Stanley Kubrick's FULL METAL JACKET
"Goodbye my Darling Hello Vietnam" by Tom T. Hall
blares over the oddly fascinating spectacle of new marine recruits getting their melons shorn.
This is the opening of Full Metal Jacket, a Stanley Kubrick film, and one of my all-time favorite movies.
Gus Hasford's novel The Short-Timers was the basis for this Vietnam film by the Master. Kubrick adapted the screenplay with Gus and Michael Herr- the author of DISPATCHES and consultant on Apocalypse Now.
R. Lee Ermey (who was a chopper pilot in Apocalypse Now and a drill instructor in The Boys of Company C) was hired to be a technical advisor, teaching the actors how to shoot rifles. After a personal campaign by Ermey to get Tom Colceri's job as the Parris Island drill instructor, he got an audition, where he went on a verbal rant, never repeating the same insult twice- all the while being pummelled with oranges from Kubrick's assistant Leon Vitali (Lord Bullingdon in Barry Lyndon). Ermey was so good, he rarely did more than 3 takes for each scene. But other scenes required up to 30 takes, like the "jelly donut" sequence.
"Lee, I want it real" Kubrick told him.
"Stanley, I wouldn't have it any other way" was the reply.
The result is a drill instructor performance that has yet to be matched. Ermey burns, sears and intimidates like no other military character. He is truly fearsome, and you believe he is indeed a senior drill instructor in the Marine Corps. How he was overlooked for an oscar nomination is beyond me.
Three recruits feature prominantly: Pte's Pyle, Joker and Cowboy.
One dies in the barracks, two go to 'Nam.
Once in 'Nam, Joker is the man to watch, as he goes around with his partner Rafterman taking journalistic note of what carnage is ocurring.The gov't rag "Stars and Stripes" is his mission, but clearly Joker does not belong in the marines. He is the least "soldierly" of all of the characters in the film (Even Pyle could have been a good grunt I think). Joker lacks discipline- all throughout the movie. His first line (during an inspection, no less!) is "Is that you, John Wayne? Is this me?"- a serious breach of military conduct. He pays for it with a shot to the gut from Ermey and a tirade that would make anyone nervous. It is obvious that Joker is a smart guy. Why is he in the army? It's a question that is never answered, and I like it that way.
This film is extremely stark. It is also extremely mysterious. Kubrick has always had a fascination with war, and with FMJ he made a film polarly different from Platoon, yet equally great.
I believe if Full Metal jacket was released sooner that it was, it would have won the oscar that Platoon claimed.
Some of the amazing things about the production:
-It was shot outside of London (at the Beckton gasworks) with thousands of palm trees imported and a wrecking ball to create the Hue City rubble.
-Stanley's daughter Vivian created the eerie score. She was given the name Abigail Mead in order to help her chances at winning an oscar. She is also in the film as a photographer during the "dead are covered with lime" scene.
-All of the military items (weapons, vehicles, uniforms, etc.) are 100% authentic. And Kubrick acquired them with NO assistance from the US military.
Matthew Modine was as frustrated as Ryan O'Neal was from working with Kubrick. One day on set he almost had a nervous breakdown and shouted at Stanley: "What do you want from me?!?!?!"
Kubrick calmly said "I don't want anything from you. I want you to be yourself".
Lee Ermey was in a near fatal car accident early into the shoot. The production shut down until he healed, and after resuming shooting Kubrick said his performance seemed to get more intense. When Lee had his first take with Vincent D'Onofrio (a seriously underrated actor) Vincent could not stay concentrated on the scene. He kept losing his composure because Ermey was so overwheliming & was told to keep himself separated from the actors who played the recruits. The result was impressive if I say so myself.
I could go on and on about this special work of cinematic genius. I haven't even touched on the dialogue, which gives a thinking man a lot to ponder.
It's a fucking masterpiece, OK?
Just a little off topic...
Yes, I agree those 3 are IT.
How do they rank in the "war film" artistic merit dept. as opposed to just 'Nam flicks?
Saving Private Ryan? Stalingrad? Das Boot? Die Brucke? The Pianist? are they more artistic as war films?
Loving and hating Kael again
Kael is such a joy and pain to read.
If she aims her critical sights on you with "take down" on her mind, you get STOMPED. Man, she is unloading on Oliver in those bits. How about the films, Pauline?
I think she hung out with Godard way too much....
Iraq......Vietnam Bush.....Nixon
from the Full Metal Jacket script by Hasford, Herr & Kubrick:
high ranking military officer: "Marine! What is that on your body armour?"
Joker: "A peace button, Sir!"
high ranking military officer: "Is that supposed to be some kind of sick joke?"
Joker: "I think I was trying to suggest the duality of man, Sir."
high ranking military officer: "What?"
Joker: "The duality of man, sir- the Jungian thing, sir."
high ranking military officer: "Whose side are you on, son?"
Joker: "Our side, sir"
high ranking military officer: "Don't you love your country?"
Joker: "Yes sir".
high ranking military officer: "Well why don't you come on in for the big win? We are here in Vietnam to help the Vietnamese because inside every gook is an AMERICAN, trying to get out. We must keep our heads together until this peace shit blows over".
Joker: "Yes sir".
Use of music a hallmark of Kubrick's genius and precision
Kubrick's use of pre-existing music is a mark of his genius--think of Singing in the Rain and the Gazza Ladra overture in Clockwork Orange; the waltz and Thus Spake Zarathustra in 2001. I didn't realize that the choice of musical background could be so brilliant until Kubrick entered my awareness. I thought it was just schlocky soaring strings a la Douglas Sirk or Nicholas Ray, heavy-handed "heightening" a la Bernard Hermann, or the arty disassociation in French Nouvelle Vague flicks of baroque sewing maching music or a Brahms Sextet in "The Lovers" (wonderful, but not the power and irony of Kubrick's choices).
Yes sir Kubrick knows music
I love watching "The Making of the Shining". In it you see Kubrick drop the needle on "Midnight, The Stars, and You" (vinyl) when he's shooting the ballroom scene in the Overlook Hotel. How many other directors work like that?
None. At least Tarantino and Scorsese are still making films...
Chris Isaac is a guy who cranks out great music. When I first saw the trailer for Eyes Wide Shut I let out a yelp. "Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing" was/is one of my favorite songs, and realizing Kubrick used it blew me away. I was actually disappointed that he didn't segue into something other than the "bedroom argument" scene. Tom & Nicole groping in the mirror could have led up to a brilliant scene. I can't say exactly what I was expecting, but it was other than the bedroom scene we were given.
Kubrick apparently has a record collection to die for. He collected all of the original Deutsch Gramophon albums (classical music), and he loved the Beatles- you can see their Magical Mystery Tour album in Clockwork Orange. (It's during the scene in the Chelsea Drugstore when Alex asks if the records he ordered have come in yet. Above the counter- look hard)
Does anybody know that Kubrick gave The Beatles the extra footage from Dr. Strangelove (the arial footage of Greenland used for the "Attack Plan R" scenes) to use in Magical Mystery Tour? It is used when Jolly Jimmy says "If you look to your left, ladies and gentlemen, the view is not very inspiring. AHHHH, but if you look to your right....." the instrumental track Flying begins, and we take a psychedelic trip via Strangelove...
Yeah, but not quite what I meant
Those are interesting anecdotes, Johann, but I don't think they particularly illustrate the genius of Kubrick's use of music in his films. The fact that he has a complete set of Deutsche Grammophon classical albums, or that he plugged the Beatles, or used a cool Chris Isaak song that you particularly liked, hardly illustrate the cinematic brilliance and orignality of his use of music in his movies. What I was talking about was a uniquely original coordination of sound and image; Kubrick's ability to find a perfect piece of music to back up (1) the dawn of tool-making, (2) the smooth flight of a space ship, (3) the antics of young hooligans in a way that is startling, but seems perfectly right once you see it; that makes the sequence unforgettable, not so much for the music itself, but for the juxtaposition of that music with those images. To some extent Tarantino has that ability too, though his penchant for 70's and 80's pop/soul nostalgia limits him in a way that Kubrick wasn't.
Of course I want unforgettable--didn't Kubrick, always?
You've got lots of good examples. I just mention the few that strike me the most; that struck me tremendously at the time. Probably "Ludwig von" in Clockwork Orange, too, though that was a choice dictated by Burgess' book.
The music is gorgeous in Barry Lyndon. As are the images. Let's not forget the development of special camera technology to shoot by candlelight, a great wedding of period and tech.
...he commissioned her to do a piece for Gangs of New York. (A deadly piece, btw)
Deadly in what sense?
THE SHINING TRAILOR OF THE ELEVATOR AND THE BLOOD: As you may know, PT Anderson watched a lot of trailors when preparing to design his for Magnolia (and any good director is a fool, I'd think, not to design his own--they're so bad nowadays, so offputting) and in interviews he especiallyl noted the Kubrick one for The Shining as an example of what a trailor should be--a teaser, and a powerful one. This thing of telling us the whole story, blowing all the important scenes, has just got to go.