Full Metal Jacket
Full Metal Jacket is a legendary war movie directed by legendary director Stanley Kubrick. It pretty much single-handedly launched the acting career of R. Lee Ermey. It’s also considered one of the greatest war movies ever made, and the boot camp scenes with the marines are some of the most realistically filmed ever. The movie is also infinitely quotable. (See Full Metal Jacket Quotes.)
The movie is based on a novel by Gustav Hasford called The Short-Timers. The title of the movie, Full Metal Jacket comes from the name of the ammunition used by the Marine Corps. The movie was released in 1987, but work on the movie began 7 years earlier, in 1980, when Kubrick abandoned his idea of making a Holocaust movie in favor of making a Vietnam movie.
The most quotable and famous character in the movie is a supporting character portrayed by R. Lee Ermey, Gunnery Sergeant Hartmann. Ermey was originally hired as a technical consultant for the film, and when he asked Kubrick for the chance to audition for the role of Hartmann, Kubrick told him he wasn’t vicious enough to portray the character. Ermey proved him wrong by making a video of himself improvising insults toward imaginary boots.
Some of his most quotable lines include, “What’s your name, fatbody?” and “If you ladies leave my island, if you survive recruit training, you will be a weapon. You will be a minister of death praying for war.” Another great one, “Sound off like you got a pair!”
If you’ve never seen Full Metal Jacket, you’ve missed one of the most brilliant movies ever filmed. Luckily it’s available on DVD, so go buy yourself a copy of it so you can watch it over and over again.
