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 When
Oliver Stone's Platoon debuted in 1986, it began a wave of Vietnam
films devoted to "remembering" that particular war, some with honor,
some with regret. But of the myriad of films that took that epic
battle as their subject, two stood out above the rest: Stone's self-proclaimed
attempt to show the war "as it really happened," and Stanley Kubrick's
surrealistic vision of the nightmare that was Vietnam, Full Metal
Jacket.
The film opens with a bang. As the credits roll, new recruits are
being shaved in preparation for basic while "Goodbye My Love and
Hello Vietnam" plays in the background. As the music ends, a pile
of hair is quickly replaced by R. Lee Ermey as the drill instructor,
delivering one of the funniest monologues in recent memory. He spills
bile and abuse on each of the recruits, reminding them of their
lowly station as "grunts," for almost fifteen minutes. Ermey really
shines here, doing so well that he would go on to play a drill instructor
in at least three other films. As the training continues, we soon
latch on to Private Joker, played with a cynical innocence by Matthew
Modine. He quickly becomes our guide throughout the film, occasionally
addressing the viewer through editorial voice-overs which change
to reflect the changes his character undergoes with each new experience.
The second part of the film, beginning roughly forty minutes into
the movie, details many of the day to day activities of soldiers
in Vietnam. Joker has become a "killing machine," and he continues
to chronicle the life of a soldier once he is sent overseas. This
middle section is the weakest part of the film, tending to meander
from one experience to the next with the viewer's only real tie
being Joker. The third section, consisting of the last 40 minutes,
focuses on Joker and his squad as they attempt to take out a sniper
holed up in a ravaged and deserted city.
Where Stone went looking for reality, Kubrick goes for surrealism.
Kubrick and cinematographer Douglas Milsome have given each and
every scene a distinct look through a variety of angles, colors
and lighting. From the cool blues of some of the more disturbing
basic training scenes to the bright reds of the confrontation with
the sniper, the movie constantly infuses each and every situation
with its own unspoken commentary on the proceedings. The final image
of marching troops silhouetted against a burning village is, like
the rest of the film, haunting and unforgettable.
 Video:
How Does The Disc Look?
One of the most recent of Kubrick's films in the collection, 1987's
Full Metal Jacket was one of the better looking discs in the original
set. That's not to say that it was acceptable, just a bit better
than some of the others. This newly remastered release again presents
the film in the camera negative aspect ratio of 1.33:1 instead of
the theatrical dimensions of 1.85:1. Interestingly, The Shining
is the only disc in the new collection that stipulates 1.33:1 is
the ratio "intended by Stanley Kubrick." So does that
mean that Full Metal Jacket is in 1.33 as not intended by
Stanley Kubrick? To be honest, I'm sick to death of discussing aspect
ratios, Kubrick's intent, misinformation, etc, etc, etc., and these
discs are still weeks away from being released! I'll just give you
the facts as I see them and save the debate for the forums. I will
say this, though: Warner, if intent on sticking with the 1.33 ratios
allegedly stipulated by Kubrick, should have maybe included a subtitle
option, providing black mattes to appropriately replicate the theatrical
measurements? But maybe that's probably planned for The Kubrick
Collection V.3? (Editor: Check out an interview
with restoration supervisor Leon Vitali for more on the Kubrick
remasters and the how and why behind the decision-making process.)
As it is, this new digital transfer does provide noticeable improvements
over the previous DVD in clarity, color and stability. The overall
palette appears subdued, serving the film quite well and providing
a dreamy quality that seems to support Kubrick's visual obsession
with the surreal. Fleshtones appear natural, although a bit pale,
though I certainly prefer this to the alternative and overpumping
the colors to compensate. Some fine film grain is still visible
but isn't exaggerated by overenhancement like the older release
was. Detail is generally sharp with increased depth to the image.
Luckily, edge enhancement is minimal, and compression pixel break
up is also not an issue. This isn't a reference-quality image, at
least compared to more recent films, but it is probably reference-quality
for Full Metal Jacket. (For a closer look at some screenshots, click
here.)
 Audio:
How Does The Disc Sound?
Full Metal Jacket's new 5.1 Dolby surround remix is a bit better
than I was expecting. While the track is still by and large mono,
the new track opens up the front soundfield a bit more. Outdoor
scenes now sound like they're outdoors, with subtle use of the surrounds
to reinforce the front channels. Directionality is pretty good,
although the track lacks effective imaging as sounds appeared to
hit individual speakers very succinctly rather than smoothly panning
around the soundstage. Surrounds get most of their workout from
the music, but a few effective sound cues also find their way to
the back of the room. Dialog still sounds edgy and limited in several
spots, but I don't think you're going to hear it better than here.
The .1 LFE is also somewhat active, but without true low end that
would have been appropriate for several scenes. In all, I think
the remix effort is commendable and doesn't suffer from the overly
gimmicky sound characteristics that many remixes often carry with
them.
A French 5.1 track is also included with English, French, Spanish
and Portuguese subtitles. Closed Captioning is available in English.
What's missing here is the original theatrical mono track. Once
again, Warner's policy of only including one or the other is shortsighted
and (in my opinion) contradicting. They couldn't do new anamorphic
widescreen transfers for many of the films, yet 5.1 remixes were
all OK'd by the man before he died? This is a criticism of not only
Warner, but everyone involved with these releases. A simple mono
track, at only 192kbps, is not that hard to include...
 Supplements:
What Goodies Are There?
The film's theatrical trailer is the only extra included,
and is presented in full frame and 2.0 mono.
Parting Thoughts
If you bought Full Metal Jacket on DVD the last time, I sympathize.
You were saddled with a rushed product that seemed to exist solely
to capitalize on the death of Stanley Kubrick. Two years later Warner
has certainly improved upon the original release, but I still don't
think they've gotten it completely right. A few more sets and they
should have this thing down pat. Until then, this release should
serve as the premiere way to experience the best war movie Stanley
Kubrick directed during the 80s.
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