Product Details

• Actors: Jack Webb, Jeanne Baird, Jeannie Beacham, Don Dubbins, Melody Gale
• Format: Black & White, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• VHS Release Date: June 13, 1995
• Run Time: 106 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (76 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6300271315
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #42,174 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Jim Moore is a tough-as-nails Drill Instructor with a chip on his shoulder: Pvt. Owens, who isn't quite up to snuff. Sgt. Moore is convinced that "there's a man underneath that baby powder" and sets out to force the private to rise to the occasion. Instead, he drives Owens to bail out altogether. Things only get worse when the Captain steps in and gives Moore three days to make the a Marine out of the petrified private.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

60 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Super DI, Aye, aye., October 13, 2005

By 

Robert Busko (North Carolina) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The D.I. [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Here's a message to Hollywood. There are perhaps a million former Marines out there that will buy The D.I. on DVD as soon as its released.

I saw The DI as a 12 year old on television in 1960. I was petrified by the movie and never thought I'd join the Marines because of it. Well, in 67 I did join and went through bootcamp in San Diego, almost within sight of my house.

I think Full Metal Jacket is more realistic but doesn't deliver the positive message served up in The DI. Webb does a magnificent job depicting the stoic drill instructor. The intensity of the training in bookcamp, the concern for details (as depicted in the breaking down and reassembly of an M1) that make up a recruits world are dead on.

The DI is a classic. Like other reviewers before me I find it puzzling that this film hasn't made the transition to DVD when so much garbage has. But then Hollywood and the people that populate show biz haven't a clue about being a Marine. Its been almost 40 years and I still remember the names of my drill instructors. Sgt. Alley where are you?

Semper Fi

72 of 77 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Greatness In Film Making -- Why Not On DVD?, January 16, 2003

By 

"boneyard3" (Long Beach, California USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The D.I. [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Pardon me for venting... Why is a great film like this not in DVD? Or for that matter, "Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo"? Or "Battle Hymn"? Or "The Last Days of Patton"? It makes me wonder why idiotic drivel like "American Idol" or "The Real World" pop right onto DVD, and the best things are left in the can in a dusty archive waiting for a building fire.

43 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great glance behind the scenes of 1950s Parris Island, December 20, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The D.I. [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Jack Webb portrays a tough Marine drill instructor trying to mold his platoon of recruits into United States Marines. Resistance from one of the recruits provides dramatic interplay. Webb's infrequent visits to town include a not-well-developed romantic angle. The training shown is for real, though understated -- the viewer doesn't see how tired and hungry and frustrated a recruit can get. Anyone who has been through Marine boot camp will identify with many of the scenes in this film. Of historical interest to former Marines: the credits show Webb playing a "Tech Sergeant" and several of the advisors to the film hold that grade, yet Webb is called by the more familiar "Gunny" throughout the movie. Yes, Gunnery Sergeants officially disappeared from the Corps for a few years, though Marines never let go of the term. This film is highly recommended, both for Marines who want to remember and for those who have not served in the Corps who want to catch a glimpse of what it takes to make young men into Marines.