Remove ads

Information

Year
1987
Runtime
116 min.
Director
Stanley Kubrick
Genres
Drama, War
Rating *
8.3
Votes *
392,309
Checks
69,398
Favs
6,166
Dislikes
205
Favs/checks
8.9% (1:11)
Favs/dislikes
30:1
* View IMDb information

Top comments

  1. Rigters's avatar

    Rigters

    Like many here have already said, the first 45 minutes are perfect. One of the best things that cinema has ever presented to us. Really loved R. Lee Ermey character and his acting. The second part is also very good, but just couldn't stop thinking that there was something missing.

    Still, in general, it is a great movie. Great Kubrick!
    11 years ago
  2. Timso23's avatar

    Timso23

    One of the best war movies i've seen so far. LOVE THE SOUNDTRACK! 12 years 9 months ago
  3. Siskoid's avatar

    Siskoid

    While I would usually talk about Kubrick's "coldness" or "detachment" as a director, this is probably his most HUMAN film. The detachment isn't the director's, it's an element of a story which is essentially about how you create killers. It's a companion piece to A Clockwork Orange - with similar contrasting music and images in addition to its theme of violence - but more immediate and real by virtue of the near-historical setting that is the Vietnam War. The detachment, then, is the necessary ingredient that turns an empathetic human being into a creature that can (and even wants to) commit murder. Kubrick isn't cold here - we feel for his characters - but he is impressively PRECISE. His shots are symmetrical tableaux where random, chaotic things happen as if on cue. One example (warning, 30-year-old spoiler): Matthew Modine's character wear a Peace symbol that keeps creeping out of shot when he is forced to finally kill someone. When it's out of shot/in shadow, he fires. Kubrick, man. Now, most people I've talked to or read tend to think of FMJ as two films (Kubrick usually works from a multi-act structure), and only really love the first - the Marine training starring real-life drill sergeant R. Lee Ermey. And it's true the way Act I concludes makes it a rather perfect mini-movie. But to say the rest of the film doesn't quite satisfy is, I think, missing the point, as is calling it the second of 2 acts. There are really 3 clear acts in FMJ, each advancing the basic theme. In Act I, we see how creating killers can yield unfortunate results. In Act II, Joker goes to Vietnam where he encounters several "institutional" killers, killing for the State, but not necessarily anything other than murderers (that's where the film's ambiguity comes from - what killing is "acceptable"? Is context enough, or does intent matter?). Act III is the entire sequence where Cowboy's squad faces off against a sniper, where again these questions are asked, and where Joker in particular must answer them for himself. For Kubrick used to begin at Dr. Strangelove and end at 2001, but I think I've found a film worthy of those early classics. 8 years 9 months ago
See all comments

Friends

Login to see which of your friends have seen this movie!

Activity

  1. Ramo23 checked this movie 2 hours 28 minutes ago
  2. beck99 checked this movie 1 day 8 hours ago
  3. Ewoin, heytc17 and sopranoi checked this movie 2 days 9 hours ago
  4. Lisbeth Salander23 and nasovon tamiru checked this movie 4 days 20 hours ago
  5. Smittycommitty and haileylane checked this movie 6 days 13 hours ago
See more activity

In 18 official lists

  1. This movie ranks #12 in IMDb's 1980s Top 50
    IMDb's 1980s Top 50's icon

    IMDb's 1980s Top 50

    12
  2. This movie ranks #17 in IMDb's War Top 50
    IMDb's War Top 50's icon

    IMDb's War Top 50

    17
  3. This movie ranks #28 in iCheckMovies's 1980s Top 100
    iCheckMovies's 1980s Top 100's icon

    iCheckMovies's 1980s Top…

    28
  4. This movie ranks #64 in FOK!'s Film Top 250
    FOK!'s Film Top 250's icon

    FOK!'s Film Top 250

    64
  5. This movie ranks #70 in 101 War Movies You Must See Before You Die
    101 War Movies You Must See Before You Die's icon

    101 War Movies You Must …

    70
  6. This movie ranks #73 in FilmTotaal Forum's Top 100
    FilmTotaal Forum's Top 100's icon

    FilmTotaal Forum's Top 1…

    73
  7. This movie ranks #94 in Reddit Top 250
    Reddit Top 250's icon

    Reddit Top 250

    94
  8. This movie ranks #95 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills
    AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills's icon

    AFI's 100 Years...100 Th…

    95
  9. This movie ranks #110 in IMDb's Top 250
    IMDb's Top 250's icon

    IMDb's Top 250

    110
  10. This movie ranks #149 in iCheckMovies's Most Checked
    iCheckMovies's Most Checked's icon

    iCheckMovies's Most Chec…

    149
  11. This movie ranks #227 in Cahiers du Cinéma's Annual Top 10 Lists
    Cahiers du Cinéma's Annual Top 10 Lists's icon

    Cahiers du Cinéma's Annu…

    227
  12. This movie ranks #303 in The New York Times's Book of Movies
    The New York Times's Book of Movies's icon

    The New York Times's Boo…

    303
  13. This movie ranks #363 in Time Out's 1000 Films to Change Your Life
    Time Out's 1000 Films to Change Your Life's icon

    Time Out's 1000 Films to…

    363
  14. This movie ranks #444 in Emma Beare's 501 Must-See Movies
    Emma Beare's 501 Must-See Movies's icon

    Emma Beare's 501 Must-Se…

    444
  15. This movie ranks #457 in Empire's The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time
    Empire's The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time's icon

    Empire's The 500 Greates…

    457
  16. This movie ranks #609 in TSPDT's 1,000 Greatest Films
    TSPDT's 1,000 Greatest Films's icon

    TSPDT's 1,000 Greatest F…

    609
  17. This movie ranks #762 in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
    1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die's icon

    1001 Movies You Must See…

    762
  18. This movie ranks #808 in Jonathan Rosenbaum's Essential Cinema
    Jonathan Rosenbaum's Essential Cinema's icon

    Jonathan Rosenbaum's Ess…

    808
View all lists this movie is in