If you live in Nashville and read The Contributor you’ve probably come across my weekly film column, “Moving Pictures.” One of the most interesting things about cinema nowadays is the way our definition of what a movie is has continued to evolve as we’re presented with projects across multiple platforms. It’s also interesting how streaming services often provide something that feels like repertory programming, debuting or re-streaming films with a particular cache at a particular time. Netflix just started streaming Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket just in time to celebrate that film’s 30th birthday. If you’re in Nashville visit your local vendor and pick up a copy of the new issue this week. Here’s a taste…
Full Metal Jacket is one of the most unique war films ever made. Like Kubrick’s Paths of Glory, Full Metal Jacket comes down clearly on the side of soldiers versus incompetent bureaucrats and sadistic military leaders. And while it’s not as completely bonkers as Kubrick’s Cold War masterpiece, Full Metal Jacket shares its more satirical sensibilities with Dr. Strangelove. The tonal break after Full Metal Jacket’s boot camp beginning comes as the film shifts to the actual war in Vietnam. The artificiality in these scenes — it’s shot in a Vietnam-ized English countryside — speaks to both the unreal nature of a chaotic, confusing war, but also to Vietnam as the first prime time television war. One scene featuring a TV crew interviewing the soldiers in Private Joker’s squad is played for absurdity: the actors look straight into the camera responding to questions as if they’ve been given written answers to recite.
If you’re not in Nashville and can’t grab a paper for yourself, please read the full review here. Here’s a cool video illuminating the behind-the-scenes making of Full Metal Jacket…
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