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Information
- Year
- 1987
- Runtime
- 116 min.
- Director
- Stanley Kubrick
- Genres
- Drama, War
- Rating *
- 8.3
- Votes *
- 392,309
- Checks
- 69,664
- Favs
- 6,185
- Dislikes
- 204
- Favs/checks
- 8.9% (1:11)
- Favs/dislikes
- 30:1
Top comments
-
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 7 months ago -
-
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. 9 years 3 months ago
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In 18 official lists
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This movie ranks #13 in IMDb's 1980s Top 50
IMDb's 1980s Top 50
13 -
This movie ranks #18 in IMDb's War Top 50
IMDb's War Top 50
18 -
This movie ranks #28 in iCheckMovies's 1980s Top 100
iCheckMovies's 1980s Top…
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This movie ranks #64 in FOK!'s Film Top 250
FOK!'s Film Top 250
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This movie ranks #70 in 101 War Movies You Must See Before You Die
101 War Movies You Must …
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This movie ranks #73 in FilmTotaal Forum's Top 100
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This movie ranks #94 in Reddit Top 250
Reddit Top 250
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This movie ranks #95 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills
AFI's 100 Years...100 Th…
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This movie ranks #109 in IMDb's Top 250
IMDb's Top 250
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This movie ranks #149 in iCheckMovies's Most Checked
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This movie ranks #227 in Cahiers du Cinéma's Annual Top 10 Lists
Cahiers du Cinéma's Annu…
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This movie ranks #303 in The New York Times's Book of Movies
The New York Times's Boo…
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This movie ranks #433 in Time Out's 1000 Films to Change Your Life
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This movie ranks #444 in Emma Beare's 501 Must-See Movies
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This movie ranks #457 in Empire's The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time
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This movie ranks #609 in TSPDT's 1,000 Greatest Films
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This movie ranks #762 in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
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This movie ranks #808 in Jonathan Rosenbaum's Essential Cinema
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808