Platoon (1986)

Make sure you have a box of Kleenex by you.

I remember I was still rather young when this came out.
I remember seeing Vietnam vets on tv coming out of the theater crying.
I was too young to understand.
Fast forward a few years, I watched it, and didn't stop crying for I don't remember how long.
A powerful and disturbing view of the Vietnam War.
The script, acting, directing, everything is masterful.
One of the few movies I'm glad won the academy for best picture.
It's not the usual anti war stuff either, it puts a very real and human face on the war without politicizing it.
Easily in my top twenty movies of all time.
Required viewing but not for children.
Recommended!!!
June 24, 2008

The Best Portrayal Of Vietnam Yet

This movie is a standout from all other war movies because it puts together the most intellectual and heartfelt aspects of that war or any war into one movie. May 15, 2008

Wonderful

For those of us who only knew of the Vietnam War from A little High School History , Television , and A few Books ,this Movie showed A new , eye opening story about this Cvil War , that we got invovled in , and lost A lot of great people in . May 3, 2008

Platoon review

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. April 29, 2008

Conservatives, You Can Come Out of Your Foxholes

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. April 6, 2008

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