Stanley Kubrick, knew he wasn't going to win the war of Best Movie in the theater of war time epics, but we all remember this very picture,...why? (That is the question!)
How can you compare Platoon to Full Metal Jacket? And how can you not feel the first half of the movie as original and fascinating? Platoon was a decent movie, this was a classic. You can't just say he missed this one. If you have no perception of the good qualities of this movie, you have no business being a movie critic. It reminds me of someone trying to muddle through being a musician with academics when they have no ear and no feel for rhythm. Ebert sucks.
Siskel got the movie. Ebert totally misses the layers of subtext working in FMJ, especially the sniper scene. The point was to show how impotent the marines were in the face of an enemy they could neither see nor understand. Their entire training up to that point taught them to be desensitized killing machines. A single sniper turns them into frightened children. The only response was to rush into possible death without abandon. It painted a picture so visceral and at the heart of what war is.
@ramonalejandrosuare I think the sniper is a perfect simile of the entire vietnam war.Lost,no strategy(like the u.s policy itself),nothing is gained but young men dying needlessly.It shows it meant nothing,because vietnam meant nothing.
@salahudeenabduladl Yeah, thats the general consensus about the movie. But the second half (like you said) has more elements to study. That is where the atmosphere really comes into play. I think Ebert didn't pick up on what it was about.
@StanleyKu 1. I think that the beginning of the film, with R. Lee Ermey as the Drill Sergeant, was so electrifying that, prima facie, the rest of the film was a major down shift in gears. However, upon further reflection and analysis, the scenes subsequent to the boot camp were more subtle and therefore a bit harder to follow and appreciate.
2. Yet I do not believe that there is incongruity between the boot camp scenes and the latter ones. Viewing FMJ is a bit like trying to eat something sweet after having first eaten something very pungent. It's then difficult to experience the full tastiness of the sweet item due to the lingering flavor of the pungent item on your palate.
FMJ is far better than Platoon! Can anyone remember a platoon quote? FMJ is one of the most quoted movies ever. This video shows that fatass ebert is completely oblivious of what makes a great movie. GET SOME!
Sorry...Kubrick is the best director ever, but Platoon is the best war movie ever, then The Thin Red Line, Then Full Metal Jacket. I love this movie though. Full Metal Jacket is a 8.5 out of 10 in my book
I wish people weren't mean just because they don't agree with what Ebert says. At the end of the day, whether you liked it or hated it, they're just movies. They shouldn't induce these personal attacks that are cruel and unfunny. I would like to see this movie myself now to decide if I agree or not.
1st half is one of the best movies ever. 2nd half is just alright. The problem with Full Metal Jacket is that the two best characters are killed halfway through the film. Private Joker is kind of weak and uninteresting.
@flemishguy They might be the best characters,but that doesn't mean that animal mother,rafterman,cowboy and joker are not interesting.The vietnam part is still far more interesting than all of the other nam flicks that start and end in vietnam.Whether that's apocalypse now,platoon,hamburger hill,casualties of war etc.Kubrick doesn't pick sides,doesn't provide a moral,doesn't have cliched hero deaths,cheesy scores,no good or bad guys.It's indifference is what makes it so powerful.
Personally, I do agree with Ebert on the too little, too late aspect of his opinion. Before 1987, everyone was throwing their hats in the ring for a movie about the Vietnam War. But here it is 2012 and I think it's definitely assimilated well in the collage of Vietnam War movies. It's a terrific movie that only gets better with age from the greatest director of all time, Stanley Kubrick.
@Trekiefreak777 Not really,because spielberg just used the same visual techniques and compositions kubrick had already used in Full Metal Jacket.Tracking shots,p.o.v shots,steadicam even the color was the same,spielberg admitted this.
@Trekiefreak777 No way. There isn't a scene in Full Metal Jacket that's unrealistic. But the whole last third of Saving Private Ryan was terribly unrealistic. They defend against some Nazi attack where an SS division just drives into a town without sweeping the area first with reconnaissance infantry, which makes no sense. Then the American air-force swoops in and miraculously kills all the Nazis at the perfect time.
@Trekiefreak777 The major flaw with Saving Private Ryan however, is that it never bothers humanizing the Germans. It's well directed, but the sniper bit from Full Metal Jacket carries much suspense and emotional weight than the entire Saving Private Ryan.
Ebert has no taste in movies at all. How can he say this movie is "not bad"? This film is almost just as good as Platoon and one of Kubrick's best works.
I agree with what they said, I loved the first halve; but when they actually got to Vietnam it lost me. Not a bad film, but in my opinion an overrated one.
Its odd for me to see that they didn't discuss anything about the careful framing of this movie (which is the signature trademark for most of Kubrick's films). the film is a diptych mirroring the scenes from the two parts: The boot camp part and the Vietnam part.
I love Platoon and FMJ, as a young teenager I remember being slightly seduced by Stone. Platoon is a gorgeous film, I remember my friends and I being drawn to the lifestyle, at the time it contributed to a vague plan to join the military despite the obvious horror of war shown. With FMJ I was gripped, but the cold reality was more obvious, definitely the one I watched over and over. The idea of a sniper left to hold up the advance and die trying was a milestone. Who is this Ebert guy anyway?!
I agree more with Ebert here and I usually agree with him a bit more than gene Siskel, who also has great taste. I think the First part is a Masterpiece, the second part is a major disappointment. I would give this movie a B-.
Has anyone even read ebert's review of this film?It truly is embarrassing.The funniest part in his review shows how utterly clueless he is.In the surfin bird scene ebert called it ''So contrived,the idea of actual battle is lost completely''.LMAO! That's right,he actually said that.Here's a scene anyone over the age of reason can see as an obvious parody,yet ebert takes seriously.The guy is an absolute joke.
It took me many views on this film for me to like it as a whole . The first half pretty much was the whole film ...The second half was about looking back and then looking forward ..What was gained and lost along the way ...In the end we learn the irony of what it means to be a "war hero " ... and the trivial amount of pressure put on these young men to serve their country ..It was the kubrick view on war , pessimistic , cruel , and dehumanizing . Both halfs fit the whole story .
It seems ebert had an agenda,like he was trying to be different.None of his arguements make sense.It looks like WWll films,because it dealt with urban combat.And the push cliche?The perspective is first the sniper seeing cowboy through the hole,then what the sniper sees through the sights.This film is kubrick reinventing the satire.Instead of a continual slapstick farce like strangelove,it manipulates the audience into thinking its a conventional war drama,then the sarcasm returns.Very original
@BoondocksOfBoston I agree, FMJ was way better. Ebert complains about it being cliche! What the hell was Platoon if not a Cliche: choppers and jungles and killing peasants!
I saw Platoon once, and never again...I bought FMJ on DVD and have seen it over and over and over!!!
@brainsick213 If anything,it's kubrick's indifference which allowed him to make the much more powerful film.Stone romanticized his experience by stringing together every war cliche,without the slightest bit of tongue and cheek.
This is a film of two halfs: the first half might be the best 45 minutes of any film in history. The second half is an above-average war film. I can't believe Ebert glossed over Private Pyle like that, he's the central character in the boot camp scenes.
@Zooroonies I dont always agree with Ebert, but sometimes he does have a good point. Alot of the time he says things that people dont wanna hear so people will hate on him, I think hes like the other side of the coin, Watch the nostalgia critics tribute to S&E , he basicly says what I think about them. Oh and as for this movie, it was in fact a classic, better than Hamburger Hill IMO.
@maidenjapan66 the funny thing is, they both have different reactions towards movies, in most of the movies they reviewed, they both don't think the same thing about movies
"Platoon" had many more cliches than "FMJ." (That annoying "Adagio for Strings" for instance.) Ebert has always had tunnel vision for certain films -- "Blue Velvet" is another classic example. He was so offended by the way Lynch used Isabella Rosselini that he couldn't view the whole film objectively (he gave it ONE STAR!). Here, Ebert is longing for a Kubrick version of "Platoon," and when he gets something completely different (and better IMO), it's disappointing.
Ebert is a generally good reviewer but he was reactionary here and posterity proved him wrong. It has grown as a masterpiece and it rewards (like all his films) multiple viewings. Siskel is closer but still underrates it. Its similar to thier reviews of Lost Highway by David Lynch - reactionary and without enough thought.
FMJ's boot camp and attention to detail is impeccable. Platoon has more serious and realistic look of what war is like, and I slightly prefer it as a result.
Full Metal Jacket might've been slightly hurt because it followed the mega-award winning Platoon......but Full Metal Jacket had some memorable classic moments. Its worth watching for the boot camp scene alone.
I forgot that Vincent DiNofrio or whatever you spell his name was in this, his performance is superb and you really connect with him the most. He recently was on Law & Order: Criminal Intent as the main star and does great too
I think Ebert is really missing the point of this entire movie. Full Metal Jacket is about the absurdity of war, not necessarily about showing all these epic shots we've never seen before, and I'm sure Kubrick saw a lot of stock footage and documentary footage of Vietnam before making this movie to purposely bring up images people have seen before to bring them in to this insane world that exits behind the battle lines.
If you like Full Metal Jacket, read the 1979 novel it was based on, "The Short Timers" by Gustav Hasford. He also wrote a sequel in 1990, "The Phantom Blooper" that's just as epic. Joker ends up a POW and is kept in a village north of the DMZ. He is initially used by the VC to help them on missions while he tries to figure out an escape. Eventually, he ends up fighting WITH them of his own free will. Go to a website called "Private Jokers Homepage" and read them onlinee for free.
I thought that Full Metal Jacket had a good concept, but the only decent acting in the film came from R. Lee Ermey, which pretty much killed it for me. So many of the actors played their parts in such an awkward, robotic manner, which really spoiled the atmosphere and didn't make the movie believable. It was just plain uncomfortable to watch, to be honest. The boot camp sequence is a timeless classic, though.
@psychoticmortacarn I love Kubrick..but your right this movie is almost 2 movies..The first Half is Fantastic "Classic Boot Camp" scenes are amazing and R. Lee Ermey and Vincent D'Onofrio are really great here..
@DrmrGuy1979 As of 2007, the DI's still got hands on and swore a river, but it is no doubt easier. I just thought it was odd to have just one gunnery sgt run a platoon. Normally it's 4 sgts and a staff sgt. Also much more disguisting than shown in the film (80 guys using 14 urinals in less than a minute...) However, compared to the fleet boot camp really is pretty easy shit. Which is why I get so annoyed when junior Marines talk incessantly about boot camp
I'm a Marine, and even I don't like this movie. Boot camp was nothing like FMJ... I think I grew to hate it how recruits and even fleet Marines won't stop quoting this fucking movie. R Lee Ermy is bad ass though.
Anybody else think this would have been a masterpiece if Kubrick devoted it solely to the marine's training? I thought that was the best part of the movie.
@Augmata To me, it just seems like FMJ is split up into two entirely different plots... The training, and the war. Either one would have been great developed on it's own, but I think the reason why the plot just didn't seem to carry on correctly after the training was due to an early climax with the slaughter scene... Was a sharp change of tone seemingly out of nowhere, then the movie just dove on to a new plot without any absolution.
@antisadism lessee,worked at chicago sun-times, so called movie critic, never directed a movie in his life and we're supposed to take ebert seriously? he wrote the screenplay to one of CRAPPIEST movies of all time" "beyond the valley of the dolls" that out of the way, he was missing the point to this epic. he once wrote that he NEVER tells anyone not to watch a movie. then, later, he wrote "parents, don't take your kids to watch this garbage" - second power rangers movie. he's way wrong here
Its funny how everyone calls Ebert an asshole even though most of these commenters are hating someone with a different opinion. Isnt that also being an asshole? And they try to objectify Ebert's bad opinion with objective reasoning even though deep down its subjective horse shit and you people just have a personal grudge against him. Ebert should just flat out lie to everyone and suck the dicks of the fans of movie he reviews. I mean he gave the movie 2 and a half stars out of four.
@antisadism I could seriously care less what the guy thinks,but his review is laughably bad.Mainly for basic,obvious failed observations.He can't see the satiric element in the surfin bird scene,which is obvious to anyone.He says the film was shot on outdoor sets and stages,when all but two scenes were shot on location.He says it looks like ww2,yet if he simply followed the film,he would know the action takes place during the tet offensive.How can you respect a review that is this incompotent?
@TheGatorfan93 Im not denying that his review is stupid, but its not like he does this shit 95% of the time. His stupid reviews are very rare. People are going completly over the top about Ebert, Im half expecting someone to call him a nazi or something. Regardless of his dumb review, people shouldnt be so damn sensitive and make these ridiculous claims about him.
@antisadism Why is this review "dumb?" Because you don't agree? It is his opinion, and if he thinks the movie isn't a masterpiece, get over it. He can think what he wants.
I showed the film to my brother and he, too, thought the second half felt like a whole different movie. Yet, we both very much liked the film because it feels like a comedy for most of the time, which is exactly how the marines must have thought about it while they were trainig in safe facilities: a glorious war and then...reality hits them with a big machine gun.
Once again, Ebert doesn't get it. If you now speak to most vets, overwhelmingly, they say this film was THE accurate portrayal of what the reality of Viet Nam was, bar NONE. I tend to defer to those who actually lived what Kubrick was putting on screen and, therefore, once again, I sense Ebert is still just a tool w/a huge ego.
This is one of the greatest movies ever. And it was two movies in one. The first part was amazing. But the second part was also strong. How many movies are two movies in one? The only one I can think of is "From Dusk Till Dawn".
Siskel hit it on those nose...Ebert got it wrong, dead wrong. The second half of the film is just as brilliant and acts as a perfect counterpart to the first half of the film. The brutal training, and the brutal war.
@Johnrl21 How?LOL I love how people come onto these videos and just say ''its shit'',then never explain why they think that.You wanna be taken seriously,at least make an arguement.
Roger Ebert is a complete IDIOT. No appreciation for the sublime. No capacity to understand the unwritten messages. No intellectual critque at all. How the hell did this idiot ever become a film critic?! Siskel gets it better...but not completely. They both sound well over the heads intellectually. Ebert should stay to reviewing romantic comedies...
OMG, Ebert is such a pompous asshole. This movie is made by Kubrick, a king of subliminal messages. He didn't see it for any of it's fucking deep themes. What an ignorant dick.
@SHiTJuFro743 Exactly,his review is maybe the most embarrassing of his career,which is saying something.He failed to see the satire in the surfin bird scene,he claimed that the film was built on sets,which it wasn't.He says it looks more like ww2 films,but never noticing,the fighting takes place during the tet offensive.He says the sniper sequence is from ''old republic war films'',never getting the metaphor of the sniper sequence at all.And over and over,etc,the guy's a laughing stock.
@TheGatorfan93 He oughta stick to mocking videogames and claiming they aren't art, it seems to be the only thing he's good at. (not saying I agree, but that he's better at hating than reviewing) Also, would you happen to know where the fuck this guy even came from? Like, who said this guy was going to be King of Movie Reviews?
@SHiTJuFro743 Most of those subliminal messages are nothing. You can find anything in anything if you look hard enough, he is not a dick because he doesn't mindlessly agree with the popular opinion.
@mrserjmalakian If he can't see the obvious satire in the surfin bird scene,then how can his review have any relevence?Has nothing to do with opinion,it has everything to do with not interpreting the obvious.His review has no merit,if it goes over his head,agree?
I entirely agree with you! Roger Ebert is a snobby asshole who picked a major shitbomb called Curly Sue over this incredibly brilliant masterpiece of Stanley Kubrick's.
i like how this shows the urban combat of the Vietnam war not many movies show that . i had always herd a lot about this movie and how great it was and all the action but when it ended i was wtf thats it i was told how good it was for years and it was an ok movie. i dont care for it
@steviebleckley LOL, i had the same '''wtf that's it'' reaction when i watched it for the first time as well.But i have never been held in more suspense watching a film,like when i watched this one.But a first time viewing can give you an abrupt feeling,which makes it harder to access how you truly feel.Kubrick films just get better and better each viewing.
Stanley Kubrick, knew he wasn't going to win the war of Best Movie in the theater of war time epics, but we all remember this very picture,...why? (That is the question!)
SuperRichard2012 10 hours ago
These guys always completely miss the point, how the fuck do they keep their jobs?
ProfessorPabs 6 days ago
Ebert has made a career on blasting good movies. He dislikes this awesome film and then gives a crap film like The Phantom Menace 5 out of 5 stars.
blackbtty123 6 days ago
if they were marines they would understand
BatmanTheMaskedDemon 1 week ago
How can you compare Platoon to Full Metal Jacket? And how can you not feel the first half of the movie as original and fascinating? Platoon was a decent movie, this was a classic. You can't just say he missed this one. If you have no perception of the good qualities of this movie, you have no business being a movie critic. It reminds me of someone trying to muddle through being a musician with academics when they have no ear and no feel for rhythm. Ebert sucks.
mrrusss 1 week ago
This movie scared the shit out of that fat chub, he probably had nightmares about getting hit with bars of soap.........LOL
Dracanon 3 weeks ago
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salahudeenabduladl 3 weeks ago
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salahudeenabduladl 3 weeks ago
This is why ebert lost his mouth. Nothing but shit coming out of it. Best wAr movie Of all time
marvinfla352 3 weeks ago
Siskel got the movie. Ebert totally misses the layers of subtext working in FMJ, especially the sniper scene. The point was to show how impotent the marines were in the face of an enemy they could neither see nor understand. Their entire training up to that point taught them to be desensitized killing machines. A single sniper turns them into frightened children. The only response was to rush into possible death without abandon. It painted a picture so visceral and at the heart of what war is.
ramonalejandrosuare 4 weeks ago 5
@ramonalejandrosuare Have you ever thought of becoming a film critic yourself? VERY INSIGHTFUL ANALYSIS!!!
salahudeenabduladl 3 weeks ago
@ramonalejandrosuare I think the sniper is a perfect simile of the entire vietnam war.Lost,no strategy(like the u.s policy itself),nothing is gained but young men dying needlessly.It shows it meant nothing,because vietnam meant nothing.
MrKUBRICKIAN 2 weeks ago
damn right gene :D
kirbyisme30 4 weeks ago
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I like Ebert but could never understand his review of FMJ!
StanleyKu 1 month ago
This has been flagged as spam show
I like Ebert but could never understand his review of FMJ!
StanleyKu 1 month ago
I like Ebert but could never understand his review of FMJ!
StanleyKu 1 month ago
@StanleyKu I agree!!!
salahudeenabduladl 3 weeks ago
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salahudeenabduladl 3 weeks ago
@salahudeenabduladl Yeah, thats the general consensus about the movie. But the second half (like you said) has more elements to study. That is where the atmosphere really comes into play. I think Ebert didn't pick up on what it was about.
StanleyKu 3 weeks ago
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@StanleyKu 1. I think that the beginning of the film, with R. Lee Ermey as the Drill Sergeant, was so electrifying that, prima facie, the rest of the film was a major down shift in gears. However, upon further reflection and analysis, the scenes subsequent to the boot camp were more subtle and therefore a bit harder to follow and appreciate.
salahudeenabduladl 3 weeks ago
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@StanleyKu
2. Yet I do not believe that there is incongruity between the boot camp scenes and the latter ones. Viewing FMJ is a bit like trying to eat something sweet after having first eaten something very pungent. It's then difficult to experience the full tastiness of the sweet item due to the lingering flavor of the pungent item on your palate.
salahudeenabduladl 3 weeks ago
I bet Ebert regrets this review. Wow, he is so wrong.
antihostile 1 month ago
FMJ is far better than Platoon! Can anyone remember a platoon quote? FMJ is one of the most quoted movies ever. This video shows that fatass ebert is completely oblivious of what makes a great movie. GET SOME!
kokaneegoldbeer 1 month ago
I can't believe that Ebert could find any Kubrick film to be visually uninteresting. I'm with Gene on this one.
localcrew 1 month ago
Sorry...Kubrick is the best director ever, but Platoon is the best war movie ever, then The Thin Red Line, Then Full Metal Jacket. I love this movie though. Full Metal Jacket is a 8.5 out of 10 in my book
3Axy10Est13 1 month ago
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I wish people weren't mean just because they don't agree with what Ebert says. At the end of the day, whether you liked it or hated it, they're just movies. They shouldn't induce these personal attacks that are cruel and unfunny. I would like to see this movie myself now to decide if I agree or not.
oldfool666 1 month ago
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oldfool666 1 month ago
Guys, as you can see, if you badmouth the great Stanley Kubrick, you get cancer...
enchantertim89 1 month ago
@enchantertim89 Siskel died of cancer in 1999. So apparently you also get cancer if you praise him
nikosvault 1 month ago
@nikosvault FFFFFUUUUUUUUU-- Didn't know that 0_0 i'm scared now
enchantertim89 1 month ago
@enchantertim89
Or a braintumor.
qwuezalothus 1 month ago
1st half is one of the best movies ever. 2nd half is just alright. The problem with Full Metal Jacket is that the two best characters are killed halfway through the film. Private Joker is kind of weak and uninteresting.
flemishguy 1 month ago
@flemishguy They might be the best characters,but that doesn't mean that animal mother,rafterman,cowboy and joker are not interesting.The vietnam part is still far more interesting than all of the other nam flicks that start and end in vietnam.Whether that's apocalypse now,platoon,hamburger hill,casualties of war etc.Kubrick doesn't pick sides,doesn't provide a moral,doesn't have cliched hero deaths,cheesy scores,no good or bad guys.It's indifference is what makes it so powerful.
MrKUBRICKIAN 1 month ago
Totally agree with Gene here, it's one of Kubrick's best.
burrowsshreds 1 month ago
platoon shits on this movie..
MostDOPEyaKnow 1 month ago
@MostDOPEyaKnow Platoon IS shit.
MrKUBRICKIAN 1 month ago
Personally, I do agree with Ebert on the too little, too late aspect of his opinion. Before 1987, everyone was throwing their hats in the ring for a movie about the Vietnam War. But here it is 2012 and I think it's definitely assimilated well in the collage of Vietnam War movies. It's a terrific movie that only gets better with age from the greatest director of all time, Stanley Kubrick.
FBImprov 1 month ago
This film sucks. How people call this crap a masterpiece and not Platoon is beyond me.
blinkzone1 1 month ago
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bennyvega100 1 month ago
It is a great war film, but in my honest opinion, it's not as good as Saving Private Ryan, which sheds a more realistic light on combat.
Trekiefreak777 1 month ago
@Trekiefreak777 Not really,because spielberg just used the same visual techniques and compositions kubrick had already used in Full Metal Jacket.Tracking shots,p.o.v shots,steadicam even the color was the same,spielberg admitted this.
NIHILIST53 1 month ago
@Trekiefreak777 No way. There isn't a scene in Full Metal Jacket that's unrealistic. But the whole last third of Saving Private Ryan was terribly unrealistic. They defend against some Nazi attack where an SS division just drives into a town without sweeping the area first with reconnaissance infantry, which makes no sense. Then the American air-force swoops in and miraculously kills all the Nazis at the perfect time.
Rosscifer 1 month ago
@Rosscifer Yes, perfect timing by air-force. Only 80% of the cast is dead and the main charecter is shot to pieces.
nikosvault 3 weeks ago
@Trekiefreak777 The major flaw with Saving Private Ryan however, is that it never bothers humanizing the Germans. It's well directed, but the sniper bit from Full Metal Jacket carries much suspense and emotional weight than the entire Saving Private Ryan.
MiRyRE 1 month ago
Ebert is right once more, FMJ is average at best, and one hour too long. People that worship the movie seem to do it just because Kubrick did it.
ChevalierAguila 1 month ago
@ChevalierAguila Well,you gave me something to think about.Very insightful.
NIHILIST53 1 month ago
Ebert admitted it himself: his opinion was slanted by Platoon, which was released near the same time. In retrospect, FMJ is far superior.
DonGenarosDog 1 month ago
Ebert has no taste in movies at all. How can he say this movie is "not bad"? This film is almost just as good as Platoon and one of Kubrick's best works.
sevensolaris 2 months ago
I agree with what they said, I loved the first halve; but when they actually got to Vietnam it lost me. Not a bad film, but in my opinion an overrated one.
Medafets 2 months ago
I'm with Siskel, this IS a masterpiece and probably one of the funniest movies I've seen (at least in the first part)
moviehypno23 2 months ago
Its odd for me to see that they didn't discuss anything about the careful framing of this movie (which is the signature trademark for most of Kubrick's films). the film is a diptych mirroring the scenes from the two parts: The boot camp part and the Vietnam part.
charlywarlyman 2 months ago
Private Ebert..Do you suck for a living ? Cause u sound like you suck cock for a living
pritishsai 2 months ago
I love Platoon and FMJ, as a young teenager I remember being slightly seduced by Stone. Platoon is a gorgeous film, I remember my friends and I being drawn to the lifestyle, at the time it contributed to a vague plan to join the military despite the obvious horror of war shown. With FMJ I was gripped, but the cold reality was more obvious, definitely the one I watched over and over. The idea of a sniper left to hold up the advance and die trying was a milestone. Who is this Ebert guy anyway?!
twobitsworth 2 months ago
I'm with Siskel all the way!
MyXxx77 2 months ago
IT'S VIETNAM, THE MOVIE!
nonplayerzealot4 2 months ago
too little and too late. i couldnt agree more.
CptForrestGump 2 months ago
@CptForrestGump WOW,so profound...then again your screen name says it all.
NIHILIST53 2 months ago
I agree more with Ebert here and I usually agree with him a bit more than gene Siskel, who also has great taste. I think the First part is a Masterpiece, the second part is a major disappointment. I would give this movie a B-.
Megapolable 2 months ago
Has anyone even read ebert's review of this film?It truly is embarrassing.The funniest part in his review shows how utterly clueless he is.In the surfin bird scene ebert called it ''So contrived,the idea of actual battle is lost completely''.LMAO! That's right,he actually said that.Here's a scene anyone over the age of reason can see as an obvious parody,yet ebert takes seriously.The guy is an absolute joke.
MrKUBRICKIAN 2 months ago
It took me many views on this film for me to like it as a whole . The first half pretty much was the whole film ...The second half was about looking back and then looking forward ..What was gained and lost along the way ...In the end we learn the irony of what it means to be a "war hero " ... and the trivial amount of pressure put on these young men to serve their country ..It was the kubrick view on war , pessimistic , cruel , and dehumanizing . Both halfs fit the whole story .
ruthlessmada 2 months ago
Ebert is right. The first half involving boot camp is great, but once they get to the war scenes it sort of falls apart.
wreckless4485 2 months ago
It seems ebert had an agenda,like he was trying to be different.None of his arguements make sense.It looks like WWll films,because it dealt with urban combat.And the push cliche?The perspective is first the sniper seeing cowboy through the hole,then what the sniper sees through the sights.This film is kubrick reinventing the satire.Instead of a continual slapstick farce like strangelove,it manipulates the audience into thinking its a conventional war drama,then the sarcasm returns.Very original
MrKUBRICKIAN 2 months ago
Platoon was about the soldiers, FMJ was about the bullets.
zapperz2 2 months ago
Ugh... Full Metal Jacket is way better than Platoon.
BoondocksOfBoston 2 months ago 18
@BoondocksOfBoston I agree, FMJ was way better. Ebert complains about it being cliche! What the hell was Platoon if not a Cliche: choppers and jungles and killing peasants!
I saw Platoon once, and never again...I bought FMJ on DVD and have seen it over and over and over!!!
happy543210 2 months ago
@BoondocksOfBoston kubrick may be better dan stone..but when it comes to vietnam..you cant beat a director thats been through it
brainsick213 2 months ago
@brainsick213 If anything,it's kubrick's indifference which allowed him to make the much more powerful film.Stone romanticized his experience by stringing together every war cliche,without the slightest bit of tongue and cheek.
NIHILIST53 2 months ago
@BoondocksOfBoston haha you must be kidding.
blinkzone1 1 month ago
@BoondocksOfBoston FINALLY!!! SOMEONE WHO UNDERSTANDS!!!
Stiny114 1 month ago
Siskel is right on this one. Sorry Rog.
blaporte79 3 months ago
This is a film of two halfs: the first half might be the best 45 minutes of any film in history. The second half is an above-average war film. I can't believe Ebert glossed over Private Pyle like that, he's the central character in the boot camp scenes.
toucansam3 3 months ago
Ebert lost touch long ago.
thedeepakgrover 3 months ago
jeeze lots of hate on Ebert, he does have some good points. Chill out people.
maidenjapan66 3 months ago
@maidenjapan66 ebert has an awful taste in movies. he didnt like full metal jacket. FMJ is a classic!
Zooroonies 3 months ago
@Zooroonies I dont always agree with Ebert, but sometimes he does have a good point. Alot of the time he says things that people dont wanna hear so people will hate on him, I think hes like the other side of the coin, Watch the nostalgia critics tribute to S&E , he basicly says what I think about them. Oh and as for this movie, it was in fact a classic, better than Hamburger Hill IMO.
maidenjapan66 3 months ago
@maidenjapan66 the funny thing is, they both have different reactions towards movies, in most of the movies they reviewed, they both don't think the same thing about movies
Zooroonies 3 months ago
siskel was cooler than ebert
cellardoor199991 3 months ago
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lol its so funny when they argue
Zooroonies 3 months ago
I have always tended to enjoy movies that Ebert said were crap. This is a prime example.
blackbtty123 3 months ago
@blackbtty123 same, i always (not always but mostly) agree with siskel but ebert i never (not always but mostly) agree with him at all
Zooroonies 3 months ago
"Platoon" had many more cliches than "FMJ." (That annoying "Adagio for Strings" for instance.) Ebert has always had tunnel vision for certain films -- "Blue Velvet" is another classic example. He was so offended by the way Lynch used Isabella Rosselini that he couldn't view the whole film objectively (he gave it ONE STAR!). Here, Ebert is longing for a Kubrick version of "Platoon," and when he gets something completely different (and better IMO), it's disappointing.
kaewonf8 3 months ago
Ebert is a generally good reviewer but he was reactionary here and posterity proved him wrong. It has grown as a masterpiece and it rewards (like all his films) multiple viewings. Siskel is closer but still underrates it. Its similar to thier reviews of Lost Highway by David Lynch - reactionary and without enough thought.
jaredneedsalife 3 months ago
FMJ's boot camp and attention to detail is impeccable. Platoon has more serious and realistic look of what war is like, and I slightly prefer it as a result.
charms71 3 months ago
Ebert is an idiot
trexx32 3 months ago
Ebert has always been a hack.
billy67868 3 months ago
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Ebert? Only faggots and sailors are named Ebert. From now on you're Gomer Pyle!
gorzinplatz 3 months ago 12
Is Ebert judging this movie on its own merits or against other Kubrick films?
jakovasaur 3 months ago
who knew the smart guy would die and the fat one would live? Boy was Ebert wrong!
raiderldp 4 months ago
It's funny Ebert mentions John Wayne, because the first battle in Hue is pretty much a satire of a pro-war documentary with John Wayne.
c0p13dn4m3 4 months ago
hahaha
relaxingmusic101 4 months ago
Full Metal Jacket might've been slightly hurt because it followed the mega-award winning Platoon......but Full Metal Jacket had some memorable classic moments. Its worth watching for the boot camp scene alone.
ReeseMac 4 months ago
Wrong Ebert!!
cyrus138 4 months ago
Best Vietnam movie EVER. Can you say WINNING!!!!!!
TheApollo81 4 months ago
I forgot that Vincent DiNofrio or whatever you spell his name was in this, his performance is superb and you really connect with him the most. He recently was on Law & Order: Criminal Intent as the main star and does great too
moviereviews4life 4 months ago
1st half is amazing. 2nd half is mediocre
jojopuppyfish 4 months ago
@jojopuppyfish Agreed. I also thought it was terribly miscast with the underwhelming Matthew Modine in the lead.
KellyGreen5555 4 months ago
the fat guy needs to drown in his own fat
joewas 4 months ago
@joewas You've seriously never heard of Roger Ebert? Are you 10 years old or something?
Corvastus 4 months ago
@Corvastus
im from the uk
joewas 4 months ago
@joewas Oh. Sorry then.
Corvastus 4 months ago 2
Crazy. The best Vietnam film ever. At least one of the top three.
twintone01 4 months ago
I think Ebert is really missing the point of this entire movie. Full Metal Jacket is about the absurdity of war, not necessarily about showing all these epic shots we've never seen before, and I'm sure Kubrick saw a lot of stock footage and documentary footage of Vietnam before making this movie to purposely bring up images people have seen before to bring them in to this insane world that exits behind the battle lines.
Jrock69ford 4 months ago 2
If you like Full Metal Jacket, read the 1979 novel it was based on, "The Short Timers" by Gustav Hasford. He also wrote a sequel in 1990, "The Phantom Blooper" that's just as epic. Joker ends up a POW and is kept in a village north of the DMZ. He is initially used by the VC to help them on missions while he tries to figure out an escape. Eventually, he ends up fighting WITH them of his own free will. Go to a website called "Private Jokers Homepage" and read them onlinee for free.
jacktheripoff1888 4 months ago
Forman!!!
bigworld3001 4 months ago
WHAT IS THIS MICKEY MOUSE SHIT!?!?
devilxhlywood 5 months ago
I thought that Full Metal Jacket had a good concept, but the only decent acting in the film came from R. Lee Ermey, which pretty much killed it for me. So many of the actors played their parts in such an awkward, robotic manner, which really spoiled the atmosphere and didn't make the movie believable. It was just plain uncomfortable to watch, to be honest. The boot camp sequence is a timeless classic, though.
psychoticmortacarn 5 months ago
@psychoticmortacarn I love Kubrick..but your right this movie is almost 2 movies..The first Half is Fantastic "Classic Boot Camp" scenes are amazing and R. Lee Ermey and Vincent D'Onofrio are really great here..
10HAPPYGILMORE 4 months ago
Full Metal Jacket IS A CLASSIC, but the first half of the movie is better than the rest
chasyes1 5 months ago
@DrmrGuy1979 As of 2007, the DI's still got hands on and swore a river, but it is no doubt easier. I just thought it was odd to have just one gunnery sgt run a platoon. Normally it's 4 sgts and a staff sgt. Also much more disguisting than shown in the film (80 guys using 14 urinals in less than a minute...) However, compared to the fleet boot camp really is pretty easy shit. Which is why I get so annoyed when junior Marines talk incessantly about boot camp
MegaGevehr 5 months ago
These guys were at their best when they disagreed.
And I agree with Gene. This film is a masterpiece. But that describes all of Kubrick's work.
Durwood71 5 months ago
who would have guessed Private Pyle would eventually become one of the most annoying television detectives ever
farneyblakeley 5 months ago
@farneyblakeley Hehe he was also the spitting image of a young Orson Welles in Tim Burton's Ed Wood [1994] hehehe
WinstonSmith6079 5 months ago
fuck ebert in the jaw... oh wait.
tvsam 5 months ago
@tvsam You're an idiot that was born yesterday! Go fuck YOURSELF!
WinstonSmith6079 5 months ago
@WinstonSmith6079 AHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAHAHA
tvsam 5 months ago
@tvsam HURHURHURHURHUR :-B ^^^
WinstonSmith6079 5 months ago
R.i.p. Siskel ....ebert sux
415Underdog 5 months ago
kafana sıçıyım spiker. ben bi boktan anlamıyom diye bağırıyosun resmen..
yapayzeka 5 months ago
I wished gene lived to kubrick's final film "eyes wide shut", wonder if he would've thought it was a masterpiece or not?
nativewizard 5 months ago
the first half of this movie kicks ass. the second doesn't.
nilbog44 5 months ago
Why do i always find myself agreeing with siskel 99.9% of the time?
sublimemota 5 months ago
I'm a Marine, and even I don't like this movie. Boot camp was nothing like FMJ... I think I grew to hate it how recruits and even fleet Marines won't stop quoting this fucking movie. R Lee Ermy is bad ass though.
MegaGevehr 5 months ago
Man, Siskel knew his shit.
ajdc88 5 months ago
I don't give a fuck. I just like this movie.
Chillton 5 months ago
how could you not like this film?
BestTits 5 months ago
Anybody else think this would have been a masterpiece if Kubrick devoted it solely to the marine's training? I thought that was the best part of the movie.
Augmata 6 months ago
@Augmata To me, it just seems like FMJ is split up into two entirely different plots... The training, and the war. Either one would have been great developed on it's own, but I think the reason why the plot just didn't seem to carry on correctly after the training was due to an early climax with the slaughter scene... Was a sharp change of tone seemingly out of nowhere, then the movie just dove on to a new plot without any absolution.
nocturne811 5 months ago
Lol this movie is boring. Its just americans who love cause they served their country. Duh stupid people hating the rewiew guy. He is pretty right
Realzi 6 months ago
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antisadism 6 months ago 16
@antisadism Well said!
melissaetheridge1988 4 months ago
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ztztzyzy 4 months ago
@antisadism lessee,worked at chicago sun-times, so called movie critic, never directed a movie in his life and we're supposed to take ebert seriously? he wrote the screenplay to one of CRAPPIEST movies of all time" "beyond the valley of the dolls" that out of the way, he was missing the point to this epic. he once wrote that he NEVER tells anyone not to watch a movie. then, later, he wrote "parents, don't take your kids to watch this garbage" - second power rangers movie. he's way wrong here
ztztzyzy 4 months ago
Its funny how everyone calls Ebert an asshole even though most of these commenters are hating someone with a different opinion. Isnt that also being an asshole? And they try to objectify Ebert's bad opinion with objective reasoning even though deep down its subjective horse shit and you people just have a personal grudge against him. Ebert should just flat out lie to everyone and suck the dicks of the fans of movie he reviews. I mean he gave the movie 2 and a half stars out of four.
antisadism 6 months ago
@antisadism I could seriously care less what the guy thinks,but his review is laughably bad.Mainly for basic,obvious failed observations.He can't see the satiric element in the surfin bird scene,which is obvious to anyone.He says the film was shot on outdoor sets and stages,when all but two scenes were shot on location.He says it looks like ww2,yet if he simply followed the film,he would know the action takes place during the tet offensive.How can you respect a review that is this incompotent?
TheGatorfan93 6 months ago 2
@TheGatorfan93 Im not denying that his review is stupid, but its not like he does this shit 95% of the time. His stupid reviews are very rare. People are going completly over the top about Ebert, Im half expecting someone to call him a nazi or something. Regardless of his dumb review, people shouldnt be so damn sensitive and make these ridiculous claims about him.
antisadism 6 months ago
@antisadism Why is this review "dumb?" Because you don't agree? It is his opinion, and if he thinks the movie isn't a masterpiece, get over it. He can think what he wants.
mrserjmalakian 6 months ago
Wow Ebert was being an asshole
"Wel."
"Later later later"
Jerridic42 6 months ago
I showed the film to my brother and he, too, thought the second half felt like a whole different movie. Yet, we both very much liked the film because it feels like a comedy for most of the time, which is exactly how the marines must have thought about it while they were trainig in safe facilities: a glorious war and then...reality hits them with a big machine gun.
Regenmacher175 6 months ago
Damn Ebert, routine war footage!.... @3:25, Its a friggin WAR MOVIE, what a tool!
katbulooo 6 months ago
Ebert's comments are typical of anyone who's never served his country.
Chuck41148 6 months ago
Ebert is an idiot and this proves it.
MrMichaelMyers99 6 months ago
@MrMichaelMyers99 Yeah because someone has a different opinion, he is an idiot.
antisadism 6 months ago
After watching a lot of Eberts reviews I think he just says stuff to ruin movies for people, he is what happens when idiots get too much money
AdamR702 6 months ago
@AdamR702 Ebert says stuff to ruin movies for people? I guess he also torches orphanages and has a team of evil supervillains in his house too......
antisadism 6 months ago
go siskel
hbhuggins 6 months ago
Once again, Ebert doesn't get it. If you now speak to most vets, overwhelmingly, they say this film was THE accurate portrayal of what the reality of Viet Nam was, bar NONE. I tend to defer to those who actually lived what Kubrick was putting on screen and, therefore, once again, I sense Ebert is still just a tool w/a huge ego.
shegotyagood 6 months ago
This is one of the greatest movies ever. And it was two movies in one. The first part was amazing. But the second part was also strong. How many movies are two movies in one? The only one I can think of is "From Dusk Till Dawn".
Jefgg 6 months ago
I think Roger hates Stanley
AmericanWerewolf55 6 months ago
Platoon is better that Full Metal Jacket??? Oliver Stone makes Hollywood films. Kubrick makes art. Newspaper reviewers are lost children.
theGhoulman 6 months ago
Siskel hit it on those nose...Ebert got it wrong, dead wrong. The second half of the film is just as brilliant and acts as a perfect counterpart to the first half of the film. The brutal training, and the brutal war.
unclejay1973 6 months ago 2
The first half of the movie....fucking epic.....the second half of the movie....fucking shit
Johnrl21 6 months ago
@Johnrl21 How?LOL I love how people come onto these videos and just say ''its shit'',then never explain why they think that.You wanna be taken seriously,at least make an arguement.
TheGatorfan93 6 months ago
Ebert is a good critic but i've come to realise that he doesn't take political and social commentary in films very well
03thutch 6 months ago
What cause it wasn't in a jungle so it wasn't vietnam? Please it's a great movie
scottie81 6 months ago
SISKEL YOU ARE SO VERY RIGHT
glegs69 6 months ago
Apocalypse Now owns all, but Full Metal Jacket is good.
Struckworld 6 months ago
@Struckworld You said it!
TheClam88 6 months ago
Roger Ebert is a complete IDIOT. No appreciation for the sublime. No capacity to understand the unwritten messages. No intellectual critque at all. How the hell did this idiot ever become a film critic?! Siskel gets it better...but not completely. They both sound well over the heads intellectually. Ebert should stay to reviewing romantic comedies...
redjeffery1 7 months ago
EBERT=UGLY
FANS=LOSER NERDS
TheBitchinbabs 7 months ago
OMG, Ebert is such a pompous asshole. This movie is made by Kubrick, a king of subliminal messages. He didn't see it for any of it's fucking deep themes. What an ignorant dick.
SHiTJuFro743 7 months ago
@SHiTJuFro743 Exactly,his review is maybe the most embarrassing of his career,which is saying something.He failed to see the satire in the surfin bird scene,he claimed that the film was built on sets,which it wasn't.He says it looks more like ww2 films,but never noticing,the fighting takes place during the tet offensive.He says the sniper sequence is from ''old republic war films'',never getting the metaphor of the sniper sequence at all.And over and over,etc,the guy's a laughing stock.
TheGatorfan93 7 months ago
@TheGatorfan93 He oughta stick to mocking videogames and claiming they aren't art, it seems to be the only thing he's good at. (not saying I agree, but that he's better at hating than reviewing) Also, would you happen to know where the fuck this guy even came from? Like, who said this guy was going to be King of Movie Reviews?
SHiTJuFro743 7 months ago
@SHiTJuFro743 Who knows where this bozo came from,i think he was some failed screenwriter.
TheGatorfan93 7 months ago
@SHiTJuFro743 Most of those subliminal messages are nothing. You can find anything in anything if you look hard enough, he is not a dick because he doesn't mindlessly agree with the popular opinion.
mrserjmalakian 6 months ago
@mrserjmalakian ...
You're mindlessly agreeing with Ebert.
-_-
You two trolls should get married.
SHiTJuFro743 6 months ago 2
@mrserjmalakian If he can't see the obvious satire in the surfin bird scene,then how can his review have any relevence?Has nothing to do with opinion,it has everything to do with not interpreting the obvious.His review has no merit,if it goes over his head,agree?
TheGatorfan93 6 months ago
I entirely agree with you! Roger Ebert is a snobby asshole who picked a major shitbomb called Curly Sue over this incredibly brilliant masterpiece of Stanley Kubrick's.
What a prick!!
~Dutch
YouCantHoldOnTooLong 1 month ago
i like how this shows the urban combat of the Vietnam war not many movies show that . i had always herd a lot about this movie and how great it was and all the action but when it ended i was wtf thats it i was told how good it was for years and it was an ok movie. i dont care for it
steviebleckley 7 months ago
@steviebleckley LOL, i had the same '''wtf that's it'' reaction when i watched it for the first time as well.But i have never been held in more suspense watching a film,like when i watched this one.But a first time viewing can give you an abrupt feeling,which makes it harder to access how you truly feel.Kubrick films just get better and better each viewing.
TheGatorfan93 7 months ago
@TheGatorfan93 true they do get better. i plan to watch it again it might make more since
steviebleckley 7 months ago