Period.
Every generation feels the same way about the culture that they were immersed in when they were finally old enough to form an opinion.
Every generation has a war movie for its time. I was too young for Apocalypse Now or The Deer Hunter to be mine. No, by the time I had a taste for things dramatic, Full Metal Jacket was THE MOVIE.
Although I have an everlasting fondness for Joker and just about shit my pants when Pyle lost it in the bathroom, no other character stood out like R. Lee Ermey's DI Gunnery Sergeant Hartman (somehow only rated #6 on the Greatest Movie Assholes in the Movies... Ever).
His ball-busting, skull fucking drill instructor performance crushed Lou Gosset Jr's earlier benchmark from Officer and a Gentleman (which was not a war movie, but more of a Lifetime channel love story with some serious homosexual overtones that led to the making of Top Gun to see how far that storyline could be pushed). To Lou's credit, he did redeem himself in Diggstown, which was much more of a man's man movie.
Good enough that he should be given license to continue playing Chappy in Iron Eagle IV: Return of Chappy?Too late for that, I guess.
Anyways, Matt Modine (think Vision Quest) did a fine job as Private Joker, the pragmatic protagonist of the film, a character I related to as a young, cynical man. Also a strong character, Animal Mother certainly spoke to the scary little person inside all of us but never admit to harboring in a dark corner of our brains, lest people think we're crazy.
Maybe it's just me.
Anyways, my favorite scene in the whole movie is when Joker gets a dressing down from a colonel.
Duality of man. Funny and true.
Ever since I saw that movie for the first time all those years ago, I've wondered, "Why can't somebody capture Stanley Kubrick's profound message, the feeling of the duality of man... with a cycling cap?"
I wonder no more.
The folks at Idiom Sweatshop have answered the prayers of an 18 year old boy and crafted this work of wearable art paying tribute to not only the movie, but the complex yin and yang of war put into words by Louden Swain... I mean Private Joker.In case there are any doubts...
Still born to kill (even with the brim flipped).
If you've never seen Full Metal Jacket, you are going to be bummed when you find out you can't stream it on Netflix tonight.
Do yourself a favor. Do NOT click play on Heartbreak Ridge thinking you'll get the next best thing. I love Clint, but his portrayal of Sgt Gunny Highway should have got him kicked out of Hollywood. Grenada did not need to be brought to the big screen in this manner.Yeah, so if you need to get your FMJ fix, watch this instead.
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12 comments:
Being a former marine, an out of shape cyclist, but an in great shape beer drinker, this seems like a perfect hat to grab. Great find.
Dustin
Or you could just go watch the duality in The Lord of the Rings - starring Dicky as Gollum!
Quote: "Every generation has a war movie for its time. I was too young for Apocalypse Now or The Deer Hunter to be mine. No, by the time I had a taste for things dramatic, Full Metal Jacket was THE MOVIE."
Wait a minute. What about Red Dawn?
WOLVERINES!!!!
Platoon in my opinion trumps FMJ, though both are phenomenal. I played hooky on opening day senior year and watched it and actually learned something in the process. I think it was first movie to depict the war in Vietnam with some reality.
An Olver Stone movie equated with reality? and yes you said some... sorry just a good oppertunty to get a dig in (haveing a history class flashback since all of my prof's hated Stone)
what about The Thin Red Line?
could the best war movie really be a song? such as Creedence Clearwater Revival Fortunate Son or The Dead Kennedy’s holiday in Cambodia.
Heather's was by far the war film that affected me the most; realizing now at 40 that I still have a crush on Winona Ryder... and Christian Slater.
Hey Rich
Thanks for the link to my blog.
Dont worry Hartman is was up there in the asshole list...
FMJ fact: the actor playing the colonel in your favourite scene was none other then Bruce Boa who is best known in the UK as the american hotel guest who orders the Waldorf salad in classic John Cleese comedy Fawlty Towers.
Is that you john Wayne?
All of these war movies are made to entice the young to want to join the army and enjoy the same benefits and experiences for themselves. Blame the democrats.
I would think that war movies are made so that actors, directors, and producers could make buttloads of money. Cannon fodder would probably explain why the military helps out with the props.
Some one finally understands!!!!!
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