{"id":33613,"date":"2014-02-14T09:00:03","date_gmt":"2014-02-14T17:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/?p=33613"},"modified":"2020-10-08T14:45:57","modified_gmt":"2020-10-08T21:45:57","slug":"blindspot-he-says-she-says-full-metal-jacket","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/2014\/02\/blindspot-he-says-she-says-full-metal-jacket\/","title":{"rendered":"Blindspot \/ He Says, She Says: Full Metal Jacket"},"content":{"rendered":"

T<\/span>his Blind Spot entry will be done as a He Says, She Says post, because Full Metal Jacket<\/em> was on the list of twelve films that Jonathan selected from his favorites that he wanted me to watch, which was the original genesis for this series. We never got around to it the year we made those lists for each other, but I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m glad we did now. These Blind Spots lists really are good for getting around to stuff we want to watch. :)<\/p>\n

The Movie<\/h3>\n

\"full_metal_jacket-poster\"Director:<\/b> Stanley Kubrick
\nScreenplay:<\/b> Stanley Kubrick, Michael Herr, Gustav Hasford
\nCast:<\/b> Matthew Modine, Vincent D\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Onofrio, Adam Baldwin, R. Lee Ermey
\nInfo:<\/b> 1987 USA\/UK, Warner Bros.
\nChooser:<\/b> Both (Jon\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s choice for me to watch, my choice to watch this week)
\nDate and Method Watched:<\/b> 2 February 2014, Blu-ray<\/p>\n

She Says…<\/h3>\n

\"Jandy-avatar\"Going into this film, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d heard that it breaks cleanly into two parts, and that most people vastly prefer the first part. Coming out of it, the first statement is self-evident, but I ended up liking both parts quite a lot. The first part is set at Marine boot camp, with a hard-nosed drill sergeant putting a group of raw recruits through the wringer. The second part is set in Vietnam, following Joker, one of the more accomplished recruits, now a correspondent for a military newspaper.<\/p>\n

I can see why people like the first half more – it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s tightly focused and basically flawless. As a microcosm of the boot camp world and how it either makes or breaks you, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s self-contained, intense, and brilliant. On its own, it would work just as well as an extended short film. Vincent D\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Onofrio (who I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even recognize) goes from adorable to terrifying, and I believed every second of it.<\/p>\n

The second half is much more sprawling, but that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what war is. Boot camp is controlled, tight, and regimented. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s supposed to prepare you for war, but war, especially a war like Vietnam, is unpredictable. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no way to prepare for the situations the men find themselves in once they get there, and that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the point. The first half makes you think the drill sergeant is putting them through hell. But he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not. War is hell.<\/p>\n

There are lots of other things I could say about the film – most of the music seems incongruous and yet is utterly fitting, which I love. There are a ton of great shots, from the tracking shot leading the sergeant around the barracks in the beginning to the silhouettes against a blood-red sky in Vietnam. I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t expect to like this movie all that much, let alone enjoy the experience of watching it, but I did. A lot. I should\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve known to trust Kubrick.<\/p>\n

My Souvenir<\/b>: There are so many I could take from this. The sergeant\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s opening monologue, Pyle\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s success (albeit short-lived) with the Joker\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s encouragement, the look in Pyle\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s eyes in the bathroom, the intensity of the whole sniper showdown, etc. But I think I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll take a thematic moment. After the sniper goes down, Joker\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s face is half lit, half in shadow – his face showing that duality that he previously indicated somewhat facetiously with the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Born to Kill\u00e2\u20ac\u009d slogan and the peace sign button. The whole movie kind of comes together at that moment, purely through visuals and symbolic means. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what filmmaking is all about.<\/p>\n

He Says…<\/h3>\n

\"Jon-avatar\"I saw Full Metal Jacket fairly early on, either at the end of high school or the beginning of college. A bunch of us knew this guy who would quote R. Lee Ermey\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s lines repeatedly and I wanted to see what kind of film would match such aggressive dialog and what would – in a roundabout way – make said guy want to join the Marines. <\/p>\n

I dug the film well enough on first viewing but it took awhile for it to become the favorite that it is now. At the time I didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really understand the connection between the two parts and couldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t figure out why Kubrick didn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t just jettison the meandering last half for the pristine filmmaking that was the first. With time and repeat viewing I came to realize that both parts were vital together and that Joker\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s duality wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have played nearly as strong without everything that came before. This most recent viewing really hammered that home and in turn made this even more of a favorite.<\/p>\n

And the music! I completely forgot how mismatched the soundtrack was from the content of the film. In lesser hands this sort of thing wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have had nearly the punch that it did. Case in point: the soldiers singing the theme song to the Mickey Mouse Club as they march triumphantly through wreckage and debris. Pretty much my new favorite scene from that film.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This Blind Spot entry will be done as a He Says, She Says post, because Full Metal Jacket was on the list of twelve films that Jonathan selected from his favorites that he wanted me to watch, which was the original genesis for this series. We never got around to it the year we made […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":33748,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2,2434],"tags":[2870,84],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/Blind-Spots-FMJ-feat.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":25325,"url":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/2011\/07\/50dmc-18-a-movie-that-disturbed-you\/","url_meta":{"origin":33613,"position":0},"title":"50DMC #18: A Movie That Disturbed You","author":"Jandy","date":"July 23, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"The 50 Day Movie Challenge asks one question every day, to be answered by a few paragraphs and a clip, if possible. Click here for the full list of questions. Today's prompt: What's a movie that disturbed you? I went through a few different options with this one, and almost\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Film"","block_context":{"text":"Film","link":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/category\/film\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Clockwork-Orange.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":473,"url":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/2007\/06\/afis-100-years100-movies-2007-edition\/","url_meta":{"origin":33613,"position":1},"title":"AFI’s 100 Years…100 Movies — 2007 Edition","author":"Jandy","date":"June 21, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"The American Film Institute released an updated version of their 100 Years...100 Movies list of greatest American movies. Apparently they're going to do that every ten years. I only saw the tail end of the special last night--did any one else catch it? 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My Choice: It's a Mad Mad Mad\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Film"","block_context":{"text":"Film","link":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/category\/film\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/tf-mad-mad-2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":265,"url":"https:\/\/www.the-frame.com\/blog\/2007\/03\/trailer-watch-opening-march-23-2007\/","url_meta":{"origin":33613,"position":3},"title":"Trailer Watch – Opening March 23, 2007","author":"Jandy","date":"March 20, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"I've been struggling to figure out how best to showcase upcoming films--if I use IMDb's release schedule, it's sometimes hard to find the trailers. If I use the trailer sites, it's sometimes difficult to get correct release dates. 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