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Platoon (film)
Encyclopedia
Platoon is a 1986 American war film
written and directed by Oliver Stone
and stars Tom Berenger
, Willem Dafoe
and Charlie Sheen
. It is the first of Stone's Vietnam War
trilogy, followed by 1989's Born on the Fourth of July
and 1993's Heaven & Earth.
Stone wrote the story based upon his experiences as a U.S.
infantryman in Vietnam
to counter the vision of the war portrayed in John Wayne
's The Green Berets
. The film won the Academy Award for Best Picture
of 1986. In 2007, the American Film Institute
placed Platoon at #83 in their "AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies
" poll. British television channel Channel 4
voted Platoon as the 6th greatest war film ever made, behind Full Metal Jacket
and ahead of A Bridge Too Far.
) has abandoned college for combat duty in Vietnam
. Taylor and several other replacements have been assigned to Bravo Company, near the Cambodian border. Worn down by the exhausting heat and poor living conditions, his enthusiasm for the war wanes and he develops an admiration for the more experienced soldiers, despite their reluctance to extend their friendship. One night while on an ambush
, his unit is set upon by a group of North Vietnamese Army
(NVA) soldiers, who are forced to retreat after a brief gunfight. Gardner, a new recruit, is killed while another soldier, Tex, is maimed by friendly fire
from a grenade thrown by Sergeant O'Neill (John C. McGinley
). Taylor eventually gains acceptance from a tight-knit group in his unit (the "Heads") who socialize, dance, and smoke marijuana in an underground clubhouse. He finds a mentor in Sergeant
Elias (Willem Dafoe
) as well as the elder King (Keith David
), while resenting the more ruthless Staff Sergeant Barnes (Tom Berenger
).
During one patrol, a soldier named Manny is found mutilated and tied to a post while two others are killed by a booby-trapped box in a bunker. The platoon soon reaches a nearby village, where a food and weapons cache is discovered. In one house, Taylor discovers a disabled young man and an elderly woman hiding in a spider hole
beneath the floor. Taylor snaps, taunting the man and shooting at the ground before his foot. Bunny (Kevin Dillon
) then bludgeons the man to death. Barnes interrogates the village chief to determine why there is a surplus of supplies. Despite the villagers' adamant denials, Barnes nonetheless believes they are aiding Viet Cong guerrillas and shoots the chief's wife in the head. Barnes takes the child of the woman at gunpoint, threatening to shoot her if the villagers do not reveal information. Elias arrives and engages in a fight with Barnes over the incident. Platoon commander Second Lieutenant Wolfe (Mark Moses
), who ranks above Barnes but did nothing to stop him, ends the fight, and orders the men to burn the village, gather all the villagers and destroy the weapons cache. As the men leave, Taylor comes across and stops a group of soldiers sexually abusing two girls.
Upon returning to base, Elias reports Barnes' actions to Captain Harris (Dale Dye
), who cannot afford to remove Barnes due to a lack of personnel. Harris warns that if he finds out an illegal killing took place, then a court-martial
would be ordered. On their next patrol, the platoon is ambushed and becomes pinned down in a firefight, in which numerous soldiers are wounded. Wolfe calls in an artillery strike to incorrect coordinates, resulting in friendly fire
. Elias takes three men, including Taylor and Rhah (Francesco Quinn
), to intercept flanking enemy troops. Barnes orders the rest of the platoon to retreat, and goes back into the jungle to find Elias' group. Barnes finds Elias and shoots him, then returns to the helicopter, telling the others that Elias was killed. After they take off, a wounded Elias emerges from the jungle, running from a group of enemy soldiers. Taylor glances over at Barnes and reads the apprehension on his face as Elias is killed before he can be rescued. At the base, Taylor attempts to talk his group into killing Barnes in retaliation. A drunken Barnes enters the room, taunting and daring them. No one takes up the offer, but as Barnes leaves he gets into a scuffle with Taylor, cutting him near the eye.
The platoon is later sent back to the area in order to maintain heavy defensive positions against potential attacks. King, whom Taylor developed a friendship with, is sent home just before the fighting begins. Taylor shares a foxhole with Francis (Corey Glover
). That night, an onslaught occurs and the defensive lines are broken. Several soldiers in the platoon including Junior, Bunny and Wolfe, are killed, while O'Neill barely escapes death in his foxhole by hiding under the cover of a dead soldier. To make matters worse, an NVA sapper
armed with a satchel charge and a belt of explosives rushes in past the command post's defenses and self-detonates
when inside the battalion HQ, killing everyone inside. Meanwhile, Captain Harris orders his air support to expend all remaining ordnance inside his perimeter. During the chaos, Taylor encounters Barnes but the wounded sergeant attacks Taylor. Just before Barnes can pummel Taylor with his E-tool
, both men are knocked unconscious by a nearby napalm strike explosion. Taylor regains consciousness and finds an injured Barnes. Taylor shoots Barnes, killing him. Taylor is about to commit suicide before reinforcements arrive and find him. Francis, who survived the battle unharmed but deliberately stabs himself. As Taylor is about to be loaded onto a helicopter, Francis reminds Taylor that because they have been wounded, they can return home. O'Neill, who desperately wants to go home, is told he will replace Barnes. The helicopter flies away and Taylor weeps as he stares down at the death and destruction.
After his tour of duty in Vietnam ended in 1968, Oliver Stone
wrote a screenplay called Break: a semi-autobiographical account detailing his experiences with his parents and his time in Vietnam. Stone's return from active duty in Vietnam
resulted in a "big change" in how he viewed life and the war, and the unproduced screenplay Break was the result, and it eventually provided the basis for Platoon.
In a 2010 interview with the Times, Stone discussed his killing of a Viet Cong soldier and how he blended this experience into his screenplay. It featured several characters who were the seeds of those who would end up in Platoon. The script was set to music from The Doors
; Stone sent the script to Jim Morrison
in the hope he would play the lead (Morrison never responded but the script was returned to Oliver Stone shortly after Morrison's death by Morrison's manager - Morrison had the script with him when he died in Paris). Though Break went ultimately unproduced, it was the spur for him to attend film school.
After penning several other produced screenplays in the early 1970s, Stone came to work with Robert Bolt
on an unproduced screenplay, The Cover-up. Bolt's rigorous approach rubbed off on Stone, and he was inspired to use the characters from his Break screenplay (who in turn were based upon people Stone knew in Vietnam) as the basis for a new screenplay titled The Platoon. Producer Martin Bregman
attempted to elicit studio interest in the project, but Hollywood was still apathetic about Vietnam. However, the strength of Stone's writing on The Platoon was enough to get him the job penning Midnight Express
in 1978. Despite that film's critical and commercial success, and that of other Stone-penned films at the time, most studios were still reluctant to finance The Platoon, as they feared a film about the Vietnam War would not attract an audience. After the release of The Deer Hunter
and Apocalypse Now
, they then cited the perception that these films were considered the pinnacle of the Vietnam War film genre as reasons not to make The Platoon.
Stone instead attempted to break into mainstream direction via the easier-to-finance horror genre, but The Hand
failed at the box office, and Stone began to think that The Platoon would never be made. Stone wrote Year of the Dragon
for a lower-than-usual fee of $200,000, on the condition from producer Dino De Laurentiis
that he would then produce The Platoon. De Laurentiis secured financing for the film, but struggled to find a distributor. Because de Laurentiis had already spent money sending Stone to the Philippines to scout for locations, he decided to keep control of the film's script until he was repaid. Then Stone's script for what would become Salvador
was passed to John Daly
of British production company Hemdale
. Once again, this was a project that Stone had struggled to secure financing for, but Daly loved the script and was prepared to finance both Salvador and The Platoon off the back of it. Stone shot Salvador first, before turning his attention to what was by now called Platoon.
Platoon was filmed on the island of Luzon
in the Philippines
, starting in February 1986. The production of the film on a scheduled date was almost canceled because of the political upheaval in the country due to then-dictator Ferdinand Marcos
, but with the help of well-known Asian producer Mark Hill, the shoot went on as scheduled. The shoot lasted 54 days and cost $6.5 million. The production made a deal with the Philippine military for the use of military equipment.
James Woods
, who had starred in Stone's previous film, Salvador
, was offered a part in Platoon. He turned the role down, later saying he "couldn't face going into another jungle with [Stone]". Upon arrival in the Philippines, the cast was sent on a two-week intensive training course, during which they had to dig foxholes and were subject to forced marches and night-time "ambushes" which utilized special-effects explosions. Stone explained that he was trying to break them down, "to mess with their heads so we could get that dog-tired, don't give a damn attitude, the anger, the irritation... the casual approach to death". Willem Dafoe
said "the training was very important to the making of the film," including its authenticity and the camaraderie developed among the cast. "By the time you got through the training and through the film, you had a relationship to the weapon. It wasn’t going to kill people, but you felt comfortable with it."
Stone makes a cameo appearance
as the battalion commander of 3/22 Infantry in the final battle. Dale Dye
, who played Bravo company's commander Captain Harris, is a U.S. Marine Corps
Vietnam veteran who also acted as the film's technical advisor. Stone based the final attack on a real life battle he survived.
Music used in the film includes Adagio for Strings
by Samuel Barber
, "White Rabbit
" by Jefferson Airplane
and "Okie From Muskogee
" by Merle Haggard
. During a scene in the "Underworld" the soldiers sing along to "The Tracks of My Tears
" by Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, which also featured in the film's trailer.
, when unit leaders have to make a choice between saving the lives of their own men and taking those of suspected guerrilla sympathizers. Roger Ebert gave it four stars, calling it the best film of the year, and the 9th best of the 1980s.
The film currently has an 86% rating at Rotten Tomatoes
and a Metacritic
score of 86%.
Lists
's assertion in 1917 that "The first casualty of war is the truth." (c.f. Aeschylus
(BC 525 - BC 456), "In war, truth is the first casualty.") Several licensed tie-ins were released between 1986-1988. A video game was produced by Ocean Software
for various formats. The Nintendo Entertainment System
version was ported
and published by Sunsoft. Loosely based on the film, the object of the game is to survive in the Vietnamese jungle against guerrilla
attacks. A wargame
was also produced, by Avalon Hill
, as an introductory game to attract young people into the wargaming hobby. A novelization of the film was written by Dale Dye
. In 2002, Strategy First
published and Digital Reality
developed a real-time strategy
game based on the film for the Microsoft Windows
.
War film
War films are a film genre concerned with warfare, usually about naval, air or land battles, sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training or other related subjects. At times war films focus on daily military or civilian life in wartime without depicting battles...
written and directed by Oliver Stone
Oliver Stone
William Oliver Stone is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Stone became well known in the late 1980s and the early 1990s for directing a series of films about the Vietnam War, for which he had previously participated as an infantry soldier. His work frequently focuses on...
and stars Tom Berenger
Tom Berenger
Tom Berenger is an American actor known mainly for his roles in action films.-Early life:Berenger was born as Thomas Michael Moore in Chicago to an Irish Catholic family. Berenger's father was a printer for the Chicago Sun-Times. Berenger has a sister, Susan...
, Willem Dafoe
Willem Dafoe
Willem Dafoe is an American film, stage, and voice actor, and a founding member of the experimental theatre company The Wooster Group...
and Charlie Sheen
Charlie Sheen
Carlos Irwin Estevez , better known by his stage name Charlie Sheen, is an American film and television actor. He is the youngest son of actor Martin Sheen....
. It is the first of Stone's Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
trilogy, followed by 1989's Born on the Fourth of July
Born on the Fourth of July (film)
Born on the Fourth of July is a 1989 American film adaptation of the best selling autobiography of the same name by Vietnam War veteran Ron Kovic. Tom Cruise plays Kovic, in a performance that earned him his first Academy Award nomination. Oliver Stone co-wrote the screenplay with Kovic, and also...
and 1993's Heaven & Earth.
Stone wrote the story based upon his experiences as a U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
infantryman in Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
to counter the vision of the war portrayed in John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
's The Green Berets
The Green Berets (film)
The Green Berets is a 1968 war film featuring John Wayne, George Takei, David Janssen, Jim Hutton and Aldo Ray, nominally based on the eponymous 1965 book by Robin Moore, though the screenplay has little relation to the book....
. The film won the Academy Award for Best Picture
Academy Award for Best Picture
The Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
of 1986. In 2007, the American Film Institute
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
placed Platoon at #83 in their "AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies
AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies
The first of the AFI 100 Years… series of cinematic milestones, AFI's 100 Years…100 Movies is a list of the 100 best American movies, as determined by the American Film Institute from a poll of more than 1,500 artists and leaders in the film industry who chose from a list of 400 nominated movies...
" poll. British television channel Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
voted Platoon as the 6th greatest war film ever made, behind Full Metal Jacket
Full Metal Jacket
Full Metal Jacket is a 1987 war film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick. It is an adaptation of the 1979 novel The Short-Timers by Gustav Hasford and stars Matthew Modine, Vincent D'Onofrio, R. Lee Ermey, Arliss Howard and Adam Baldwin. The film follows a platoon of U.S...
and ahead of A Bridge Too Far.
Plot
In late 1967, young Chris Taylor (Charlie SheenCharlie Sheen
Carlos Irwin Estevez , better known by his stage name Charlie Sheen, is an American film and television actor. He is the youngest son of actor Martin Sheen....
) has abandoned college for combat duty in Vietnam
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. Taylor and several other replacements have been assigned to Bravo Company, near the Cambodian border. Worn down by the exhausting heat and poor living conditions, his enthusiasm for the war wanes and he develops an admiration for the more experienced soldiers, despite their reluctance to extend their friendship. One night while on an ambush
Ambush
An ambush is a long-established military tactic, in which the aggressors take advantage of concealment and the element of surprise to attack an unsuspecting enemy from concealed positions, such as among dense underbrush or behind hilltops...
, his unit is set upon by a group of North Vietnamese Army
Vietnam People's Army
The Vietnam People's Army is the armed forces of Vietnam. The VPA includes: the Vietnamese People's Ground Forces , the Vietnam People's Navy , the Vietnam People's Air Force, and the Vietnam Marine Police.During the French Indochina War , the VPA was often referred to as the Việt...
(NVA) soldiers, who are forced to retreat after a brief gunfight. Gardner, a new recruit, is killed while another soldier, Tex, is maimed by friendly fire
Friendly fire
Friendly fire is inadvertent firing towards one's own or otherwise friendly forces while attempting to engage enemy forces, particularly where this results in injury or death. A death resulting from a negligent discharge is not considered friendly fire...
from a grenade thrown by Sergeant O'Neill (John C. McGinley
John C. McGinley
John Christopher McGinley is an American actor, most notable for his roles as Perry Cox in Scrubs, Bob Slydell in Office Space, Sergeant Red O'Neill in Oliver Stone's Platoon and Marv in Stone's Wall Street. He has also written and produced for television and film...
). Taylor eventually gains acceptance from a tight-knit group in his unit (the "Heads") who socialize, dance, and smoke marijuana in an underground clubhouse. He finds a mentor in Sergeant
Sergeant
Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent....
Elias (Willem Dafoe
Willem Dafoe
Willem Dafoe is an American film, stage, and voice actor, and a founding member of the experimental theatre company The Wooster Group...
) as well as the elder King (Keith David
Keith David
Keith David Williams , better known as Keith David, is an American film, television, voice actor, and singer. He is perhaps most known for his live-action roles in such films as Crash, There's Something About Mary, Barbershop and Men at Work...
), while resenting the more ruthless Staff Sergeant Barnes (Tom Berenger
Tom Berenger
Tom Berenger is an American actor known mainly for his roles in action films.-Early life:Berenger was born as Thomas Michael Moore in Chicago to an Irish Catholic family. Berenger's father was a printer for the Chicago Sun-Times. Berenger has a sister, Susan...
).
During one patrol, a soldier named Manny is found mutilated and tied to a post while two others are killed by a booby-trapped box in a bunker. The platoon soon reaches a nearby village, where a food and weapons cache is discovered. In one house, Taylor discovers a disabled young man and an elderly woman hiding in a spider hole
Spider hole
A spider hole is U.S. military parlance for a camouflaged one-man foxhole, used for observation. A spider hole is typically a shoulder-deep, protective, round hole, often covered by a camouflaged lid, in which a soldier can stand and fire a weapon...
beneath the floor. Taylor snaps, taunting the man and shooting at the ground before his foot. Bunny (Kevin Dillon
Kevin Dillon
Kevin Dillon is an American actor.Kevin Dillon is also the name of:*Kevin Dillon , character from Rodman Philbrick's young adult novel Freak the Mighty and the film based on it, The Mighty...
) then bludgeons the man to death. Barnes interrogates the village chief to determine why there is a surplus of supplies. Despite the villagers' adamant denials, Barnes nonetheless believes they are aiding Viet Cong guerrillas and shoots the chief's wife in the head. Barnes takes the child of the woman at gunpoint, threatening to shoot her if the villagers do not reveal information. Elias arrives and engages in a fight with Barnes over the incident. Platoon commander Second Lieutenant Wolfe (Mark Moses
Mark Moses
Mark W. Moses is an American actor, known for his roles of Paul Young on Desperate Housewives and Herman "Duck" Phillips on the AMC series Mad Men.-Life and career:...
), who ranks above Barnes but did nothing to stop him, ends the fight, and orders the men to burn the village, gather all the villagers and destroy the weapons cache. As the men leave, Taylor comes across and stops a group of soldiers sexually abusing two girls.
Upon returning to base, Elias reports Barnes' actions to Captain Harris (Dale Dye
Dale Dye
Dale Adam Dye is an American actor, presenter, businessman, and retired U.S. Marine captain who served in combat during the Vietnam War.-Early life & Marine service:...
), who cannot afford to remove Barnes due to a lack of personnel. Harris warns that if he finds out an illegal killing took place, then a court-martial
Court-martial
A court-martial is a military court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment.Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in which a breach of...
would be ordered. On their next patrol, the platoon is ambushed and becomes pinned down in a firefight, in which numerous soldiers are wounded. Wolfe calls in an artillery strike to incorrect coordinates, resulting in friendly fire
Friendly fire
Friendly fire is inadvertent firing towards one's own or otherwise friendly forces while attempting to engage enemy forces, particularly where this results in injury or death. A death resulting from a negligent discharge is not considered friendly fire...
. Elias takes three men, including Taylor and Rhah (Francesco Quinn
Francesco Quinn
Francesco Daniele Quinn was an Italian-born actor. The third son of Oscar winner Anthony Quinn and Jolanda Addorlori , Francesco is perhaps best known for his breakout role as Rhah in Oliver Stone’s Academy Award-winning Platoon...
), to intercept flanking enemy troops. Barnes orders the rest of the platoon to retreat, and goes back into the jungle to find Elias' group. Barnes finds Elias and shoots him, then returns to the helicopter, telling the others that Elias was killed. After they take off, a wounded Elias emerges from the jungle, running from a group of enemy soldiers. Taylor glances over at Barnes and reads the apprehension on his face as Elias is killed before he can be rescued. At the base, Taylor attempts to talk his group into killing Barnes in retaliation. A drunken Barnes enters the room, taunting and daring them. No one takes up the offer, but as Barnes leaves he gets into a scuffle with Taylor, cutting him near the eye.
The platoon is later sent back to the area in order to maintain heavy defensive positions against potential attacks. King, whom Taylor developed a friendship with, is sent home just before the fighting begins. Taylor shares a foxhole with Francis (Corey Glover
Corey Glover
Corey Glover is an American singer, guitarist and actor. He is best known as the lead singer of the hard rock band Living Colour.-Career:...
). That night, an onslaught occurs and the defensive lines are broken. Several soldiers in the platoon including Junior, Bunny and Wolfe, are killed, while O'Neill barely escapes death in his foxhole by hiding under the cover of a dead soldier. To make matters worse, an NVA sapper
Viet Cong and PAVN battle tactics
Viet Cong and PAVN battle tactics comprised a flexible mix of guerrilla and conventional warfare battle tactics used by the Main Force of the People's Liberation Armed Forces and the NVA to defeat their American and South Vietnamese opponents during the Second Indochina War .For related articles...
armed with a satchel charge and a belt of explosives rushes in past the command post's defenses and self-detonates
Suicide attack
A suicide attack is a type of attack in which the attacker expects or intends to die in the process.- Historical :...
when inside the battalion HQ, killing everyone inside. Meanwhile, Captain Harris orders his air support to expend all remaining ordnance inside his perimeter. During the chaos, Taylor encounters Barnes but the wounded sergeant attacks Taylor. Just before Barnes can pummel Taylor with his E-tool
Entrenching tool
An entrenching tool or E-tool is a collapsible spade used by military forces for a variety of military purposes. Survivalists, freedivers, campers, hikers and other outdoors groups have found it to be indispensable in field use...
, both men are knocked unconscious by a nearby napalm strike explosion. Taylor regains consciousness and finds an injured Barnes. Taylor shoots Barnes, killing him. Taylor is about to commit suicide before reinforcements arrive and find him. Francis, who survived the battle unharmed but deliberately stabs himself. As Taylor is about to be loaded onto a helicopter, Francis reminds Taylor that because they have been wounded, they can return home. O'Neill, who desperately wants to go home, is told he will replace Barnes. The helicopter flies away and Taylor weeps as he stares down at the death and destruction.
Cast
- Charlie SheenCharlie SheenCarlos Irwin Estevez , better known by his stage name Charlie Sheen, is an American film and television actor. He is the youngest son of actor Martin Sheen....
as Chris - Tom BerengerTom BerengerTom Berenger is an American actor known mainly for his roles in action films.-Early life:Berenger was born as Thomas Michael Moore in Chicago to an Irish Catholic family. Berenger's father was a printer for the Chicago Sun-Times. Berenger has a sister, Susan...
as Sergeant Barnes - Willem DafoeWillem DafoeWillem Dafoe is an American film, stage, and voice actor, and a founding member of the experimental theatre company The Wooster Group...
as Sergeant Elias - Forest WhitakerForest WhitakerForest Steven Whitaker is an American actor, producer, and director. He has earned a reputation for intensive character study work for films such as Bird and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, and for his recurring role as ex-LAPD Lieutenant Jon Kavanaugh on the gritty, award-winning television...
as Big Harold - Francesco QuinnFrancesco QuinnFrancesco Daniele Quinn was an Italian-born actor. The third son of Oscar winner Anthony Quinn and Jolanda Addorlori , Francesco is perhaps best known for his breakout role as Rhah in Oliver Stone’s Academy Award-winning Platoon...
as Rhah - John C. McGinleyJohn C. McGinleyJohn Christopher McGinley is an American actor, most notable for his roles as Perry Cox in Scrubs, Bob Slydell in Office Space, Sergeant Red O'Neill in Oliver Stone's Platoon and Marv in Stone's Wall Street. He has also written and produced for television and film...
as Sergeant O'Neill - Richard EdsonRichard EdsonRichard Edson is an American actor and musician.-Biography:Edson was born in New Rochelle, New York. He has one brother, Steven, who resides in the Boston area, and two sisters: Andrea, who resides in Newton, Massachusetts and Jennifer, who resides in New York City. His father Arnold was one of...
as Sal - Kevin DillonKevin DillonKevin Dillon is an American actor.Kevin Dillon is also the name of:*Kevin Dillon , character from Rodman Philbrick's young adult novel Freak the Mighty and the film based on it, The Mighty...
as Bunny - Reggie Johnson as Junior
- Keith DavidKeith DavidKeith David Williams , better known as Keith David, is an American film, television, voice actor, and singer. He is perhaps most known for his live-action roles in such films as Crash, There's Something About Mary, Barbershop and Men at Work...
as King - Johnny DeppJohnny DeppJohn Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol...
as Lerner - David Neidorf as Tex
- Mark MosesMark MosesMark W. Moses is an American actor, known for his roles of Paul Young on Desperate Housewives and Herman "Duck" Phillips on the AMC series Mad Men.-Life and career:...
as Lieutenant Wolfe - Chris PedersenChris Pedersen (actor)Chris Pedersen played the character "Jack Diddley" in the cult Penelope Spheeris produced film Suburbia about punk rockers in L.A. He also appeared in the Oliver Stone Oscar winning film Platoon, and in other cult films such as Night of the Comet and Point Break among others.Pedersen was never...
as Crawford - Corkey Ford as Manny
- Corey GloverCorey GloverCorey Glover is an American singer, guitarist and actor. He is best known as the lead singer of the hard rock band Living Colour.-Career:...
as Francis - Bob Orwig as Gardner
- Tony ToddTony ToddAnthony T. "Tony" Todd is an American actor and movie producer, known for his height of 6'5", and deep voice. He is well known for playing the Candyman in the horror movie franchise of the same name, William Bludworth in Final Destination and for guest starring roles on numerous television...
as Warren - Kevin Eshelman as Morehouse
- James Terry McIlvain as Ace
- J. Adam Glover as Sanderson
- Ivan Kane as Tony
- Paul Sanchez as Doc
- Captain Dale DyeDale DyeDale Adam Dye is an American actor, presenter, businessman, and retired U.S. Marine captain who served in combat during the Vietnam War.-Early life & Marine service:...
as Captain Harris - Peter Hicks as Parker
- Basile Achara as Flash
- Steve Barredo as Fu Sheng
- Chris Castillejo as Rodriquez
- Andrew B. Clark as Tubbs
- Bernardo Manalili as Village Chief
- Than Rogers as Village Chief's Wife
- Li Thi Van as Village Chief's Daughter
- Clarisa Ortacio as Old Woman
- Romy Sevilla as One-Legged Man
- Matthew Westfall as Terrified Soldier
- Nick Nickelson as 1st Mechanized Soldier
- Warren McLean as 2nd Mechanized Soldier
- Li Mai Thao as Rape Victim
- Alex Kelsey as Medic
- Oliver StoneOliver StoneWilliam Oliver Stone is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Stone became well known in the late 1980s and the early 1990s for directing a series of films about the Vietnam War, for which he had previously participated as an infantry soldier. His work frequently focuses on...
as 3/22 Infantry, Battalion Commander in Bunker (uncredited cameo)
Development
| "Vietnam was really visceral, and I had come from a cerebral existence: study... working with a pen and paper, with ideas. I came back really visceral. And I think the camera is so much more... that's your interpreter, as opposed to a pen." —Oliver Stone |
After his tour of duty in Vietnam ended in 1968, Oliver Stone
Oliver Stone
William Oliver Stone is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Stone became well known in the late 1980s and the early 1990s for directing a series of films about the Vietnam War, for which he had previously participated as an infantry soldier. His work frequently focuses on...
wrote a screenplay called Break: a semi-autobiographical account detailing his experiences with his parents and his time in Vietnam. Stone's return from active duty in Vietnam
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
resulted in a "big change" in how he viewed life and the war, and the unproduced screenplay Break was the result, and it eventually provided the basis for Platoon.
In a 2010 interview with the Times, Stone discussed his killing of a Viet Cong soldier and how he blended this experience into his screenplay. It featured several characters who were the seeds of those who would end up in Platoon. The script was set to music from The Doors
The Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...
; Stone sent the script to Jim Morrison
Jim Morrison
James Douglas "Jim" Morrison was an American musician, singer, and poet, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band The Doors...
in the hope he would play the lead (Morrison never responded but the script was returned to Oliver Stone shortly after Morrison's death by Morrison's manager - Morrison had the script with him when he died in Paris). Though Break went ultimately unproduced, it was the spur for him to attend film school.
After penning several other produced screenplays in the early 1970s, Stone came to work with Robert Bolt
Robert Bolt
Robert Oxton Bolt, CBE was an English playwright and a two-time Oscar winning screenwriter.-Career:He was born in Sale, Cheshire. At Manchester Grammar School his affinity for Sir Thomas More first developed. He attended the University of Manchester, and, after war service, the University of...
on an unproduced screenplay, The Cover-up. Bolt's rigorous approach rubbed off on Stone, and he was inspired to use the characters from his Break screenplay (who in turn were based upon people Stone knew in Vietnam) as the basis for a new screenplay titled The Platoon. Producer Martin Bregman
Martin Bregman
Martin Bregman is a film producer and former personal manager. Bregman produced many films including Scarface, Sea of Love, Venom, Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, The Four Seasons, Betsy's Wedding, Carlito's Way, and The Bone Collector.-Life and career:Bregman was born in New York City, to Leon and Ida...
attempted to elicit studio interest in the project, but Hollywood was still apathetic about Vietnam. However, the strength of Stone's writing on The Platoon was enough to get him the job penning Midnight Express
Midnight Express (film)
Released on October 6, 1978, the soundtrack to Midnight Express was composed by Italian synth-pioneer Giorgio Moroder. The score won the Academy Award for Best Original Score of 1978.Side A:#Chase – Giorgio Moroder...
in 1978. Despite that film's critical and commercial success, and that of other Stone-penned films at the time, most studios were still reluctant to finance The Platoon, as they feared a film about the Vietnam War would not attract an audience. After the release of The Deer Hunter
The Deer Hunter
The Deer Hunter is a 1978 drama film co-written and directed by Michael Cimino about a trio of Russian American steel worker friends and their infantry service in the Vietnam War. The film stars Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, Meryl Streep, John Savage, John Cazale, and George Dzundza...
and Apocalypse Now
Apocalypse Now
Apocalypse Now is a 1979 American war film set during the Vietnam War, produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The central character is US Army special operations officer Captain Benjamin L. Willard , of MACV-SOG, an assassin sent to kill the renegade and presumed insane Special Forces...
, they then cited the perception that these films were considered the pinnacle of the Vietnam War film genre as reasons not to make The Platoon.
Stone instead attempted to break into mainstream direction via the easier-to-finance horror genre, but The Hand
The Hand (film)
The Hand is a 1981 psychological horror film written and directed by Oliver Stone, based on the novel The Lizard's Tail by Marc Brandell and a remake of the 1946 film The Beast with Five Fingers. The film stars Michael Caine and Andrea Marcovicci. Caine plays Jon Lansdale, a comic book artist who...
failed at the box office, and Stone began to think that The Platoon would never be made. Stone wrote Year of the Dragon
Year of the Dragon (film)
Year of the Dragon is a 1985 film directed by Michael Cimino, starring Mickey Rourke, Ariane Koizumi and John Lone. The screenplay was written by Cimino and Oliver Stone and adapted from the novel by Robert Daley....
for a lower-than-usual fee of $200,000, on the condition from producer Dino De Laurentiis
Dino De Laurentiis
Agostino "Dino" De Laurentiis was an Italian film producer.-Early life:He was born at Torre Annunziata in the province of Naples, and grew up selling spaghetti produced by his father...
that he would then produce The Platoon. De Laurentiis secured financing for the film, but struggled to find a distributor. Because de Laurentiis had already spent money sending Stone to the Philippines to scout for locations, he decided to keep control of the film's script until he was repaid. Then Stone's script for what would become Salvador
Salvador (film)
Salvador is a 1986 war drama film which tells the story of an American journalist in El Salvador covering the Salvadoran civil war. While trying to get footage, he becomes entangled with both leftist guerrillas and the right wing military...
was passed to John Daly
John Daly (producer)
John Daly was a British film producer.-Personal life:John Daly was born in South East London, a part of London which was badly bombed and damaged in World War II. He attended a Roman Catholic school. Daly was father to Jenny, Michael, Julian, and Timothy...
of British production company Hemdale
Hemdale Film Corporation
Hemdale Film Corporation, known as Hemdale Communications after 1993, was an independent film production company and distributor founded in London in 1967 as the Hemdale Company by actor David Hemmings and his manager, John Daly. Hemdale was initially founded as a talent agency that helped launch...
. Once again, this was a project that Stone had struggled to secure financing for, but Daly loved the script and was prepared to finance both Salvador and The Platoon off the back of it. Stone shot Salvador first, before turning his attention to what was by now called Platoon.
Production
Luzon
Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, starting in February 1986. The production of the film on a scheduled date was almost canceled because of the political upheaval in the country due to then-dictator Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos, Sr. was a Filipino leader and an authoritarian President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He was a lawyer, member of the Philippine House of Representatives and a member of the Philippine Senate...
, but with the help of well-known Asian producer Mark Hill, the shoot went on as scheduled. The shoot lasted 54 days and cost $6.5 million. The production made a deal with the Philippine military for the use of military equipment.
James Woods
James Woods
James Howard Woods is an American film, stage and television actor. Woods is known for starring in critically acclaimed films such as Once Upon a Time in America, Salvador, Nixon, Ghosts of Mississippi, Casino, and in the television legal drama Shark. He has won three Emmy Awards, and has gained...
, who had starred in Stone's previous film, Salvador
Salvador (film)
Salvador is a 1986 war drama film which tells the story of an American journalist in El Salvador covering the Salvadoran civil war. While trying to get footage, he becomes entangled with both leftist guerrillas and the right wing military...
, was offered a part in Platoon. He turned the role down, later saying he "couldn't face going into another jungle with [Stone]". Upon arrival in the Philippines, the cast was sent on a two-week intensive training course, during which they had to dig foxholes and were subject to forced marches and night-time "ambushes" which utilized special-effects explosions. Stone explained that he was trying to break them down, "to mess with their heads so we could get that dog-tired, don't give a damn attitude, the anger, the irritation... the casual approach to death". Willem Dafoe
Willem Dafoe
Willem Dafoe is an American film, stage, and voice actor, and a founding member of the experimental theatre company The Wooster Group...
said "the training was very important to the making of the film," including its authenticity and the camaraderie developed among the cast. "By the time you got through the training and through the film, you had a relationship to the weapon. It wasn’t going to kill people, but you felt comfortable with it."
Stone makes a cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
as the battalion commander of 3/22 Infantry in the final battle. Dale Dye
Dale Dye
Dale Adam Dye is an American actor, presenter, businessman, and retired U.S. Marine captain who served in combat during the Vietnam War.-Early life & Marine service:...
, who played Bravo company's commander Captain Harris, is a U.S. Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
Vietnam veteran who also acted as the film's technical advisor. Stone based the final attack on a real life battle he survived.
Music used in the film includes Adagio for Strings
Adagio for Strings
Adagio for Strings is a work by Samuel Barber, arranged for string orchestra from the second movement of his String Quartet, Op. 11. Barber finished the arrangement in 1936, the same year as he wrote the quartet...
by Samuel Barber
Samuel Barber
Samuel Osborne Barber II was an American composer of orchestral, opera, choral, and piano music. His Adagio for Strings is his most popular composition and widely considered a masterpiece of modern classical music...
, "White Rabbit
White Rabbit (song)
"White Rabbit" is a song from Jefferson Airplane's 1967 album Surrealistic Pillow. It was released as a single and became the band's second top ten success, peaking at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100...
" by Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band formed in San Francisco in 1965. A pioneer of the psychedelic rock movement, Jefferson Airplane was the first band from the San Francisco scene to achieve mainstream commercial and critical success....
and "Okie From Muskogee
Okie from Muskogee (song)
"Okie from Muskogee" is an American country music song performed by its co-writer, Merle Haggard. Released in September 1969, the song became one of the most famous of his career.-Background:...
" by Merle Haggard
Merle Haggard
Merle Ronald Haggard is an American country music singer, guitarist, fiddler, instrumentalist, and songwriter. Along with Buck Owens, Haggard and his band The Strangers helped create the Bakersfield sound, which is characterized by the unique twang of Fender Telecaster guitars, vocal harmonies,...
. During a scene in the "Underworld" the soldiers sing along to "The Tracks of My Tears
The Tracks of My Tears
"The Tracks of My Tears" is a much recorded love ballad introduced in 1965 by The Miracles on Motown's' Tamla label. This song is considered to be among the finest recordings of The Miracles, and it sold over one million records within two years, making it The Miracles' fourth million-selling...
" by Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, which also featured in the film's trailer.
Soundtrack
- "Adagio for StringsAdagio for StringsAdagio for Strings is a work by Samuel Barber, arranged for string orchestra from the second movement of his String Quartet, Op. 11. Barber finished the arrangement in 1936, the same year as he wrote the quartet...
" by Samuel BarberSamuel BarberSamuel Osborne Barber II was an American composer of orchestral, opera, choral, and piano music. His Adagio for Strings is his most popular composition and widely considered a masterpiece of modern classical music... - "Ride of the ValkyriesRide of the ValkyriesThe Ride of the Valkyries is the popular term for the beginning of Act III of Die Walküre, the second of the four operas by Richard Wagner that comprise Der Ring des Nibelungen. The main theme of the Ride, the leitmotif labelled Walkürenritt, was first written down by the composer on 23 July 1851...
" (in reference to Apocalypse NowApocalypse NowApocalypse Now is a 1979 American war film set during the Vietnam War, produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The central character is US Army special operations officer Captain Benjamin L. Willard , of MACV-SOG, an assassin sent to kill the renegade and presumed insane Special Forces...
, an earlier Vietnam War film that had Charlie Sheen's father, Martin SheenMartin SheenRamón Gerardo Antonio Estévez , better known by his stage name Martin Sheen, is an American film actor best known for his performances in the films Badlands and Apocalypse Now , and in the television series The West Wing from 1999 to 2006.He is considered one of the best actors never to be...
, billed in the starring role) - "Groovin'Groovin'"Groovin" is a single released in 1967 by The Young Rascals that became a number-one hit and one of the group's signature songs.Written by group members Felix Cavaliere and Eddie Brigati and with a lead vocal from Cavaliere, it is indeed a slow, relaxed groove, based on Cavaliere's newfound...
" by The RascalsThe RascalsThe Rascals were an American blue-eyed soul group initially active during the years 1965–72. The band released numerous top ten singles in North America during the mid- and late-1960s, including the U.S. #1 hits "Good Lovin'" , "Groovin'" , and "People Got to Be Free"... - "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay(Sittin' on) the Dock of the Bay" The Dock of the Bay" is a song co-written by soul singer Otis Redding and guitarist Steve Cropper. It was first recorded by Otis Redding in 1967, just days before his death. It was released posthumously on Stax Records' Volt label in 1968, becoming the first posthumous number-one single in U.S...
" by Otis ReddingOtis ReddingOtis Ray Redding, Jr. was an American soul singer-songwriter, record producer, arranger and talent scout. He is considered one of the major figures in soul and R&B... - "The Tracks of My TearsThe Tracks of My Tears"The Tracks of My Tears" is a much recorded love ballad introduced in 1965 by The Miracles on Motown's' Tamla label. This song is considered to be among the finest recordings of The Miracles, and it sold over one million records within two years, making it The Miracles' fourth million-selling...
" by Smokey Robinson & The Miracles - "White RabbitWhite Rabbit (song)"White Rabbit" is a song from Jefferson Airplane's 1967 album Surrealistic Pillow. It was released as a single and became the band's second top ten success, peaking at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100...
" by Jefferson AirplaneJefferson AirplaneJefferson Airplane was an American rock band formed in San Francisco in 1965. A pioneer of the psychedelic rock movement, Jefferson Airplane was the first band from the San Francisco scene to achieve mainstream commercial and critical success.... - "Okie From MuskogeeOkie from MuskogeeOkie from Muskogee is an album by Merle Haggard and the Strangers, released in 1969. The album won the Academy of Country Music award for Album of the Year in 1969. Haggard also won Single of the Year for "Okie from Muskogee" as well as Top Male Vocalist.Haggard has stated that the title song on...
" by Merle HaggardMerle HaggardMerle Ronald Haggard is an American country music singer, guitarist, fiddler, instrumentalist, and songwriter. Along with Buck Owens, Haggard and his band The Strangers helped create the Bakersfield sound, which is characterized by the unique twang of Fender Telecaster guitars, vocal harmonies,...
Reception
Critics both praised and criticized Platoon for its presentation of the violence seen in the war and the moral ambiguity created by the realities of guerrilla warfareGuerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
, when unit leaders have to make a choice between saving the lives of their own men and taking those of suspected guerrilla sympathizers. Roger Ebert gave it four stars, calling it the best film of the year, and the 9th best of the 1980s.
The film currently has an 86% rating at Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
and a Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
score of 86%.
Wins
- Academy Award for Best PictureAcademy Award for Best PictureThe Academy Award for Best Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible not only...
- Academy Award for Best Director Oliver StoneOliver StoneWilliam Oliver Stone is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Stone became well known in the late 1980s and the early 1990s for directing a series of films about the Vietnam War, for which he had previously participated as an infantry soldier. His work frequently focuses on...
- Academy Award for Best Sound (John WilkinsonJohn Wilkinson (sound engineer)John Wilkinson was an American sound engineer. He won an Academy Award for Best Sound and was nominated for another two in the same category...
, Richard RogersRichard Rogers (sound engineer)Richard Rogers is an American sound engineer. He won the Academy Award for Best Sound for the film Platoon. He has worked on over 120 films since 1981.-External links:...
, Charles GrenzbachCharles GrenzbachCharles Grenzbach was an American sound engineer. He won an Academy Award for Best Sound and was nominated for two more in the same category...
, Simon KayeSimon KayeSimon Kaye is a British sound engineer. He won two Academy Awards for Best Sound and has been nominated for another two in the same category...
) - Academy Award for Best Film Editing
- Berlin International Film Festival37th Berlin International Film FestivalThe 37th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 20 February to 3 March 1987.-Jury:* Klaus Maria Brandauer * Juliet Berto* Kathleen Carroll* Callisto Cosulich* Victor Dyomin* Reinhard Hauff* Edmund Luft* Jiří Menzel...
- Silver Bear for Best DirectorSilver Bear for Best DirectorThe Silver Bear for Best Director is the Berlin International Film Festival's award for best achievement in direction.-Awards:-Repeated winners:*Mario Monicelli *Satyajit Ray *Carlos Saura -External links:*...
- Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - DramaGolden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - DramaThis page lists the winners and nominees for the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Drama, since its institution in 1951. The organizer, Hollywood Foreign Press Association , is an organization of journalists who cover the United States film industry, but are affiliated with publications...
- Golden Globe Award for Best Director Oliver StoneOliver StoneWilliam Oliver Stone is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Stone became well known in the late 1980s and the early 1990s for directing a series of films about the Vietnam War, for which he had previously participated as an infantry soldier. His work frequently focuses on...
- Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion PictureGolden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor - Motion PictureThe Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association in 1944 for a performance in a motion picture released in the previous year....
Tom BerengerTom BerengerTom Berenger is an American actor known mainly for his roles in action films.-Early life:Berenger was born as Thomas Michael Moore in Chicago to an Irish Catholic family. Berenger's father was a printer for the Chicago Sun-Times. Berenger has a sister, Susan...
- Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing - Feature FilmDirectors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing - Feature FilmDirectors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures is one of the annual awards given by Directors Guild of America.-1940s:* 1948: Joseph L...
Oliver StoneOliver StoneWilliam Oliver Stone is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Stone became well known in the late 1980s and the early 1990s for directing a series of films about the Vietnam War, for which he had previously participated as an infantry soldier. His work frequently focuses on...
- BAFTA Award for Best DirectionBAFTA Award for Best DirectionWinners of the BAFTA Award for Best Direction presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.-2010s:* 2010 - David Fincher – The Social Network** Tom Hooper – The King's Speech** Danny Boyle – 127 Hours...
Oliver StoneOliver StoneWilliam Oliver Stone is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Stone became well known in the late 1980s and the early 1990s for directing a series of films about the Vietnam War, for which he had previously participated as an infantry soldier. His work frequently focuses on... - BAFTA Award for Best EditingBAFTA Award for Best EditingThe BAFTA Award for Best Editing is one of several annual awards presented by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts . The film-voting members of the Academy select the five nominated films in each category; only the principal editor for each film are named, which excludes additional...
- Independent Spirit Award for Best FilmIndependent Spirit Award for Best FilmThe Independent Spirit Award for Best Film is one of the annual Independent Spirit Awards.-1980s:* 1985: After Hours - Martin Scorsese** Blood Simple - Joel and Ethan Coen** Smooth Talk...
- Independent Spirit Award for Best DirectorIndependent Spirit Award for Best DirectorThe Film Independent's Spirit Award for Best Director is one of the annual Independent Spirit Awards.- 1980s :* 1985: Joel Coen – Blood Simple** Martin Scorsese – After Hours** Joyce Chopra – Smooth Talk...
Oliver StoneOliver StoneWilliam Oliver Stone is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Stone became well known in the late 1980s and the early 1990s for directing a series of films about the Vietnam War, for which he had previously participated as an infantry soldier. His work frequently focuses on... - Independent Spirit Award for Best ScreenplayIndependent Spirit Award for Best ScreenplayThe Film Independent's Spirit Award for Best Screenplay is one of the annual Independent Spirit Awards.-1980s:* 1985: The Trip to Bountiful - Horton Foote** After Hours - Joseph Minion** Blood Simple - Joel and Ethan Coen...
Oliver StoneOliver StoneWilliam Oliver Stone is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Stone became well known in the late 1980s and the early 1990s for directing a series of films about the Vietnam War, for which he had previously participated as an infantry soldier. His work frequently focuses on... - Independent Spirit Award for Best CinematographyIndependent Spirit Award for Best CinematographyThe Independent Spirit Award for Best Cinematography is one of the annual awards given by Film Independent, a non-profit organization dedicated to independent film and independent filmmakers.- 1980s :* 1986: Toyomichi Kurita – Trouble in Mind...
Nominations
- Academy Award for Best Supporting ActorAcademy Award for Best Supporting ActorPerformance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
Tom BerengerTom BerengerTom Berenger is an American actor known mainly for his roles in action films.-Early life:Berenger was born as Thomas Michael Moore in Chicago to an Irish Catholic family. Berenger's father was a printer for the Chicago Sun-Times. Berenger has a sister, Susan... - Academy Award for Best Supporting ActorAcademy Award for Best Supporting ActorPerformance by an Actor in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the...
Willem DafoeWillem DafoeWillem Dafoe is an American film, stage, and voice actor, and a founding member of the experimental theatre company The Wooster Group... - Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay Oliver StoneOliver StoneWilliam Oliver Stone is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Stone became well known in the late 1980s and the early 1990s for directing a series of films about the Vietnam War, for which he had previously participated as an infantry soldier. His work frequently focuses on...
- Academy Award for Best CinematographyAcademy Award for Best CinematographyThe Academy Award for Best Cinematography is an Academy Award awarded each year to a cinematographer for work in one particular motion picture.-History:...
Robert Richardson
- Golden Globe Award for Best ScreenplayGolden Globe Award for Best ScreenplayThe Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay - Motion Picture is one of the annual awards given by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association."†" indicates the winner of the Academy Award for Best Writing "‡" indicates the winner of the Academy Award for Best Writing "§" indicates a Golden Globe Award...
Oliver StoneOliver StoneWilliam Oliver Stone is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Stone became well known in the late 1980s and the early 1990s for directing a series of films about the Vietnam War, for which he had previously participated as an infantry soldier. His work frequently focuses on...
- BAFTA Award for Best CinematographyBAFTA Award for Best Cinematography-Best Cinematography - Colour:* 1963 - From Russia with Love - Ted Moore** Nine Hours to Rama – Arthur Ibbetson** The Running Man – Robert Krasker** Sammy Going South – Erwin Hillier** The Scarlet Blade – Jack Asher...
Robert Richardson
- Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original ScreenplayWriters Guild of America Award for Best Original ScreenplayThe Writers Guild of America Award for Best Original Screenplay is one of the three film writing awards given by the Writers Guild of America Award....
Oliver StoneOliver StoneWilliam Oliver Stone is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Stone became well known in the late 1980s and the early 1990s for directing a series of films about the Vietnam War, for which he had previously participated as an infantry soldier. His work frequently focuses on...
- Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead Willem DafoeWillem DafoeWillem Dafoe is an American film, stage, and voice actor, and a founding member of the experimental theatre company The Wooster Group...
Honors
American Film InstituteAmerican Film Institute
The American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
Lists
- AFI's 100 Years... 100 MoviesAFI's 100 Years... 100 MoviesThe first of the AFI 100 Years… series of cinematic milestones, AFI's 100 Years…100 Movies is a list of the 100 best American movies, as determined by the American Film Institute from a poll of more than 1,500 artists and leaders in the film industry who chose from a list of 400 nominated movies...
- #83 - AFI's 100 Years... 100 ThrillsAFI's 100 Years... 100 ThrillsPart of the AFI 100 Years… series, AFI's 100 Years…100 Thrills is a list of the top 100 heart-pounding movies in American cinema. The list was unveiled by the American Film Institute on June 12, 2001, during a CBS special hosted by Harrison Ford....
- #72 - AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and VillainsAFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and VillainsAFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains is a list of the 100 greatest screen characters chosen by American Film Institute in June 2003. It is part of the AFI 100 Years… series. The series was first presented in a CBS special hosted by Arnold Schwarzenegger...
:- Sergeant Barnes - Nominated Villain
- AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) - #86
Marketing
The film was marketed with the tag line, "The first casualty of war is innocence," an adaptation of Senator Hiram JohnsonHiram Johnson
Hiram Warren Johnson was a leading American progressive and later isolationist politician from California; he served as the 23rd Governor from 1911 to 1917, and as a United States Senator from 1917 to 1945.-Early life:...
's assertion in 1917 that "The first casualty of war is the truth." (c.f. Aeschylus
Aeschylus
Aeschylus was the first of the three ancient Greek tragedians whose work has survived, the others being Sophocles and Euripides, and is often described as the father of tragedy. His name derives from the Greek word aiskhos , meaning "shame"...
(BC 525 - BC 456), "In war, truth is the first casualty.") Several licensed tie-ins were released between 1986-1988. A video game was produced by Ocean Software
Ocean Software
The British company Ocean Software was one of the biggest European video game developers/publishers of the 1980s and 90s...
for various formats. The Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
version was ported
Porting
In computer science, porting is the process of adapting software so that an executable program can be created for a computing environment that is different from the one for which it was originally designed...
and published by Sunsoft. Loosely based on the film, the object of the game is to survive in the Vietnamese jungle against guerrilla
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
attacks. A wargame
Wargaming
A wargame is a strategy game that deals with military operations of various types, real or fictional. Wargaming is the hobby dedicated to the play of such games, which can also be called conflict simulations, or consims for short. When used professionally to study warfare, it is generally known as...
was also produced, by Avalon Hill
Avalon Hill
Avalon Hill was a game company that specialized in wargames and strategic board games. Its logo contained its initials "AH", and it was often referred to by this abbreviation. It also published the occasional miniature wargaming rules, role-playing game, and had a popular line of sports simulations...
, as an introductory game to attract young people into the wargaming hobby. A novelization of the film was written by Dale Dye
Dale Dye
Dale Adam Dye is an American actor, presenter, businessman, and retired U.S. Marine captain who served in combat during the Vietnam War.-Early life & Marine service:...
. In 2002, Strategy First
Strategy First
Strategy First is a software company based in Montreal, Canada. Founded in 1988, the company has published numerous well-known games, such as the Disciples series, Jagged Alliance series, Space Empires series, and Galactic Civilizations....
published and Digital Reality
Digital Reality
Digital Reality is an Hungarian video game developer, located in Budapest, Hungary. The company is best known for developing the game Imperium Galactica series and Haegemonia: Legions of Iron.-History:...
developed a real-time strategy
Real-time strategy
Real-time strategy is a sub-genre of strategy video game which does not progress incrementally in turns. Brett Sperry is credited with coining the term to market Dune II....
game based on the film for the Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
.
Cast Note
- Keith DavidKeith DavidKeith David Williams , better known as Keith David, is an American film, television, voice actor, and singer. He is perhaps most known for his live-action roles in such films as Crash, There's Something About Mary, Barbershop and Men at Work...
worked with Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez on the film Men at WorkMen at WorkMen at Work are an Australian rock band who achieved international success in the 1980s. They are the only Australian artists to have a simultaneous #1 album and #1 single in the United States . They achieved the same distinction of a simultaneous #1 album and #1 single in the United Kingdom...