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Writer's pictureRonny Duncan Studios

Full Metal Jacket (1987)

Updated: Oct 15, 2022


Plot Summary: Stanley Kubrick's take on the Vietnam War follows smart-aleck Private Davis (Matthew Modine), quickly christened "Joker" by his foul-mouthed drill sergeant (R. Lee Ermey), and pudgy Private Lawrence (Vincent D'Onofrio), nicknamed "Gomer Pyle," as they endure the rigors of basic training. Though Pyle takes a frightening detour, Joker graduates to the Marine Corps and is sent to Vietnam as a journalist, covering -- and eventually participating in -- the bloody Battle of Hué.


*Recognition: Nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay (1988)


What is this movie is about?: An authentic look at the experience of soldiers in a meaningless war where the only way to win is to survive.


Best Performance: R. Lee Ermey/Vincent D'Onofrio

Best Minor Perform: Vincent D'Onofrio/Arliss Howard

Most Charismatic Award: R. Lee Ermey

Best Scene: Full Metal Jacket

Favorite Scene: Hartman's introduction/Stars and Stripes-Tet Offensive

Most Indelible Moment: Hartman's introduction/Full Metal Jacket


Best Line:

Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: Tonight, you men will sleep with your rifles. You will give your rifle a girl's name because this is the only pussy you people are going to get. Your days of finger-banging ol' Mary J. Rottencrotch through her pertty pink panties are over! You're married to this piece. This weapon of iron and wood. And you will be faithful.


Honorable Mention:

Private Joker: The dead know only one thing: it is better to be alive.


Funniest Line:

Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: How tall are you, private?

Private Cowboy: Sir, five-foot-nine, sir.

Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: Five-foot-nine, I didn't know they stacked shit that high.


Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: Holy dog shit. Texas? Only steers and queers come from Texas, Private Cowboy. And you don't look much like a steer to me so that kinda narrows it down. Do you suck dicks?


The Stanley Rubric:

Legacy: 7

Impact/Significance: 5.75

Novelty: 8

Classic-ness: 7.5

Rewatchability: 3

Audience Score: 9.4

Total: 40.65


Remaining Questions:

  • How did Pyle get the rifle and magazine of full metal jacket rounds into the bathroom?

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