Customer Reviews

Platoon

5 star:		(228)
4 star:		(60)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(16)
1 star:		(18)

 

 

"I think now, looking back, we did not fight the enemy. We fought ourselves. And the enemy was in us."

Thus the summation of Private Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) at the end of this film, a film about war, hate, self-realization, and survival. PLATOON tells a powerful story that moves beyond the horror and gore of the Vietnam War, a story that ultimately depicts the demise and disintegration of a dysfunctional combat unit. We see young Chris change before our very eyes, from a green, idealistic "grunt" to an embittered, disillusioned soldier. Chris' platoon is dominated--and subsequently divided--by two strong, yet very different men: Sergeant Barnes (Tom Berenger) and Sergeant Elias (Willem Dafoe). Barnes is cold, calculating, brutal, intolerant; Elias is compassionate, humanistic. The battle of wills between these two men is just as challenging as the Viet Cong out in the bush, and just as deadly. The film's climatic ending is powerful, spellbinding.

I dismiss naysayers of PLATOON as a soapbox for writer/director Oliver Stone's political agenda just as much as I dismiss Mr. Stone's politics. PLATOON hits you between the eyes with its depictions of warfare and human conflict, again and again. There's nothing to feel good about by watching this movie, just as there is nothing to feel good about by fighting a war. It is a dark, negative film--a negative film that happens to be compelling, thought-provoking, and very riveting.

Oliver Stone's Platoon transcends the romanticization that so often infuses our thinking about war with a painfully honest portrayal of its dehumanizing effects. Charlie Sheen plays Chris Taylor, whose idealism drives him to leave college for the hellish jungles of Vietnam. He sheds his innocence quickly, however, as the horrors of war take a heavy toll on his body and his sanity. After witnessing acts of barbarity by fellow soldiers--including rape and the deliberate killing of civilians--Taylor becomes aware that he is fighting not only an external enemy, but an inner one as well.

Representing the sides of this internal battle are Sergeant Elias (William Dafoe), who shows compassion towards his men and is outraged by atrocities he witnesses, and Sergeant Barnes (Tom Berenger), who displays no regard for human life. With their sanity pushed to its limits by the terror of combat, members of the platoon are torn between the two men and begin to turn on each other.

This film is disturbing in its brutal realism, and the painful questions it raises remain relevant decades after the Vietnam War, particularly in light of incidents such as the Haditha massacre and the overwhelming numbers of Iraq veterans struggling with PTSD. Platoon sheds light on the conditions that breed atrocity and the devastating psychological effects of war upon soldiers. It is not an antiwar film, nor one with a political agenda; it is simply a raw, candid film about war's impact.

The last Platoon DVD had some impressive extras, most notably two audio commentaries and a retrospective making of documentary. These have been included along with several additional featurettes and deleted scenes.

The first disc features an audio commentary by Oliver Stone. He talks about the challenges of making Platoon on a low budget and working in a harsh, unforgiving environment. This track is filled with fascinating personal insights and is essential listening for any fan of the movie.

Also included is a commentary track by the film's military advisor Dale Dye, a retired Marine of 22 years with 30 months in Vietnam. This is a great track that is technical but also accessible and really makes you appreciate the amount of work that went into this movie.

All of the new extras are contained on the second disc, starting with "Deleted and Extended Scenes" with optional commentary by Stone. Most interestingly, is an alternate ending for Barnes which Stone says he now wishes had been used.

"Snapshot in Time: 1967-1968" gives a historical perspective to the time period the film takes place in and puts things into perspective by exploring the origins of the conflict and how the U.S. got involved.

"Creating the `Nam" takes a look at how the filmmakers created the condition of Vietnam in the Philippines on a limited budget. Some highlights include a bit about how they created the village in the movie from scratch and did such a good job that locals moved in with no prompting!

"Raw Wounds: The Legacy of Platoon" examines the film's legacy and how it gave veterans the dignity they deserved and allowed the U.S. to come to terms with the war.

"One War, Many Stories" features a group of vets talking about the movie after a screening and how it relates to their own experiences. These guys tell some fascinating stories that are in turn juxtaposed with Stone talking about his own experiences.

Included from the previous edition is "Tour of the Inferno," an excellent, in-depth retrospective documentary that brought back a lot of the film's cast who talk about their experiences making the film. This is a fantastic doc that manages not to repeat too much of what was said in the two commentary tracks.

"Preparing for the `Nam" examines what basic training was like with vets talking about their experiences. It was tough but also taught them valuable lessons that helped them survive and bonded them with their fellow recruits.

Finally, from the previous edition, there are photo galleries, three T.V. spots and a theatrical trailer.

The reason this movie is no longer for sale is because New Line was bought out a while ago by MGM (or something along those lines, but MGM now owns the video rights). MGM is rumored to be planning a special edition of Platoon in August, which probably means they are just rereleasing the old New Line DVD and calling it a Special Edition. Hope you find that useful!

First, let me lay my cards on the table: I'm a conservative Republican, am generally pro-military (i.e. U.S.), and distrust Oliver Stone nearly as much as I do Michael Moore. Further, I don't know if I've ever agreed with a thing that the Sheen family has said. Yet even though some of my political pals disdain this movie, I feel differently. I half-expected a heavy dose of lefty propaganda and intentional distortion, but for the most part was pleasantly surprised. I try to evaluate every item I encounter fairly and individually (instead of a knee jerk reaction), and these are my thoughts on Platoon, after viewing it again tonight:

On the 'positive' side, the film rightly shows the awfulness of war. Again and again, liberals seem to think that those on the right somehow deny this. Of course we do not! I give the movie high marks for depicting war as a living nightmare. Personally, I cringe when some of the older movies represent war as little more than a comic book boys' fantasy. I also thought Platoon contained some admirable acting (Sheen, Dafoe, Berenger, David), and combat scenes. It held me throughout.

The one major criticism I would make, and the flaw that keeps it from being an elite film in my opinion, is the way in which it reaches too far to show the dark side and corruption of the soldiers (American). Stone has a crippling weakness for sensationalism (evidence: JFK), and it seeped through some here. For instance, you cannot take the worst atrocities (even if they are all factual, which I question) and then portray them as representative of a typical company of soldiers and their Vietnam experience. Yet this was the impression given. In fact, it was basically the story. This is irresponsible and misleading. One of the film's few faults, but a bad one.

However, when considered as a whole, Platoon has much to commend it. While it is unfortunate that its weaknesses diminish its merit, they do not ruin it. I'd be very surprised if Stone ever makes another movie nearly as good.

Platoon is unquestionably one of the most powerful movies I've seen within the last twenty years. Though I was too young to remember the horror that was the Vietnam War, this movie captures the emotion and tragedy of what was a dark era in our nation's history. Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger and Willem Dafoe all put in strong performances. (Sheen, in particular, is excellent as the young private who is baptized into the ways of war.) In a sense, this is "Lord of the Flies" set in 1967 Vietnam.

The visual transfer to DVD is very good, but it's the audio that brings the film down a notch. Yes, the cover case indicates 5.1 Dolby Surround, but you can hardly tell even with the sound cranked up. It might as well be in monaural. The explosions are muffled and the gunfire is almost too frequently indistinguishable. (I guess after viewing "Saving Private Ryan" on DVD I'm somewhat spoiled.) Also, there are no deleted scenes or notable "extras" included in the DVD. I give the DVD 5 stars for content and 3 stars for technical details.

Speaking from the experience of two full tours in Vietnam and as Oliver Stone's company commander during his service in 25th Infantry Division (Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion, 22nd Infantry), I take serious exception to his portrayal of our soldiers as spaced-out, cruel dopeheads who routinely smoked dope, committed atrocities and tried to kill each other. My soldiers -- and soldiers in Vietnam in general -- were not like that at all. During that time, Stone was a good soldier, attested to by the facts that, to the best of my knowlege, I never had to punish him, and that he departed Bravo on 15 Jan 1968 by medical evac helicopter after being seriously wounded trying to take a bunker with two other men. His radicalism seems to have emerged after his tour in Vietnam. Whatever the reason, this movie does a gross disservice to the vast majority of American troops who went to Vietnam as ordered by their government, did the job given them the best they could, and returned home to become normal, productive citizens. I won't say that unsavory events did not occur in Vietnam -- as they have in every war -- but they were not typical. For example, My Lai occurred, a criminal act committed by a small group of soldiers who should have been soundly punished as the criminals they were. However, My Lai was an aberation, although movies like "Platoon" play it up as the norm.

To give Stone his due, the really good part of the movie was the feeling of being there which he recreated: the heat and dehydration, humping heavy packs, red ant dances; the attempt to conduct an ambush while fighting fatigue, rain, mosquitoes, and having the VC sneak up on you because your lookout went to sleep. Those things were very real, and Stone did these better than anyone else. Stone ruins the film for those of us in Bravo Company (identified at the beginning of the film) -- and real Vietnam vets in general -- by throwing into this real ambiance all the antiwar images and rumors ever associated with Vietnam created by those violently opposed to the war.

Stone says that he is a dramatist, and that he changes and shapes events to suit his views of those events; he says that he is not a documentarian, as I am. I guess that means that I record the true events, while he takes history and twists and shapes it into his kind of fiction. Therefore, if you want to learn the real history of Bravo Company during the time Stone and I were in the unit, and the truth about America's Vietnam soldiers and veterans in general, I recommend that you read two books: my book, "Platoon: Bravo Company" and B.G. Burkett's book, "Stolen Valor." Don't be afraid to find out the truth -- you owe it to those who served and died there.

Platoon 20th anniversary edition is a great addition to my DVD library. The comentary by Oliver Stone and his advisor give great perspective into the movie and the Vietnam war.

This 20th anniversary edition of Platoon is the DVD we've been waiting for. Picture and sound are excellent and offer the best experience of Oliver Stone's Vietnam memoir yet.
Picture: Very good transfer captures Robert Richardson's beautiful but gritty cinematography perfectly. The picture is always sharp and never has the badly-compressed look of some other DVDs. I'm not sure if the transfer is new from the previous release, but it looks great.
Sound: Also excellent. Watching this DVD really brings the experience home. I know it sounds cliched, but I felt like I was there, and a lot of that impression is due to the wonderful quality of the sound on this DVD.
Extras: Some documentaries, trailers, TV spots, still galleries, and the like are all interesting, but seemed perfunctory. The real gem here is the feature commentary from Cpt. Dale Dye, the military advisor to the film. He had done a partial commentary on the new Dirty Dozen DVD and I enjoyed it immensely. When I saw that he had a commentary on this film as well, I watched it eagerly and wasn't dissappointed. Cpt. Dye's perspective on the film, both as a vet and a member of the crew, is really fascinating.
If you've been waiting for an outstanding DVD edition of Platoon, this is it. The good people at MGM have really outdone themselves this time.
Recommended.

In spite of the Oscar for Best Picture, I had to be coerced to see this film, but I am so glad that I finally did. It was truly experiential. I now have the deepest sorrow and respect for all those poor boys who have fought for our country over the years. (And I'm glad my son never had to!) What a hell it is. And this film captures all sides of it, on both a visceral level, as well as a philosophical one. From the bloodthirsty sergeant, to the honest and true idealist soldier, to the everyman trying to sort it all out and survive -- it shows why this war changed us so dramatically. Though the violence was hard to get through, I know that our children have suffered far worse on the battlefield. For love of country, we can all view this film to understand what they went through. My thoughts and prayers are with all the soldiers.