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on August 27, 2015
Shoot! - I didn't carefully look over the details of this disk -- 1.33 aspect ratio. That's right - cropped to fit the old style 4/3 tube TV format. YUCK! Good thing it was only $5.
on June 26, 2002
*Full Metal Jacket* starts off poorly: Stanley Kubrick, with his usual gift for overstating the obvious, takes up 45 minutes of our time demonstrating that training men to be killers can be a dehumanizing experience for the men. There ARE some masterful moments during this stretch, such as the scene where Vincent D'Onofrio's tub 'o' lard "Private Pyle" is held down and pummelled with soap bars wrapped in hand-towels. (His fellow boot-campers do this because the drill instructor punishes THEM for Pyle's mistakes and slovenly habits.) The cruelty in this scene provides much-needed impetus for Kubrick's intentions with this portion of the movie . . . because, thus far, the movie has merely consisted of the drill instuctor yapping at the recruits, non-stop, like a pit terrier. Lee Ermey in the role is rather funny, and hardly deserves to have his guts blown apart by the put-upon Pyle. (D'Onofrio's reptilian hissing and hysterical line-reading prior to squeezing the trigger is UNINTENTIONALLY funny.) After this incident, which is never referred to again during the rest of the film, Kubrick FINALLY takes us to Vietnam, and interest picks up considerably. One has to admire the director for his rather nutty insistence on creating Vietnam, or at least a war-torn facsimile thereof, in the Midlands. And it's perhaps this very lack of "realistic" scenery that inspires Kubrick to great scenic creativity. The hollowed-out, charred sets, the rubble that seems to go on for miles, the black smoke, the tongues of flame, are magnificently ugly. From a purely visual perspective, *Full Metal Jacket* is one of the most convincing war movies ever made, even if you're not convinced you're looking at Southeast Asia. I enjoyed Kubrick's world-weary soldiers too, though we don't get to know them very well. They're certainly preferrable to the suffering saints of *Apocalypse Now*, *Platoon*, et al. The only serious fault I can find with the Vietnam portion of the movie is the use of slow-motion during the climactic battle between our guys and a deadly accurate Viet Cong sniper. Slow-motion, more often than not, is a sign of a director getting lazy. The tool relies on the stretching-out of the action to provide the dramatic payoff, relieving the director from arriving at that payoff honestly. Well, whatever -- I still recommend the film. After all, you gotta respect a movie that coined the immortal phrase: "Me so horny!"
on June 28, 2008
After seeing what the new technology can do to the visual quality of another Vietnam film 30+ years old (The Deer Hunter), I was disappointed in how this presentation of FMJ looked in hi-def. It almost looks like the SD (standard def) disc was "dubbed" and simply relabeled "HD"; much of the first half of the film looks over-exposed & washed out, esp. scenes in the barracks. In addition there is NOTHING extra included in the HD disc vs. the disc! No commentaries, no deleted scenes, nothing! As large & diverse as this ensemble cast was, surely Warner Brothers could have found at least ONE of the actors to provide some much-needed insight on how this film was made & the feelings of the cast on-set.
I hope the "deluxe" HD-DVD package brings more to the table than this one...it wouldn't be difficult at all.
I hope the "deluxe" HD-DVD package brings more to the table than this one...it wouldn't be difficult at all.
on November 2, 2006
Yes, I was disappointed with this release. Only on occasion does it surpass the standard edition, even with side by side comparisons. The choice to letterbox the presentation, against Kubrick's intentions, does not jibe with the intent of HD, which is to give you the most accurate presentation of the film on a home video medium. Hopefully Warner Home Video will revisit this title again in the future and give it the remastering it should have received.
on November 14, 2003
This is one of the great movies, a must own, 5 stars easy. Cast is perfect, dialog is superb, just a great flick!
The quality of this DVD blows! Audio was mediocre at best, no booklet, no commentary or bonus material. Package was cheap. Too bad 'cause the movie is first rate. 1 star for the package.
The quality of this DVD blows! Audio was mediocre at best, no booklet, no commentary or bonus material. Package was cheap. Too bad 'cause the movie is first rate. 1 star for the package.
on December 1, 2016
The packaging and booklet were cool, but I was really expecting this 1080p "remaster' to look WAAY better.
It doesn't look any better than my DVD from 10 years ago!
Still, if you've never seen the film before, it's a badass flick!!
It doesn't look any better than my DVD from 10 years ago!
Still, if you've never seen the film before, it's a badass flick!!
on June 9, 2014
I was disappointed with this Vietnam movie. The story line was not realistic and the more the movie grind-ed at a slow pace that was so unrealistic it was painful to watch.
on September 13, 2016
Shows that some people aren't made to be yelled at. Overall good movie
on January 4, 2012
Again!! I find myself telling all these people who apparently have no common sense how to review a Blu Ray movie on Amazon. If you want to know if this movie is good than please go to IMDB. But tell others THE IMAGE QUALITY!!! We should all help each other so that the movie industry does not rip us off by selling us so called Blu Ray when it looks like VHS or DVD quality. Image quality on this is perhaps just a bit better than DVD but far from Blu Ray. I will keep the movie.
