe were specifically chosen Whenever being cast in movies, Tom Berenger and Willem Dafoe were usually subjected to typecasting - Berenger typically played the good guy, while Dafoe was the villain, But Oliver Stone decided to reverse this and chose Berenger to be the ruthless and harsh Staff Sgt. Bob Barnes, while Dafoe played the caring and heroic Sgt. Elias. The actors were able to showcase their full acting ranges, and both received Oscar nominations for their performances. Keep up the amazing work.
I remember my first introduction to Willem Dafoe as the uber bad guy in the almost forgotten To Live and Die in L.A. It was amazing to see him transform into the good guy in this one.
This movie is a bunch of things Oliver Stone experienced during his tour in Vietnam. Charlie Sheen's character is Oliver Stone. He and other crew had flashbacks while making the movie. Oliver Stone had a major flashback during the village scene where he had an emotional breakdown and they had to stop for the day.
@bloodymarvelous4790 there were many village massacres throughout Vietnam. There a video where he said he watched fellow soldiers raping women and a couple kids, and he almost killed a dude to get him to stop. He didn't say where it happened just that it happened and then said I don't like to talk about that stuff on camera so they moved on.
Was gonna say there were MANY My Lai’s. Operation Speedy Express - became army policy to declare certain areas as free fire zones and basically anything you shot was fair game including civilians all so that the media could celebrate the “all important” body count of enemy killed. As brutal as it was the village actually got off rather easy. They were a confirmed VC village, were clearly giving material aide and comfort to enemy forces, had killed an American soldier (ie Manny), resisted lawful search and inspection. The fact that the village had kidnapped and killed an American GI would have been enough to revoke the villages protection under 1954 Geneva Conventions. Not saying it wasn’t brutal, but there were many villages that had suffered waaay worse for less.
The one soldier that you thought was really calm during the firefight was Dale Dye. He spent several tours overseas during the war in the Marine Corps. He's the only actor to appear in all of Olivrt Stone's Vietnam trilogy films: Platoon (1986), Born on the Fourth of July (1989) and Heaven & Earth (1993)..
They ran out of budget for the final fight, and couldn't light the set, so they shot off every flare they had to provide light during the battle, making it look even more chaotic.
Dale Dye has done a lot of military consulting on movies. One thing i wondered if Ames would recognize is that he is the actor who plays Col. Sink - Winters’ commander in Band of Brothers.
he was more than just an actor in the movie, he was the military consultant and even made the cast do a quick bootcamp and made them camp out in the jungle and would throw ambushes at them. Thats why it feels like there is a real camaraderie between the actors. Dye would also do this for the cast of Saving Private Ryan and Band Of Brothers.
Saw this in the theater when it first came out. When it was over and a packed house walked out into the lobby where the next group was waiting it was complete silence.
Btw, often overlooked in this film as being a bit goofy, but John C McGinley has been a jobbing actor for 35 years and largely overlooked. His role in Scrubs, as Dr Cox his comedic timing is on point, but also there are moments where his talent absolutely shines through during more emotional parts of that role. Very underrated in my humble opinion.
@@GyvonJante Can you believe that I just found out he was in The Thing?? He looks so young and serious in The Thing that I guess it made me perceive him in a very different way (he's usually this very likeable guy that brings joy to a movie) to the point of not recognising him 🤣
I worked at a sweatshop job for 17 years that had A HIGH turnover rate. After a while, I adopted a similar feeling about new guys; since they weren't likely to last long, I didn't bother to learn their names until they'd been there at least six months. The newbies were all just, Dude.
I like how Platoon's reputation for being such a dark and emotional film made The Naked Gun movie even funnier with the scene that has Leslie Nielsen and Priscilla Presley on their date coming out of the theatre laughing hystercally like they had just watched a comedy but they had watched Platoon like it didn't even phase them!
@@christopher3391that part kind of weirds me out. He was an officer. I suspect that scene was likely a very real fear for him back then. Perhaps even the fate of other officers he knew.
@@ben2741Oliver Stone was never an officer. He was grunt in the 25th ID and later transferred to the 1st Air Cav in a LRRP unit. I'm not sure of his rank, but I doubt he made it past E5
I think Mr. Stone said in an interview once; that the part where Sheen makes the one legged guy "dance" while firing toward his feet is something Oliver Stone actually did while in Vietnam. However, It was an older man and he had both legs..
This movie came out during my first 6 months in the Army. They made us watch it, scared the heck out of me. I survived 2 combat tours diring my 14 years in the military before I got hurt. A lot of the conflict between soldiers due to stress is real. Still a great movie. ❤
Your reactions to this movie are genuine and I feel what you are feeling. My uncle was a lieutenant and saw heavy action. The only thing that kept him sane was his jeep that he fixed repeatedly and a good wife and farm waiting if he made it back home. There are no good guys in any war. We did a lot of bad things but don't think the enemy was any better. Everyone under my uncle kept at least 1 extra granade handy becaue getting captured by the enemy was simply not an option.
Just remember that Hamburger Hill is a movie that even goes harder than Platoon. It does not shy away from showing you what high velocity rounds do to a human.
Hamburger Hill was my dad's favorite of the '80s Vietnam movies. He an infantryman humping an M-60 while serving in Vietnam. Thankful he shared some of his stories with me.
This is a rough movie to sit through, but like most movies that show harsh reality, it’s ultimately rewarding. Thanks for being one of the best reactors on RUclips
BTW, I've seen many film reactions from female critics of this and other war films. But very few had realized just how fortunate women are that they have never been subject to military draft during war time. If you were a young woman, your future was never snatched away from you by the government and you were hauled off to a foreign land to fight and die a horrific death, like many men were. I'm old enough to remember my own mother was so sad, watching the busses of all the young draftees driving away to boot camp (I was too young and by the time I was old enough, the war was over).
My father was a Choctaw Indian who had never left the reservation until the war. He became an Army Engineer in WW2 and had to bury hundreds of thousands of concentration camp victims with a bulldozer. He came home a violent alcoholic and was till the day he died. My older brother is a decorated Army Veteran and came back from Vietnam so messed up and full of rage that I had to physically prevent him from killing every person with an oriental face that he saw. He now lives in the desert by himself and does nothing but stay high and drunk. I haven't seen him in years What a waste. I got out of the Army in 1972 and joined the peace movement, but it was too late for him. My ex Marine brother in law was my best friend. He did 3 tours in Vietnam (13 months for Marines) and now lives in the woods somewhere in Washington state. They all needed help that they never got. Please help your veterans to get over their trauma. They deserve more for their sacrifices.
Damn. That's rough. My Grandfather fought against the Japanese in Papua New Guinea in WWII and had a very similar outcome. l'm an Australian, but l would love to see President Elect Trump to ask actor Gary Sinise who has done amazing work building state of the art homes for severely wounded veterans through the Gary Sinise foundation and also entertaining troops abroad with his band, to oversee a reformation of Veteran Affairs. All veterans should be treated with the utmost respect and dignity when they return from active duty and need physical or mental help.
Rhah told Chris, "The Only Thing That Can Kill Barnes Is Barnes." At the end, Chris's face was scarred, like Barnes's. So he had become Barnes, and thus he was able to kill Barnes.
Based on Stone's own experiences in Vietnam. Taylor is his alter ego. The ambush part where Taylor destroys a foxhole with a grenade was the moment when Oliver Stone won the Bronze Star with V for valor. Also the ending battle happened for real, except that Stone didn't have a big role in it, he was just hunkered down in a trench and didn't fire a shot, because they knew there's an airstrike coming to their own position. Elias and Barnes are also based on real people. The real Barnes was also scarred from the face. The real Elias died in a friendly fire incident some time after Stone had left Vietnam, in unclear circumstances. Also some of the grunts are based on real people. Before the movie had a theatrical release, Stone invited his old platoon mates into his apartment, where they would see the movie. Lots of people there recognized themselves from the film. When Stone was filming the "Dance MFr dance" scene, they had to stop a take because it made Stone break down into tears. Apparently reminding him of something similar that happened for real. Possibly even something he did, he never disclosed why. The village massacre scene didn't happen to Stone like this, it's likely a reference to the famous My Lai incident. But there was lot of suspicion between villagers and US troops. Because some of them were indeed VC collarborators or even members The man who plays Cpt. Harris is Dale Dye, who was also a Vietnam veteran IRL. He worked also as the military advisor for this. Sources: Joe Rogan's podcast where Stone was visiting, some other old Platoon interviews... and Stone's book.
I took courses strictly on the Vietnam War when I was in college, and here’s something for people to keep in mind… They implemented the draft for this war, but they made a couple of exceptions: if you were in college and if you had a doctor’s note saying you had conditions or injuries. This made it to where it was a war of the poor and middle class. The rich were able to send their kids to college or have a doctor friend makeup a note for exemption. When these kids got there, their tours were a year at a time. Some did multiple tours. The only way to go home was in a body bag or if you were wounded in combat so many times (I think it was three or if a wound was debilitating). They spent 24/7 in these excruciating hot jungles with very high humidity and just swarmed by bugs. They would go into villages that they knew the Vietcong were in and ask where the weapons were hid. The villagers would lie, even though everyone knew the weapons were there. A lot of times they’d have some child come out of nowhere with a rocket launcher and surprise attack them. So they were going absolutely insane. They were stuck in this war completely against their will, couldn’t trust anyone, sleep deprived, exhausted, seeing the complete worst in humanity, and fighting for their lives. They got hooked on hard drugs at night because they knew that the military wouldn’t send them home. A lot of them felt they were sent there as a death sentence, so might as well do drugs. If they survived and were sent home they were welcomed at the airport with hippies spitting in their faces and calling them “baby killers.” Society was protesting the war, and instead of supporting the troops they were condemning them…. Some fuckin war, right?
I don't quibble with the REASONS for the war-- possible false-flag initiation aside-- it's the fact that it BECAME a "managed" war-- not enough will to win, and JUST ENOUGH to lose... which suggests to me that WARFARE in the modern world means the WHOLE CONCEPT of war... and SOME wars-- aren't meant to be won, they're meant to be CONTINUOUS. Read Michael Lind's book, "Vietnam: The Necessary War and then get back to me if you if you disagree with his thesis.
You forgot the fact that men whose IQ had previously been too low to serve in the military were drafted and died at 3x the rate of normal soldiers. It's one of the most disgusting things I've ever heard any nation do in a time of war.
So much bullshit. Like "implementing a draft' when modern conscription was initiated in 1926 and continued unabated through 1973 because there has only been 17 years the US was involved in some conflict or another; only two of which occurred AFTER 1940 (both under Jimmy Carter). Then there's that myth of gangs of hippies hanging out in airports to harass returning veterans. No documentation of it ever having happened has been found despite concerted efforts to find some. There's only been anecdotal stories which were rare until the Bush era when our government needed to pump up support for Desert Storm and villainize the people protesting the war. In reality there is AMPLE evidence of guys returning from Vietnam who ended up JOINING and being EMBRACED by the hippies anti-war movement. Ron Kovic, as just one example. A vet who was actually spit on by a pro-war Nixon supporter. And the notion of a child using a rocket launcher is BEYOND absurd. Carrying a grenade or other small IED, sure. And let's be COMPLETELY honest. The US were the villains here. We invaded them and, unlike the Japanese in 1941, they never attacked us; they only ever defended themselves FROM us. Even the Gulf of Tonkin event has turned out to be bullshit. I did notice you never once mentioned the truly brave and heroic people who risked their freedom and comfort to defy their draft notices by going underground or fleeing to Canada. Thanks to President Carter for pardoning all of them in 1977. On the whole, it kind of feels like you're just paying lip-service to the veterans while using them as human shields to defend the war-machine by regurgitating its easily disproven propaganda intended to glorify war service and denigrate those who oppose war, especially the veterans.
@@TheConstructiveCritic888 don't forget that men who previously couldn't serve in the military due to having too low an IQ were made eligible for the draft in high numbers. They died at 3x the rate of the other soldiers. It's one of the most disgusting things I've ever heard any country do in a time of war.
Charlie Sheen & Martin Sheen read letters home aloud in intro's to son's "Platoon" & Dad's "Apocalypse Now" 'Nam War epics as Stone's tribute to Coppola: '78 & '87!
This was the first film of Oliver Stone's Vietnam trilogy. There's also Born on the 4th of July and Heaven and Earth. All 3 are excellent films even though they pushed all my anxiety buttons. haha
Most reactors miss the shot in "The Naked Gun" in which Frank Drebin and his new love Jane exit a movie theater laughing hysterically, and the camera pans up to show us that they've been watching "Platoon."
One thing you may not be aware of is that Oliver Stone is a Vietnam veteran. The final scene with Dale Dye it's perhaps one of the most moving scenes because of the thousand yard stare. Only a veteran would recognize it, once you have it you never lose it, enough said.
My favorite Vietnam War movie. Side note: Corey Glover, who plays Francis in this (the guy Chris shares the foxhole with in the last battle) is also the lead singer of Living Color, the band who put out the song Cult of Personality in 1988.
Both Apocalypse Now and Platoon are difficult movies to watch. The hardest Vietnam war film to watch is The Killing Fields (1984) Some reaction channels just stop watching because of the brutality and cruelty. If you decide to watch be prepared. It's an unforgettable film and an incredible ending.
@@tsrgoinc Thank you. I was about to make the same comment. It's annoying when people make such inaccurate comments without checking historical facts first.
@@cliffwheeler7357 I actually was going to respond but since both of you assumed I'm connecting the Vietnam war with The Killing Fields film. I will point out that The Killing Fields was released DURING the 80s era of Vietnam war movies. Historically separated but connected in the film era. I may have to hand out crayons and blank papers next time. Cheers!
It hink the word "authentic" is indeed the way to describe this film. Oliver Stone used his own experiences to make this the most realistic depiction of war, probably to this day. Just like from the soldier's perspective, it's less about politics and more about the value of morality and keeping one's humanity. It's harder to watch as I get older but may be a necessary reminder of how bad war really is.
Forrest Whitaker is on screen for like five minutes and is still memorable as Big Earl. No wonder his career took off not long after this film's release.
I hated this movie too. It portrayed the US military as either a bunch of druggies or booze hounds who were as likely to shoot each other as the enemy. I especially hated the scenes where soldiers were terrorizing innocent villagers including little kids.
There is a making-of video of this that is fantastic. Dale Dye (played one of the officers) was a Marine Vietnam vet and also technical consultant. He and Stone contrived to put the cast through an abbreviated boot camp to get them in tune with the character. This included carrying gear up and down mountains to wear them out, sleeping in the rain, and having actual midnight "ambushes" perpetrated on their camp to rattle them. The strung out look they had was real. Another interesting thing was that some of the porters they used for gear hauling was also employed by Francis Ford Coppola when he filmed 'Apocalypse Now' in the Philippines. One remembered meeting Charlie Sheen when he was with his father, Martin, on the set for that movie. They both would reprise their roles to an extent in an epic cameo scene in "Hot Shots: Part Deux".
Barnes was the sergeant over 2nd platoon. When Captain Harris told O'Neill that he had 2nd platoon now he realized Barnes was dead. Also Dale Dye , who played Captain Harris, fought in the Vietnam war. At the end when he is staring at the dead bodies the next morning after the battle he was actually having a flash back on set. Oliver Stone realized what was happening and stopped filming to consul him. Oliver Stone said this movie was an account of the things he saw and the stories he heard while serving in the 25th Infantry Division in the Vietnam War.
The late great Tony Todd told me he never worked with a filmmaker more passionate than Oliver Stone. He said it’s not a job for him, he really believes in what he’s doing.
My dad did a year in country and he said this movie was spot on. Towards the end of his life he really struggled with his time overseas. He was never a believer in god but as he got closer to dying he was worried about being judged. Not for the lives he took but for the things that he couldn’t stop.
The company captain with the southern accent is Captain Dale Dye, USMC Ret. You have seen him before as Colonel Sink in "Band of Brothers, and in "Saving Private Ryan", and "Starship Troopers".
I remember seeing this in the theater with 3 other people. We were supposed to go out afterwards for drinks but all of us were not in the mood after seeing this film.
When Platoon came out, I saw it in the theater. Every so often a Viet Nam Vet would scream out at the screen. It was said that this movie was so realistic of what it was like in Viet Nam, the only thing missing was the smell.
I remember seeing this movie in the theatre with my Dad in 1986 when I was 12. There were a couple of elderly ladies sitting close to us that left about 45 min in, they couldn’t watch anymore. At the end of the movie there was just silence as everyone gathered themselves before leaving. Such a powerful experience I will never forget.
I admire your take on this movie and how you explained your experience. Aside from the horrors, Oliver Stone really captured the internal perspective of how soldiers from different parts of the country and all walks of life collide when we’re all stuck together and serving overseas. Love and hate.
In an interview, Oliver Stone mentioned that many of the characters were based on people he knew during his time in Vietnam. Sgt. Barnes was based on a tough Sergeant who actually screamed in his Lieutenant's face for calling a bad artillery strike and hitting some of their men, just like Barnes in the movie. Sgt. Elias was based off a Native American (First Nation) LRRP (Long Range Reconaissance Patrol) who was well liked by his men for teaching by example, but later got killed in action.
Vietnam was a total waste of American lives. The USA had no business being there. Not to take anything away from the men who served but Vietnam was not worth the lives of Americans. They were fighting an enemy and culture they did not understand. The VC could happily live in a tunnel and eat rats and just simply wait.. and wait and wait
Platoon is based on Oliver Stone's personal experiences as a soldier in the Vietnam War; the film draws directly from his time in combat, particularly his service in a platoon within the 25th Infantry Division. This is one of my favorite war movies. Great reaction.
The line "dance....." while shooting at someone's feet is an old line taken from old classic westerns when the bad guys used to say that to people they were picking on
Platoon was filmed in the Philippines. Luzon for the jungle scenes, Cavite for the river and village scenes, Manila for the air base, and Mount Maquilling for the forest scenes.
François Truffaut, who you might recall as Claude Lacombe from _Close Encounters of the Third Kind_ , once said that there's never been a true anti-war film, because even the most critical film can inadvertently glorify it through depictions of heroism, bravery, and resilience. This is particularly noticeable in _Platoon_ . Here we have a film where war is unequivocably depicted as Hell, twisting and corrupting them into monstrous killing machines, capable of committing unspeakable atrocities - yet the action is thrilling, & you cannot help but admire the courage of these men under fire. It's one of the strange dichotomies of war & peace. _Platoon_ is definitely one of the roughest war films I've seen, not far off from _Come and See_ and _Fire on the Plain_ when it comes to unrelenting horror in the midst of warfare.
Sadly, the violence committed at the village is somewhat of a reference to events that happened at a place called My Lai. The government initially tried to cover it up but eventually the story got back to the American public. Only one person (a Lieutenant) was convicted of crimes and he passed away not long ago.
@Hold down A It was a lovely reaction this should be shown in every high school in every college we need to bring critical thinking and empathy back like never before. Thanks for this and every upload :).
... this is the one movie that I will never forget seeing in the theatre... Remember, this was ONLY 1986 or 11 years after the war ended... that would be like 2012 in relation to 911. I was only 18 and was really affected by the people openly weeping.... and when the movie ended, you could hear a pin drop... everyone just got up and went to the exit without saying a word, most were crying....some sobbing.... I finally brought myself to watching it again as I thought this was a must watch for my kids as we can not forget the sacrifice.. vowed I would never watch it again... so here goes.. I am feeling for you on this one... with that said, the cast was amazing in this... There is a reason it had something like 40 nominations with 24 wins across the board including 8 Academy and Golden GLobe awards.... SO this comment is post movie... Great Reaction!!... Yeah, the village seen was hard... what was harder in real life is alot of those people were killing American Soldiers and the VC used villages as bases...of course that doesn't excuse anything shown... but that was a real challenge.. and you have Seen Tom Berenger and Charlie Sheen before in a movie... Major League... :) what a contrast....
I was 11 years old when I first saw this movie . Was supposed to go to school the next day. But this movie caught my attention late that night. When Elias death came on I cried so much my dad came crushing the door when he saw me just me sitting there and saw what I was watching. Just sat down next to me.
As a combat vet I usually hate war films, but this is one of the few I think that captured something realistic, mainly in the way people fall into certain cliques among the platoons etc and it can have a profound impact on your experience in a combat zone. It helps that Oliver Stone is a vet and has seen it all firsthand
2:42 The "Someone once wrote..." lines are one my favourite lines from any movie. The whole monologue is great too. 6:10 In the commentary Stone talks about this incident with the real life counterpart to Junior. Both said they didn't fall asleep so he decided to go with the version where he (Taylor) didn't fall asleep. 6:51 When I first saw this, I always thought that VC was waving at Taylor, which makes no sense, but that's what I thought. I'm guessing you were confused too, lol
my two uncles before passing who were both vietnam vets said that this movie took them back to the year they were in I corp with the marines. both had purple hearts and were lucky to come home.
I saw this on release but own a couple copies at this point. Powerful music in a powerful movie. You wanna gain a new respect for “platoon”? There’s a dvd extra/documentary type thing behind the scenes. What all Stone made them do. Stones personal Vietnam experience and finding out he joined because he had an actual death wish. Anyway, it’s a deep movie
This movie, and its music, is probably one the most powerful, impactful, films I have ever seen. I saw it in theater upon its release, I was only 20 at the time. The music, Barbers Adagio, that was used during scene of them leaving that burning village, I have never forgotten. One of the actors who had a small part, Tony Todd, just died a 2 days ago!!! He went on to act in a number of episodes of Star Trek.
I saw this film in the cinema in Dec' 1986. My Dad, and two Uncles served during this time - One on bombers out of Guam, which bombed the Vietnam regions. One in Germany facing the Soviet Forces. My Dad, was a Doctor, and stationed at an American S.A.C. base, where bombers flew to the USSR - in case. I was born in 1969 -my parents had us kids in to watch the new when Saigon fell, and our last people withrew. Some previous "Vietnam" movies like "the green berets" were know to be glory and legend - Platoon, and other made, or written, or acted by Veterans changed the view.
This was pretty much my introduction to war movies back in the 80s. Still my favorite by a wide margin, because it's not a trying to portray the protagonist's entire side as heroes, and emphasizes how each person has the potential for both good and evil, and how each person has to decide what kind of person they're going to be.
It's so interesting that you made that "Dark Knight" Joker comparison. There is a real point of commonality there. When Barnes in "Platoon" says "Kill me"--- he's not merely making a flippant dare. He MEANS it. Without being too sympathizing or excusing (Barnes is a true-blue movie villain), Stone drops subtle hints in the opening passages--- that Barnes is in Hell too (and simply has his own ways of "dealing" with it). The one thing he has in common with all the other characters is that he too wants to get out of there (his way). That's why his famous monologue isn't the least bit ironic or funny. Death--- really is the only thing he knows.
Great review, and commentary. For my part I was visiting Washington (I am from Ireland) and I went to the war monument, and there was a candle lit commemoration of the soldiers that died in Vietnam. I very innocently and perhaps naively approached a man, he told me was a veteran, I wasked was it bad, and he said yes. In that one word I didnt need to know anymore, the look on his face was of pain.
Platoon was more or less a thought experiment by Oliver Stone. In Vietnam Stone served in Vietnam in two different units and served under two different sergeants. With two very different ways of doing things. Stone asked the question, what if those sergeants had been in the same platoon. The conclusion he came to was, they would have killed each other. The character of Chris is more or less Stone's self-insert. He wrote to his grandmother and came from an upper-class family, with a father who served in World War 2, who dropped out of college to go to 'Nam.
I don't have it in me to thank everyone who has served and what they and their families have gone through. On a side note, Jim Morrison had a early script that Oliver Stove gave him right before he died, Stone wanted him to play Sheen's character. EDIT: I had a really good work friend who's father was a tunnel rat in Nam. I worked with him almost everyday. Him and his son worked at the same plant. His dad was the nicest most helpful guy you could ever meet. He used to crawl down into Cong tunnels when he was 19 or 20 something with a knife and a .45 and a flashlight and did what he had to do. It's heartbreaking when you think about it. My friend said that his dad never talked about it, ever.
You could also react to Casualties of War from 1989 with Sean Penn, Michael J. Fox and Ving Rhames. Flags of our fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima are great movies too.
It's pronounced "Will-um" DaFoe. This is probably his most iconic role. SGT Elias was a great character.
In The Naked Gun, this was the film that Frank Drebin and Jane go to on a date and come out of laughing uproariously.
I was just going to see if anyone mentioned this because none of the reactors ever seem to catch on to it when they watch Naked Gun.
Winner of 4 Oscars including Best Picture.
RIP Tony Todd, 1954-2024.
Aaaannnd this is how I found out Tony Todd died....
Damn, I didn’t know he died. Shit.
@@petercastaneda5338couple days ago
@@somebodytoknow7408 Damn.
Tony Todd was a great guy, may he rest in peace
My dad was a Vietnam vet. My brother and I saw this in the theater when it was released. We were in our mid/late teens and left the theater trembling and in tears. The film had a very divided reaction from the Vietnam veteran community. Ironically the ones who criticized it were largely unaware that Stone served two tours (he volunteered) in combat and was decorated for bravery. I've spoken to many vets who hated it when it came out but have since come to appreciate it. In 1986 the war and its complexities were still open wounds for many and it was difficult to grapple with them. One guy told me "I couldn't admit to myself at the time how true it was. My mind rebelled against the fact that I had seen and done those kinds of horrors."
Left the cinema trembling in tears wow what a drama queen,
"Platoon it made me just visibly nervous those guys out in the jungle on on ambush. The other part of it I was going God that wasn't happening sure wasn't where I was but that's Hollywood."
"oh and no one smoked at night. I don't mean pot. cigarettes our guys didn't smoke pot you you're going to be out in combat with a guy that smokes pot. I don't think so. You aren't going to be with him, he isn't right. No one did that they do it in the movies."
Source Vietnam War veteran Richard Tangel interview
Vietnam Voices: 'You're alert all the time. If you're not alert, you're going to die'
My dad is also a Vietnam Vet and he said these movies are pure BS. It's just to slander the vets that's all.
@cyclone8974 loads of Americans were taking some sort of drugs so your talking shit.
I believed that 1in5 were addicted at some time during their tour.
@cyclone8974 Sorry but that's dumb. The idea that Stone made Vietnam movies to slander HIMSELF is pure conspiracy theory nonsense
@@patrickflanagan3762 I agree some people can't help but talk pure shit
I was so impressed with Charlie Sheens performance. He nails every emotion. Probably his best work
Filmed in the Philippines on Luzon.
I grew up in the 80s, and a lot of kids had fathers who'd been in Vietnam. One of my friend's dad had been a tunnel rat, because he was short and slim - so much so that when my friend and I were around 14 years old we were almost the same height as his dad. I remember the man as being exceptionally quiet, and he had this half intense, half lost look about him. My friend always said that we needed to be very, very quiet whenever he was around, and we always played outside, never in his house.
About ten years after I graduated high school I ran into some folks who had kept up with my friend and his family. Turned out that my friend's parents got divorced just a few years after we all graduated, and his dad took his own life not long afterwards.
War will always collect its bloody toll, even many long years after it is "over".
That’s awful… 😭
Over 50 years for me. I was a survivor. My brother & many brothers in arms are heros. They did not make it home, but they are in my thoughts daily. Thank you for reviewing this film.
I'm sorry about what you had to experience and everyone you lost. Thank you for your service.
Oliver Stone was the officer on the radio in the bunker that got blown up. The purpose of the towels or scarves was two-fold; 1st, to keep insects like the airborne ants that flew from the trees above down onto our necks. 2nd was to control the sweat.
"There is many a boy here to-day who looks on war as all glory, but, boys, it is all hell." - William Tecumseh Sherman
He also said to a woman writing to him about his campaign “Get you a good husband and mind your own business” 😂
At that time, he was right.
@@petercastaneda5338 it's a timeless statement...
Yup, get a good husband and mind your own business.
I was 17 when this movie came out. This is the only movie my dad ever took me to see. He was in vietnam and he never talked about it. Maybe this was his way of doing it. This movie will always get me. Thanks for the reaction.
Military schools use the actions of Lt. Wolfe in this movie as an example of how NOT to act and handle subordinates as an officer.
I served as a fire platoon leader in the Army so I understand a green lieutenant, often little more than a college kid who went through ROTC and an officer basic course, faces challenges as a new platoon leader but the failures depicted in this movie on Wolfe's part are unforgiveable. Fortunately in the real world platoon sergeants are highly experienced professionals who are almost invariably very supportive of new platoon leaders, helping them develop into competent junior officers; not pathological monsters like Barnes.
Cool.
Doesn't really compute with the Fallujah killings of 17 civilian protestors in 2003.
82nd Airborne wasted those people...
@@dritzzdarkwood4727read into these killings. Unfortunatelly it wasnt just a green LT, the problems run deeper. It started from an abrasive battalion commander and trickled down. Like Napoleon said, there arent bad soldiers, only bad commanders.
This movie is part of Oliver Stone's informal trilogy on the Vietnam war, the other two being "Born on the Fourth of July" (1989) with Tom Cruise in the lead as real life veteran Ron Kovic - incidentally Tom Cruise's best performance in my opinion - and "Heaven & Earth" (1993) about a young Vietnamese woman trying to survive the war. That one stars Tommy Lee Jones with not just his best scene ever, but one of the greatest and most chilling performances in a scene ever. 😮
TC's 2nd best performance. Personally, I find his performance, especially the death bed "confession" with Jason Robards in Magnolia, as TC's best!
The village massacre is reminiscent of the real massacre of My Lai by US forces in 1968.
Wiki: "At least 347 and up to 504 civilians, almost all women, children, and elderly men, were murdered by U.S. soldiers from C Company, 1st Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 11th Brigade and B Company, 4th Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, 11th Brigade of the 23rd (Americal) Division (organized as part of Task Force Barker). Some of the women were gang-raped and their bodies mutilated, and some soldiers mutilated and raped children as young as 12".
I remember seeing this at its release. There were many vets in the theater. I can't tell you how many were brought to tears as well as those that walked out, they were traumatized. This film at that time was like no other war film seen before.
This was "original" Saving private Ryan"
Almost 40 years before I realized "Francis" is also the lead singer of Living Colour
Corey Glover! Great frontman to an underrated band!!!
Haha. Same!
I was today years old when I learned this and I've also seen this movie many times 😅
@@Masterdebater1313 damn right, hell of a voice
"cult of personality"!!
The opening music is Samuel Barber's "Adagio For Strings". It's considered probably the saddest music of the 20th century.
Its inclusion in "Platoon" and "The Mission" really pushed it into the popular conscious to the point where I believe the young people now use it as a meme.
BTW Ames, you really need to react to "The Mission"; it's masterpiece. Some of the best cinemetography of the 80s, compelling script, Roland Joffe directed, Ennio Morricone score, starring De Niro, Jeremy Irons, Liam Neeson, Aidan Quinn...
@@fusiliers It started to be noticed in pop culture with "The Elephant Man", though. I didn't know it was also used in "The Mission"... Are really sure of that?
@@georgezee5173 Good catch! Although I've seen the movie at least a dozen times, it's been a few years since the last viewing. My brain conflated Barber with Morricone's "Ave Maria Guarani".
Finally people are starting to react to Platoon.
But not a single person to react to Gary Cooper in "Sergeant York" or John Wayne in "The Green Berets"
Tom Berringer's performance!!
Sniper is good too
@@John-m2d6y great actor, he was great at playing hardasses
Show me one actor in this movie that didn't act his ass off. But, yeah - Tom, Willem, and Charlie are very prominent here, but I also remembered Whitaker, Depp, and when I first saw "Scrubs" I was yelling int my screen towards Dr Cox "I loved you in Platoon!"
@ I’m sure everyone gave it all they had knowing this was an important subject
@@Lord_Legolas_Greenleaf Substitute too
Great reaction Ames like always, Platoon is the landmark definition of a war film. Pulse-pounding sequences stacked on well-performed portrayal of soldiers (Sheen, Berenger & Dafoe) as well as a couple of heart-wrenching scenes that would be somewhat difficult to view. The film is Oliver Stone's most significant to date, especially since it's based off his own personal experience in the Vietnam War.
And some fun facts about this movie a number of actors who eventually became very famous, such as Johnny Depp, but others didn’t have much luck in auditioning. Ben Stiller walked into the audition room, but was turned down by Oliver Stone before he could even talk. The director said Stiller was “too cute” to be in such a gritty movie.
Tom Berenger and Willem Dafoe were specifically chosen Whenever being cast in movies, Tom Berenger and Willem Dafoe were usually subjected to typecasting - Berenger typically played the good guy, while Dafoe was the villain, But Oliver Stone decided to reverse this and chose Berenger to be the ruthless and harsh Staff Sgt. Bob Barnes, while Dafoe played the caring and heroic Sgt. Elias. The actors were able to showcase their full acting ranges, and both received Oscar nominations for their performances. Keep up the amazing work.
I remember my first introduction to Willem Dafoe as the uber bad guy in the almost forgotten To Live and Die in L.A. It was amazing to see him transform into the good guy in this one.
Movie was pure BS
This movie is a bunch of things Oliver Stone experienced during his tour in Vietnam. Charlie Sheen's character is Oliver Stone. He and other crew had flashbacks while making the movie. Oliver Stone had a major flashback during the village scene where he had an emotional breakdown and they had to stop for the day.
The village scene is based on the My Lai Massacre. Oliver Stone wasn't there when that happened.
@bloodymarvelous4790 there were many village massacres throughout Vietnam. There a video where he said he watched fellow soldiers raping women and a couple kids, and he almost killed a dude to get him to stop. He didn't say where it happened just that it happened and then said I don't like to talk about that stuff on camera so they moved on.
Was gonna say there were MANY My Lai’s. Operation Speedy Express - became army policy to declare certain areas as free fire zones and basically anything you shot was fair game including civilians all so that the media could celebrate the “all important” body count of enemy killed.
As brutal as it was the village actually got off rather easy. They were a confirmed VC village, were clearly giving material aide and comfort to enemy forces, had killed an American soldier (ie Manny), resisted lawful search and inspection. The fact that the village had kidnapped and killed an American GI would have been enough to revoke the villages protection under 1954 Geneva Conventions. Not saying it wasn’t brutal, but there were many villages that had suffered waaay worse for less.
Vietnamese civilians were killed by Americans and The V.C. both.
@@bloodymarvelous4790Things like that happened all the time in Vietnam, My Lai wasn’t an isolated incident.
The one soldier that you thought was really calm during the firefight was Dale Dye. He spent several tours overseas during the war in the Marine Corps. He's the only actor to appear in all of Olivrt Stone's Vietnam trilogy films: Platoon (1986), Born on the Fourth of July (1989) and Heaven & Earth (1993)..
They ran out of budget for the final fight, and couldn't light the set, so they shot off every flare they had to provide light during the battle, making it look even more chaotic.
Dale Dye has done a lot of military consulting on movies. One thing i wondered if Ames would recognize is that he is the actor who plays Col. Sink - Winters’ commander in Band of Brothers.
he was more than just an actor in the movie, he was the military consultant and even made the cast do a quick bootcamp and made them camp out in the jungle and would throw ambushes at them. Thats why it feels like there is a real camaraderie between the actors. Dye would also do this for the cast of Saving Private Ryan and Band Of Brothers.
@@DirtnapJack this was Dye's second film. His first was Invaders From Mars.
Saw this in the theater when it first came out. When it was over and a packed house walked out into the lobby where the next group was waiting it was complete silence.
Btw, often overlooked in this film as being a bit goofy, but John C McGinley has been a jobbing actor for 35 years and largely overlooked. His role in Scrubs, as Dr Cox his comedic timing is on point, but also there are moments where his talent absolutely shines through during more emotional parts of that role. Very underrated in my humble opinion.
"War is when the government tells you who the enemy is.. revolution is when you decide that for yourself"- Ben Franklin
@@Tune-O-matic And this is the same guy who wanted the national bird to be a turkey.
@GamerKatz_1971 He must have known an eagle is just a vulture..
King getting out and yelling out goodbye always had me smile thay he got out. My favorite character and actor! 😊
Kieth David! Awesome actor!😊
@@GyvonJante Can you believe that I just found out he was in The Thing?? He looks so young and serious in The Thing that I guess it made me perceive him in a very different way (he's usually this very likeable guy that brings joy to a movie) to the point of not recognising him 🤣
He was also Mary's stepfather in "There's Something About Mary."
I worked at a sweatshop job for 17 years that had A HIGH turnover rate. After a while, I adopted a similar feeling about new guys; since they weren't likely to last long, I didn't bother to learn their names until they'd been there at least six months. The newbies were all just, Dude.
I like how Platoon's reputation for being such a dark and emotional film made The Naked Gun movie even funnier with the scene that has Leslie Nielsen and Priscilla Presley on their date coming out of the theatre laughing hystercally like they had just watched a comedy but they had watched Platoon like it didn't even phase them!
Kevin Dillon used to play pool in a bar I ran. Super nice dude.
The guys who play the best assholes usually are very nice people in real life.
VICTORY!
How were his calf implants?
He was also good in the remake of "The Blob."
Oliver Stone is a Vietnam veteran.
He was actually in the movie, in the bunker that was suicide bombed.
@@christopher3391that part kind of weirds me out. He was an officer. I suspect that scene was likely a very real fear for him back then. Perhaps even the fate of other officers he knew.
@@ben2741nope. Enlisted.
@@ben2741Oliver Stone was never an officer. He was grunt in the 25th ID and later transferred to the 1st Air Cav in a LRRP unit. I'm not sure of his rank, but I doubt he made it past E5
I think Mr. Stone said in an interview once; that the part where Sheen makes the one legged guy "dance" while firing toward his feet is something Oliver Stone actually did while in Vietnam.
However, It was an older man and he had both legs..
This movie came out during my first 6 months in the Army. They made us watch it, scared the heck out of me. I survived 2 combat tours diring my 14 years in the military before I got hurt. A lot of the conflict between soldiers due to stress is real. Still a great movie. ❤
Your reactions to this movie are genuine and I feel what you are feeling. My uncle was a lieutenant and saw heavy action. The only thing that kept him sane was his jeep that he fixed repeatedly and a good wife and farm waiting if he made it back home. There are no good guys in any war. We did a lot of bad things but don't think the enemy was any better. Everyone under my uncle kept at least 1 extra granade handy becaue getting captured by the enemy was simply not an option.
"Casualties of War" and "Hamburger Hill" next.
Just remember that Hamburger Hill is a movie that even goes harder than Platoon. It does not shy away from showing you what high velocity rounds do to a human.
Casualties of war an absolute ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ brutal disgusting movie
Coming Home
I think Casualties Of War will give Ames a breakdown: how about Born On The Fourth Of July and Hamburger Hill..?
Hamburger Hill was my dad's favorite of the '80s Vietnam movies. He an infantryman humping an M-60 while serving in Vietnam. Thankful he shared some of his stories with me.
This is a rough movie to sit through, but like most movies that show harsh reality, it’s ultimately rewarding. Thanks for being one of the best reactors on RUclips
BTW, I've seen many film reactions from female critics of this and other war films. But very few had realized just how fortunate women are that they have never been subject to military draft during war time. If you were a young woman, your future was never snatched away from you by the government and you were hauled off to a foreign land to fight and die a horrific death, like many men were. I'm old enough to remember my own mother was so sad, watching the busses of all the young draftees driving away to boot camp (I was too young and by the time I was old enough, the war was over).
My father was a Choctaw Indian who had never left the reservation until the war. He became an Army Engineer in WW2 and had to bury hundreds of thousands of concentration camp victims with a bulldozer. He came home a violent alcoholic and was till the day he died. My older brother is a decorated Army Veteran and came back from Vietnam so messed up and full of rage that I had to physically prevent him from killing every person with an oriental face that he saw. He now lives in the desert by himself and does nothing but stay high and drunk. I haven't seen him in years What a waste. I got out of the Army in 1972 and joined the peace movement, but it was too late for him. My ex Marine brother in law was my best friend. He did 3 tours in Vietnam (13 months for Marines) and now lives in the woods somewhere in Washington state. They all needed help that they never got. Please help your veterans to get over their trauma. They deserve more for their sacrifices.
Thank you for sharing this story sir.
Damn. That's rough. My Grandfather fought against the Japanese in Papua New Guinea in WWII and had a very similar outcome. l'm an Australian, but l would love to see President Elect Trump to ask actor Gary Sinise who has done amazing work building state of the art homes for severely wounded veterans through the Gary Sinise foundation and also entertaining troops abroad with his band, to oversee a reformation of Veteran Affairs. All veterans should be treated with the utmost respect and dignity when they return from active duty and need physical or mental help.
“War don't ennoble men, it turns 'em into dogs. It poisons the soul.”
― James Jones, The Thin Red Line
Your mixed emotions here are spot-on, Ames. You absolutely get it as intended.
Thanks for watching 🥹
Yeah it's hard a movie to react to imo she did great tho
hey can you please put gloves on and do a reaction to the movie Austin powers international man of mystery
Rhah told Chris, "The Only Thing That Can Kill Barnes Is Barnes." At the end, Chris's face was scarred, like Barnes's. So he had become Barnes, and thus he was able to kill Barnes.
Based on Stone's own experiences in Vietnam. Taylor is his alter ego.
The ambush part where Taylor destroys a foxhole with a grenade was the moment when Oliver Stone won the Bronze Star with V for valor. Also the ending battle happened for real, except that Stone didn't have a big role in it, he was just hunkered down in a trench and didn't fire a shot, because they knew there's an airstrike coming to their own position.
Elias and Barnes are also based on real people. The real Barnes was also scarred from the face. The real Elias died in a friendly fire incident some time after Stone had left Vietnam, in unclear circumstances. Also some of the grunts are based on real people. Before the movie had a theatrical release, Stone invited his old platoon mates into his apartment, where they would see the movie. Lots of people there recognized themselves from the film.
When Stone was filming the "Dance MFr dance" scene, they had to stop a take because it made Stone break down into tears. Apparently reminding him of something similar that happened for real. Possibly even something he did, he never disclosed why. The village massacre scene didn't happen to Stone like this, it's likely a reference to the famous My Lai incident. But there was lot of suspicion between villagers and US troops. Because some of them were indeed VC collarborators or even members
The man who plays Cpt. Harris is Dale Dye, who was also a Vietnam veteran IRL. He worked also as the military advisor for this.
Sources: Joe Rogan's podcast where Stone was visiting, some other old Platoon interviews... and Stone's book.
I took courses strictly on the Vietnam War when I was in college, and here’s something for people to keep in mind…
They implemented the draft for this war, but they made a couple of exceptions: if you were in college and if you had a doctor’s note saying you had conditions or injuries. This made it to where it was a war of the poor and middle class. The rich were able to send their kids to college or have a doctor friend makeup a note for exemption.
When these kids got there, their tours were a year at a time. Some did multiple tours. The only way to go home was in a body bag or if you were wounded in combat so many times (I think it was three or if a wound was debilitating).
They spent 24/7 in these excruciating hot jungles with very high humidity and just swarmed by bugs.
They would go into villages that they knew the Vietcong were in and ask where the weapons were hid. The villagers would lie, even though everyone knew the weapons were there. A lot of times they’d have some child come out of nowhere with a rocket launcher and surprise attack them. So they were going absolutely insane. They were stuck in this war completely against their will, couldn’t trust anyone, sleep deprived, exhausted, seeing the complete worst in humanity, and fighting for their lives. They got hooked on hard drugs at night because they knew that the military wouldn’t send them home. A lot of them felt they were sent there as a death sentence, so might as well do drugs.
If they survived and were sent home they were welcomed at the airport with hippies spitting in their faces and calling them “baby killers.” Society was protesting the war, and instead of supporting the troops they were condemning them….
Some fuckin war, right?
@@TheConstructiveCritic888 let’s hope to God nothing like it ever happens again.
I don't quibble with the REASONS for the war-- possible false-flag initiation aside-- it's the fact that
it BECAME a "managed" war-- not enough will to win, and JUST ENOUGH to lose... which suggests to me that WARFARE in the modern world means the WHOLE CONCEPT of war... and SOME wars-- aren't meant to be won, they're meant to be CONTINUOUS. Read Michael Lind's book, "Vietnam: The Necessary War and then get back to me if you if you disagree with his thesis.
You forgot the fact that men whose IQ had previously been too low to serve in the military were drafted and died at 3x the rate of normal soldiers. It's one of the most disgusting things I've ever heard any nation do in a time of war.
So much bullshit.
Like "implementing a draft' when modern conscription was initiated in 1926 and continued unabated through 1973 because there has only been 17 years the US was involved in some conflict or another; only two of which occurred AFTER 1940 (both under Jimmy Carter).
Then there's that myth of gangs of hippies hanging out in airports to harass returning veterans. No documentation of it ever having happened has been found despite concerted efforts to find some. There's only been anecdotal stories which were rare until the Bush era when our government needed to pump up support for Desert Storm and villainize the people protesting the war.
In reality there is AMPLE evidence of guys returning from Vietnam who ended up JOINING and being EMBRACED by the hippies anti-war movement. Ron Kovic, as just one example. A vet who was actually spit on by a pro-war Nixon supporter.
And the notion of a child using a rocket launcher is BEYOND absurd. Carrying a grenade or other small IED, sure.
And let's be COMPLETELY honest. The US were the villains here. We invaded them and, unlike the Japanese in 1941, they never attacked us; they only ever defended themselves FROM us. Even the Gulf of Tonkin event has turned out to be bullshit.
I did notice you never once mentioned the truly brave and heroic people who risked their freedom and comfort to defy their draft notices by going underground or fleeing to Canada. Thanks to President Carter for pardoning all of them in 1977.
On the whole, it kind of feels like you're just paying lip-service to the veterans while using them as human shields to defend the war-machine by regurgitating its easily disproven propaganda intended to glorify war service and denigrate those who oppose war, especially the veterans.
@@TheConstructiveCritic888 don't forget that men who previously couldn't serve in the military due to having too low an IQ were made eligible for the draft in high numbers. They died at 3x the rate of the other soldiers. It's one of the most disgusting things I've ever heard any country do in a time of war.
The problem is, when the thin veil of humanity is stripped away by war, and the horrors you see, you can become a monster.
Charlie Sheen & Martin Sheen read letters home aloud in intro's to son's "Platoon" & Dad's "Apocalypse Now" 'Nam War epics as Stone's tribute to Coppola: '78 & '87!
Don’t forget hot shots “I loved you in Wall Street!’ 😉
@watts18269 Yup! Dad on 'Nam fast-attack river boat as in "Apoc' Now" to son on dock as 'Rambo':
"Hot Shots: Part Deux"! 👍😜👍
This was the first film of Oliver Stone's Vietnam trilogy. There's also Born on the 4th of July and Heaven and Earth. All 3 are excellent films even though they pushed all my anxiety buttons. haha
Most reactors miss the shot in "The Naked Gun" in which Frank Drebin and his new love Jane exit a movie theater laughing hysterically, and the camera pans up to show us that they've been watching "Platoon."
One thing you may not be aware of is that Oliver Stone is a Vietnam veteran. The final scene with Dale Dye it's perhaps one of the most moving scenes because of the thousand yard stare. Only a veteran would recognize it, once you have it you never lose it, enough said.
My favorite Vietnam War movie.
Side note: Corey Glover, who plays Francis in this (the guy Chris shares the foxhole with in the last battle) is also the lead singer of Living Color, the band who put out the song Cult of Personality in 1988.
Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings is used with such amazing effect in this film.
Both Apocalypse Now and Platoon are difficult movies to watch. The hardest Vietnam war film to watch is The Killing Fields (1984) Some reaction channels just stop watching because of the brutality and cruelty. If you decide to watch be prepared. It's an unforgettable film and an incredible ending.
The Killing Fields is not set during the Vietnam war, its in Cambodia during the Khmer Rouge uprising under Pol Pot!
@@tsrgoinc Thank you. I was about to make the same comment. It's annoying when people make such inaccurate comments without checking historical facts first.
@@cliffwheeler7357 I actually was going to respond but since both of you assumed I'm connecting the Vietnam war with The Killing Fields film. I will point out that The Killing Fields was released DURING the 80s era of Vietnam war movies. Historically separated but connected in the film era. I may have to hand out crayons and blank papers next time. Cheers!
I think sometimes there’s a difference between a film one can enjoy, and a film one can appreciate. Thank you for sharing.
It hink the word "authentic" is indeed the way to describe this film. Oliver Stone used his own experiences to make this the most realistic depiction of war, probably to this day. Just like from the soldier's perspective, it's less about politics and more about the value of morality and keeping one's humanity. It's harder to watch as I get older but may be a necessary reminder of how bad war really is.
Forrest Whitaker is on screen for like five minutes and is still memorable as Big Earl. No wonder his career took off not long after this film's release.
I hated this movie too. It portrayed the US military as either a bunch of druggies or booze hounds who were as likely to shoot each other as the enemy. I especially hated the scenes where soldiers were terrorizing innocent villagers including little kids.
All those atrocities were actually perpetrated by US troops... as well as a lot of other war crimes committed by America.
Casualties of War (1989) -- That one is really gonna get ya...
My uncle Andy did two tours of Vietnam so that my dad didn't have to go. Now I exist. RIP Andy.
There is a making-of video of this that is fantastic. Dale Dye (played one of the officers) was a Marine Vietnam vet and also technical consultant. He and Stone contrived to put the cast through an abbreviated boot camp to get them in tune with the character. This included carrying gear up and down mountains to wear them out, sleeping in the rain, and having actual midnight "ambushes" perpetrated on their camp to rattle them. The strung out look they had was real.
Another interesting thing was that some of the porters they used for gear hauling was also employed by Francis Ford Coppola when he filmed 'Apocalypse Now' in the Philippines. One remembered meeting Charlie Sheen when he was with his father, Martin, on the set for that movie. They both would reprise their roles to an extent in an epic cameo scene in "Hot Shots: Part Deux".
Barnes was the sergeant over 2nd platoon. When Captain Harris told O'Neill that he had 2nd platoon now he realized Barnes was dead. Also Dale Dye , who played Captain Harris, fought in the Vietnam war. At the end when he is staring at the dead bodies the next morning after the battle he was actually having a flash back on set. Oliver Stone realized what was happening and stopped filming to consul him. Oliver Stone said this movie was an account of the things he saw and the stories he heard while serving in the 25th Infantry Division in the Vietnam War.
Yeah Dale Dye has been the military advisor to many a great military film.
The late great Tony Todd told me he never worked with a filmmaker more passionate than Oliver Stone. He said it’s not a job for him, he really believes in what he’s doing.
...which reminds me of "Salvador", wow, that's a really powerful film, also by Oliver Stone. maybe his best.
The tagline of the movie poster said "The first casualty of war is innocence."
My dad did a year in country and he said this movie was spot on. Towards the end of his life he really struggled with his time overseas. He was never a believer in god but as he got closer to dying he was worried about being judged. Not for the lives he took but for the things that he couldn’t stop.
The company captain with the southern accent is Captain Dale Dye, USMC Ret.
You have seen him before as Colonel Sink in "Band of Brothers, and in "Saving Private Ryan", and "Starship Troopers".
I remember seeing this in the theater with 3 other people. We were supposed to go out afterwards for drinks but all of us were not in the mood after seeing this film.
"His dad did Apocolypse Now."
More importantly he did Hot Shots: Part Deux. It will make more sense when you see it.
Gotta watch Oliver Stone’s “Wall Street” (1987) with both Sheens before the ultimate movie, .. “Hot Shots”, though.
“I loved you in Wall Street!”
Platoon and The Deer Hunter aren’t easy movies to sit through, but they always stay with you
Deer Hunter is a unique vibe. It’s hard to describe
@ a big epic about four guys
When Platoon came out, I saw it in the theater. Every so often a Viet Nam Vet would scream out at the screen. It was said that this movie was so realistic of what it was like in Viet Nam, the only thing missing was the smell.
The industrial band Ministry used a lot of sound bites from this and Full Metal Jacket.
I remember seeing this movie in the theatre with my Dad in 1986 when I was 12. There were a couple of elderly ladies sitting close to us that left about 45 min in, they couldn’t watch anymore. At the end of the movie there was just silence as everyone gathered themselves before leaving. Such a powerful experience I will never forget.
Amy, you needed to see this classic...next you need to see the Pianist and also A Bridge Too Far.
This is a truly great film… It conjures a full range of feelings and emotions … I always feel devastated and spent at the end…
I admire your take on this movie and how you explained your experience. Aside from the horrors, Oliver Stone really captured the internal perspective of how soldiers from different parts of the country and all walks of life collide when we’re all stuck together and serving overseas. Love and hate.
In an interview, Oliver Stone mentioned that many of the characters were based on people he knew during his time in Vietnam. Sgt. Barnes was based on a tough Sergeant who actually screamed in his Lieutenant's face for calling a bad artillery strike and hitting some of their men, just like Barnes in the movie. Sgt. Elias was based off a Native American (First Nation) LRRP (Long Range Reconaissance Patrol) who was well liked by his men for teaching by example, but later got killed in action.
Vietnam was a total waste of American lives. The USA had no business being there. Not to take anything away from the men who served but Vietnam was not worth the lives of Americans. They were fighting an enemy and culture they did not understand. The VC could happily live in a tunnel and eat rats and just simply wait.. and wait and wait
You should watch Casualties of War, with Sean Penn and Michael J Fox. Its a true Vietnam War story. Great movie.
Platoon is based on Oliver Stone's personal experiences as a soldier in the Vietnam War; the film draws directly from his time in combat, particularly his service in a platoon within the 25th Infantry Division. This is one of my favorite war movies. Great reaction.
This war movie doesn’t rip your heart out, it removes your faith in humanity.
"It's crazy. This movie has no clear enemy."
It does: the war itself.
The line "dance....." while shooting at someone's feet is an old line taken from old classic westerns when the bad guys used to say that to people they were picking on
Platoon was filmed in the Philippines. Luzon for the jungle scenes, Cavite for the river and village scenes, Manila for the air base, and Mount Maquilling for the forest scenes.
François Truffaut, who you might recall as Claude Lacombe from _Close Encounters of the Third Kind_ , once said that there's never been a true anti-war film, because even the most critical film can inadvertently glorify it through depictions of heroism, bravery, and resilience. This is particularly noticeable in _Platoon_ . Here we have a film where war is unequivocably depicted as Hell, twisting and corrupting them into monstrous killing machines, capable of committing unspeakable atrocities - yet the action is thrilling, & you cannot help but admire the courage of these men under fire. It's one of the strange dichotomies of war & peace.
_Platoon_ is definitely one of the roughest war films I've seen, not far off from _Come and See_ and _Fire on the Plain_ when it comes to unrelenting horror in the midst of warfare.
I was just six months old, when this was supposed to take place, my dad was serving his second tour, and was in the Mekong.
I was born around the end of this war, and I never knew my father because of it. War reaches so many, directly and indirectly.
Rest in peace also to the Vietnamese who lost a massive amount of people civilians included. And may their children grow up in peace & prosperity 🇻🇳
The village scene is one of the most heart wrenching scenes ever filmed. It’s brutal!
“Hell is the impossibility of reason”. That line has stuck with me since seeing this years ago.
Sadly, the violence committed at the village is somewhat of a reference to events that happened at a place called My Lai. The government initially tried to cover it up but eventually the story got back to the American public. Only one person (a Lieutenant) was convicted of crimes and he passed away not long ago.
@Hold down A It was a lovely reaction this should be shown in every high school in every college we need to bring critical thinking and empathy back like never before. Thanks for this and every upload :).
... this is the one movie that I will never forget seeing in the theatre... Remember, this was ONLY 1986 or 11 years after the war ended... that would be like 2012 in relation to 911. I was only 18 and was really affected by the people openly weeping.... and when the movie ended, you could hear a pin drop... everyone just got up and went to the exit without saying a word, most were crying....some sobbing.... I finally brought myself to watching it again as I thought this was a must watch for my kids as we can not forget the sacrifice.. vowed I would never watch it again... so here goes.. I am feeling for you on this one... with that said, the cast was amazing in this... There is a reason it had something like 40 nominations with 24 wins across the board including 8 Academy and Golden GLobe awards....
SO this comment is post movie... Great Reaction!!... Yeah, the village seen was hard... what was harder in real life is alot of those people were killing American Soldiers and the VC used villages as bases...of course that doesn't excuse anything shown... but that was a real challenge.. and you have Seen Tom Berenger and Charlie Sheen before in a movie... Major League... :) what a contrast....
I was 11 years old when I first saw this movie . Was supposed to go to school the next day. But this movie caught my attention late that night. When Elias death came on I cried so much my dad came crushing the door when he saw me just me sitting there and saw what I was watching. Just sat down next to me.
As a combat vet I usually hate war films, but this is one of the few I think that captured something realistic, mainly in the way people fall into certain cliques among the platoons etc and it can have a profound impact on your experience in a combat zone. It helps that Oliver Stone is a vet and has seen it all firsthand
2:42 The "Someone once wrote..." lines are one my favourite lines from any movie. The whole monologue is great too.
6:10 In the commentary Stone talks about this incident with the real life counterpart to Junior. Both said they didn't fall asleep so he decided to go with the version where he (Taylor) didn't fall asleep.
6:51 When I first saw this, I always thought that VC was waving at Taylor, which makes no sense, but that's what I thought. I'm guessing you were confused too, lol
my two uncles before passing who were both vietnam vets said that this movie took them back to the year they were in I corp with the marines. both had purple hearts and were lucky to come home.
I saw this on release but own a couple copies at this point. Powerful music in a powerful movie. You wanna gain a new respect for “platoon”? There’s a dvd extra/documentary type thing behind the scenes. What all Stone made them do. Stones personal Vietnam experience and finding out he joined because he had an actual death wish. Anyway, it’s a deep movie
This movie, and its music, is probably one the most powerful, impactful, films I have ever seen. I saw it in theater upon its release, I was only 20 at the time. The music, Barbers Adagio, that was used during scene of them leaving that burning village, I have never forgotten. One of the actors who had a small part, Tony Todd, just died a 2 days ago!!! He went on to act in a number of episodes of Star Trek.
I saw this film in the cinema in Dec' 1986. My Dad, and two Uncles served during this time - One on bombers out of Guam, which bombed the Vietnam regions. One in Germany facing the Soviet Forces. My Dad, was a Doctor, and stationed at an American S.A.C. base, where bombers flew to the USSR - in case. I was born in 1969 -my parents had us kids in to watch the new when Saigon fell, and our last people withrew. Some previous "Vietnam" movies like "the green berets" were know to be glory and legend - Platoon, and other made, or written, or acted by Veterans changed the view.
This was pretty much my introduction to war movies back in the 80s. Still my favorite by a wide margin, because it's not a trying to portray the protagonist's entire side as heroes, and emphasizes how each person has the potential for both good and evil, and how each person has to decide what kind of person they're going to be.
Ames Platoon was filmed in Luzon and Manilla in the Philippines . Also I'd love to see you do a reaction to The Warriors! Love your videos!
It's so interesting that you made that "Dark Knight" Joker comparison. There is a real point of commonality there.
When Barnes in "Platoon" says "Kill me"--- he's not merely making a flippant dare. He MEANS it.
Without being too sympathizing or excusing (Barnes is a true-blue movie villain), Stone drops subtle hints in the opening passages--- that Barnes is in Hell too (and simply has his own ways of "dealing" with it). The one thing he has in common with all the other characters is that he too wants to get out of there (his way).
That's why his famous monologue isn't the least bit ironic or funny. Death--- really is the only thing he knows.
Great review, and commentary. For my part I was visiting Washington (I am from Ireland) and I went to the war monument, and there was a candle lit commemoration of the soldiers that died in Vietnam. I very innocently and perhaps naively approached a man, he told me was a veteran, I wasked was it bad, and he said yes. In that one word I didnt need to know anymore, the look on his face was of pain.
Platoon was more or less a thought experiment by Oliver Stone. In Vietnam Stone served in Vietnam in two different units and served under two different sergeants. With two very different ways of doing things. Stone asked the question, what if those sergeants had been in the same platoon. The conclusion he came to was, they would have killed each other. The character of Chris is more or less Stone's self-insert. He wrote to his grandmother and came from an upper-class family, with a father who served in World War 2, who dropped out of college to go to 'Nam.
I don't have it in me to thank everyone who has served and what they and their families have gone through. On a side note, Jim Morrison had a early script that Oliver Stove gave him right before he died, Stone wanted him to play Sheen's character. EDIT: I had a really good work friend who's father was a tunnel rat in Nam. I worked with him almost everyday.
Him and his son worked at the same plant. His dad was the nicest most helpful guy you could ever meet. He used to crawl down into Cong tunnels when he was 19 or 20 something with a knife and a .45 and a flashlight and did what he had to do. It's heartbreaking when you think about it. My friend said that his dad never talked about it, ever.
You could also react to Casualties of War from 1989 with Sean Penn, Michael J. Fox and Ving Rhames.
Flags of our fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima are great movies too.