Platoon (DVD 2001)

The Vietnam War waged for practically a decade or more. Oliver Stone's movie, Platoon, like the war itself, will remain in the minds of humankind for years to come.

Based primarily around Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen, 'Wall Street', 'Eight Men Out'), the film portrays a young college kid who has opted out of college life in order to join those fighting the Vietnam War.

The film is the first part in a trilogy written and directed by Oliver Stone, the subsequent movie titled 'Born on the 4th July' starring Tom Cruise and 'Heaven and Earth' with Tommy Lee Jones. Stone (JFK, Nixon, The Doors) captures the Vietnam War and its consequences about as well as anyone ever could, 'Platoon' being the strongest of the trilogy. The director is famous for his interest in political subjects, especially those relating to the life and times of his childhood and younger years, the 1960s and 1970s. Write and direct what you know is the general concensus. Stone knows his work.

A huge and talented cast includes Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger, Willem DaFoe, Kevin Dillon (The Doors), John C McGinley (Wall Street, Born on the 4th July, Any Given Sunday, Talk Radio, Nixon), Keith David, Forest Whitaker, Mark Moses, Chris Pederson, Tony Todd - and an early performance by Johnny Depp - only contributes towards the excellent story and sharp directing by Stone, making 'Platoon' arguably the best Vietnam War film in the history of cinema.

Stone aptly captures the horrors of the war while further injecting a dramatic - albeit fictional - storyline, which serves not as a backdrop to the conflict but is incorporated into the heart of the film comfortably, almost effortlessly. The moviegoer is entertained by the conflict between Sgt Barnes and Sgt Elias - hopefully rooting for Chris, the idealistic Private stuck somewhere in the middle of a private war - and yet are offered an insight into the war itself. There is history and entertainment here --- and hopefully a moral message about the futility of war and its effects upon humankind.

It is still nice to watch Charlie Sheen in this film and remember when he was probably the most promising actor of the 1980s with his other performances in John Sayle's 'Eight Men Out', Oliver Stone's 'Wall Street', John Milius's 'Red Dawn' and John Hughes's 'Ferris Bueller's Day Off'. Other strong performances come from John C McGinley(Point Break, Se7en)- and an Oliver Stone regular - Kevin Dillon (The Doors) and Forest Whitaker.

Moreover, the battle scenes are skillfully executed although some critics downed the film for its graphic portrayal of violence --- but Stone was trying to depict the realities of the war and the hard decisions those in charge had to face when confronted with guerrilla warfare.

This special edition is particularly good value, for the extras are plentiful and informative. Well worth the money!

Matt Lee-Williams.

In PLATOON, Oliver Stone draws on his experience as an infantryman in Vietnam to convey the brutality of guerrilla warfare: the heat of the jungle, the brushes with such wildlife as snakes and leeches, and, most powerfully, the presence of the unseen enemy. Charlie Sheen stars as Chris, a raw recruit, or "new meat," who serves as the film's narrator. At first he wilts under the rigorous conditions of jungle life, freezes up in a fire fight, and wonders whether he'll be able to survive. But he gradually adapts and, as time goes by, begins to see that the platoon is divided into two groups. One consists of lifers, juicers, and subintelligent whites, the other of blacks and heads. Sgt. Barnes, a combat-loving burnout (Tom Berenger), is the informal leader of the lifers, and Sgt. Elias, a free spirit (Willem Dafoe), leads the latter group. When the platoon takes some gruesome losses, an enraged Barnes kills some Vietnamese and orders the burning of their village, outraging the temporarily absent Elias. As the conflict between these two reaches its tragic climax, Chris must decide what he really values. Widely regarded as one of the finest war films ever made, PLATOON reflects not only the United States' division over Vietnam but the timeless truths of battle: terror, disorientation, exhilaration, and horrible loss.

Platoon is an Academy Award winning 1986 Vietnam War film written and directed by Oliver Stone and starring Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe, Forest Whitaker, Kevin Dillon, Keith David, John C. McGinley and Johnny Depp and Andrew Lawrence and Scott Seeho. The story is drawn from Stone's experiences as a US Infantryman in Vietnam and was written by him upon his return as a counter to the vision of the war portrayed in John Wayne's The Green Berets.[citation needed] The film won the Academy Award for Best Picture of 1986. In 2007, The American Film Institute placed Platoon at #86 in their 100 Years...100 Movies poll. Channel 4 voted Platoon as the 6th greatest war film ever made, behind Full Metal Jacket and in front of A Bridge Too Far.

Class film watch it!

i bought this dvd for a xmas present for my husband. we both have watched the film several times and have enjoyed the film very much. It is full of action from start to finish and has a very good storyline