Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Swedish
Released:
18/09/2000
Brief synopsis of Platoon
In PLATOON, Oliver Stone uses his experience as an infantryman in Vietnam to convey the immediacy of guerrilla warfare: the brutal 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 firefight, 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 while on an o.p., an enraged Barnes kills some Vietnamese who may or may not have been VC and orders the burning of their village, outraging the temporarily absent Elias. As the conflict between these two reaches its tragic denouncement, Chris must decide what he really values. Widely regarded as one of the finest war films ever made, PLATOON reflects not only the nation's division over Vietnam but it intimately conveys timeless verities of battle: terror, disorientation, exhilaration, and horrible loss.
It took ten years for Oliver Stone to get his script made, but when this Vietnam War drama finally reached the screen it became a box-office smash and won four Oscars. Stone has the edge over Michael Cimino, Francis Ford Coppola and Stanley Kubrick, all of whom made major Vietnam movies, in that he was actually there as a volunteer who fought for patriotic reasons and got wounded before becoming disillusioned. From the scary opening when the new arrivals are greeted by the sight of body bags bound for home, the movie is an authentically messy tour of duty through the paddy fields where two Americans (Willem Dafoe and Tom Berenger) are at war with each other and fight for the soul of rookie Charlie Sheen. This is a modern classic and a personal exorcism for its director, who went on to complete a trilogy of Vietnam movies with Born on the Fourth of July and Heaven and Earth.
New York Times
"Nothing that Oliver Stone has done before...is preparation for the singular achievement of his latest film, PLATOON....A major piece of work, as full of pasion as it is of redeeming, scary irony..."
Variety
"...Intense....Very effective scenes....An impressive-looking production in all respects..."
Radio Times
