Platoon (1986)

Director:

Oliver Stone

Writer:

Oliver Stone (written by)

Release Date:

24 December 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | War

Tagline:

The first casualty of war is innocence.

Plot:

A young recruit in Vietnam faces a moral crisis when confronted with the horrors of war and the duality of man.

Plot Keywords:

Vietnam | Soldier | Combat | Village | Fight

Awards:

Won 4 Oscars. Another 18 wins & 9 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Keith David	...	King
Forest Whitaker	...	Big Harold
Francesco Quinn	...	Rhah
Kevin Dillon	...	Bunny
John C. McGinley	...	Sgt. O'Neill
Reggie Johnson	...	Junior
Mark Moses	...	Lt. Wolfe
Corey Glover	...	Francis
Johnny Depp	...	Lerner
Chris Pedersen	...	Crawford
Bob Orwig	...	Gardner
Corkey Ford	...	Manny
David Neidorf	...	Tex
Tom Berenger	...	Sgt. Barnes
Willem Dafoe	...	Sgt. Elias

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English | Vietnamese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Germany:16 | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:R (Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Iceland:16 | Singapore:NC-16 (cut) | Australia:MA (Special Edition DVD) | Brazil:14 | India:A | Argentina:18 | Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:15 | Israel:PG | Japan:PG-12 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:M (DVD rating) | New Zealand:R (original rating) | Norway:18 | South Korea:15 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R (PCA #28241) | Vietnam:(Banned) | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Philippines

Company:

Hemdale Film

Trivia:

Oliver Stone originally was looking for an Indian actor to play Sergeant Elias. When he failed to do so, he cast Willem Dafoe, a Dutch-American actor, instead.

Goofs:

Continuity: At the bunker complex, Sergeant Elias goes into the tunnels. In one shot he goes through some water, but in the following shots he is dry.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Pvt. Gardner: [seeing body bags] Aw, man, is that what I think it is?
Sergeant: All right, you cheese-dicks, welcome to the 'nam! Follow me.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Girl Next Door (2004)

Soundtrack:

WHITE RABBIT

Still my favorite film

Every once in a while I will watch this film again and see if maybe I have grown tired of it. Surely after "Saving Private Ryan," "Titanic," "Crimes and Misdemeanors," or "Schindler's List" I have seen a better film. Well, after every viewing there is something about Oliver Stone's masterpiece that keeps me saying that I have never seen anything better.

I am a sucker for Vietnam pictures. "Apocalypse Now" and "The Deer Hunter" also rank in my top ten of all time. Stories about Vietnam can run the entire gambit of human emotions. "Platoon" is not only a documentation of America's sordid involvement in a foreign civil war, it is also a dramatic story of human response. A life developing in the most horrible of places.

There have been films put together better. There have been films with more detailed and interesting plots. But none have ever told a more touching story of human development set in the backdrop of bloody violence and inhuman suffering.

Rating: 10 out of 10.