Platoon

Rating:
Summary: INNACURATE, SLANDERING, OVERRATED,
Review: The fact that "Platoon" could be treated as Godspell regarding the Vietnam War is a sad commentary on the reading habits,single mindedness and stubborn resistance to evaluate and re-evaluate history.

So many GOOD books offered here in Amazon!Rather than read what the new understanding of the Vietnam experience is -in particular related to the US servicepersons - we choose to obtain knowledge from a film that uses the power of image,sound and dramatic manipulation to present a distorted view of the Vietnam War hoping to advance a political viewpoint.
No serious Vietnam War/Military History/US History scholar considers "Platoon" as "Vietnam as it really was".For example, Stephen Ambrose refute the idea put forward by movies and some books like "Platoon" of the dope smoking, baby killing green machine.In fact as time passes,more facts come to light and political axes stop being grinded, it is predicted that a new more accurate portrayal of the Vietnam War fighting man will emerge in movies.

Robert Hemphill in his book " Platoon: Bravo Company " dispels all the lies and exagerations in Oliver Stone's portrayal" Platoon".Hemphill was none other than the company commander of the unit shown in Stone's movie.The 25th Infantry Division's veterans of the Tropic Lightning Association including those who served under Hemphill have disavowed that movie.

Granted....special effects and the technical advisement of Dale Dye(Saving Private Ryan,Band of Brothers and many more)made this movie very realistic in the way combat was depicted and actors were made to look as if they were humping the boonies.Thats it.

Thanks to Amazon's offers of books by Harry G. Summers( "Vietnam War Almanac" and " Historical Atlas of the Vietnam War"),Eric Bergerud( "Red Thunder,Tropic Lightning: The World of a Combat Division in Vietnam-the 25th Inf.Div precisely)and B.G.Burkett ("Stolen Valor: How the Vietnam Generation was Robbed of its heroes and history")I learned this:

Atrocities were a matter of official policy by the Hanoi goverment following the doctrines of Lenin,Mao and Ho himself regarding the way to raise to power and holding to it.Counter revolutionaries,reactionaries,puppets of the Yankee imperialism,exploiters were the label used for victims of Communist "people's justice".No Uniform Code of Military Justice to break,no court martials or boards of inquiry to face.

Drugs? Vietnam was the command with less drug rate until 1969-1970 when it began to raise.The drug problem started during the withdrawal phase from 1969 to 1971-72 but only as a reflection of an Armed Forces wide problem-not confined to South Vietnam- which was in turn due to what was happening in society as a whole.About 90% of all of those who ever served in S.E Asia have come and go before that.Total % of users were in the 10 to 12 %.Defeat by the north Vietnamese? No major campaign was lost in the war.No Bataan,no early phase of the Battle of the Bulge.What happened between March 1973 and April 1975 did not included US servicemen,except during the evacuation of Saigon and the Mayaguez incident.

I learned a LOT from these and other books.People,try to learn something new,too!The best way to honor those who faced Communist totalitarism in the jungles of S.E. Asia is to get the facts.In times like these we are living through, Freedom loving people worldwide can not afford to dishonor those who fought so you won't.

Rating:
Summary: The best vietnam movie ever made.
Review: Oliver Stones harrowing and convincingly brutal Vietnam war film won best picture for it's startling reality.But this film is not just about another man that has never been there Oliver Stone has and it makes this powerful film an intimate
vison of how it really was , in an insane place the only sain
morality is to keep your innocence , for newly recruited and sent Chris Taylor he thought he would voulenteer for Nam , to get a eyewitness of what it was like , but what he thought would be an itresting trip would turn into a nightmare into a world of darkness , death and pure insanity into another place
where the face of war can blind and cripple a soldier and turn
him into a souless killing machine with no morality from right
and wrong no ability to care.Chris is played by Charlie Sheen
and we see the war in his eyes we see his platoon at war with the viet cong and tragically at war within themselves ans each
other.His two commanding officers Elias and Barnes played by Willan Defoe who won best supporting actor and Tom Berringer.
Alias who has lost faith in the war but not in his men or morality , Barnes who the war has gotten to him so much that he is an unfeeling souless monster he is the perfect example
of the tragedy of Vietnam for Stone to do this is brillant and real.The most shocking scene in Platoon is when they are
told to infeltrate a vietnamese camp and the real tragedy of
platoon is shown , when all sense of humanity is lost when crimes are commited against it and these are the very men who
shold be fighting the viet cong not each other.Elias , Barnes
are commited to an showdown of inasnity and the face of hell
is revealed in their eyes.Platoon could be the Saving Private
Ryan of Vietnam the soldiers did not have to worry about the how hellish it was to be there or the viet cong they made a place in which they could have there own private hell whithin
themseles which was a much worse and horrific place to be then
Vietnam in this real and tragic depiction about war and it's affect on the soldiers that serve in it.
Brillant script and story great options on the DVD provide
a film from a director who needed to tell his story and who did
in an sometimes brutal and intimate way for Vietnam nothing gets
better then Platoon for strikingly real drama about a war that may not have been understood but must not be forgotten this film
and The Wall are perfect memorials to the men who served in this
dark and blinding war , for the one thing that was blinding was to keep your sanity this film is a true classic war film.

Rating:
Summary: incrediable!
Review: "Platoon" definately stands out as one of the most beautiful and finest war movies ever made. While not exactly having a plot, Stone paints a vivid picture of the horrors of war. it's basicly about Chris (Charlie Sheen), a colledge dropout who decides to volunteer to go off and fight in Vietnam. He quickly learns that war is no game; it's a living hell. there are two sergeants fighting over command of Chris's platoon, and he is influenced by both. Willem Dafoe (in his best screen performance) portrays Sgt. Elias, a skilled veteran who no longer believes in the war, but continues to do so. Tom Berenger (in a perfect role), is the psychotic Sgt. Barnes, whose facial scars are a mirror for his life and personality. As the tension between the two sergeants rises, the platoon is torn apart when a simple battle has tragic consequences. i will not tell you what happens, but i will tell you this: as Elias runs across the field, the enemy in hot pursuit, he throws up his arms, as to ask "why?". perhaps this is the point of the film. why were we in Vietnam? Chris is transformed from a soft-spoken colledge boy into a bloodthirsty killing-machine. this may be the best film about Vietnam ever, but it's hard to tell. the enemy, however, is the strange part. you never clearly see them; they are just distant figures, fighting for a cause that the Americans really can never understand.

Rating:
Summary: Vietnam al rojo vivo!!!!
Review: Esta pelicula muestra el verdadero significado de la guerra, la sin razon!!, desvela el manto de heroismo y misticismo que siempre a tenido.

Rating:
Summary: up front!
Review: On the shelf where I keep my dvds this one's up front, right in the middle so everyone (especially me) can see it, when looking at it. This wandering, curious look, seeking the treasure of familiarity is always joined at once with a soft feeling of proud, when my eyes finally meet the back of the dvd's keep case. I am proud to own this movie and I respect it as the movie does respect Vietnam, with all its horrors and cruelties. Watching this movie is like reading "Why We Are in Vietnam" by Stephen King, a novel by Tim O'Brian or the final chapters of Alex Garland's "The Beach", where his main character is confronted with savage war memories. And that's what this film is - a savage memory, a silent monument where the stone faces of the soldiers suddenly are alive with pain and terror, with sadness and anger.

"Platoon" is a very sinister view of the true heart of darkness soldiers had to confront in Vietnam. This movie gives no answers, which is good, but all the questions, which is even better. "Why we were in Vietnam" is a question you can see written across the faces of Charlie Sheen and Willem Dafoe, who desperately try to savor a certain amount of humanity in a terrible reflection of hell where humanity has been lost and death is moral, while moral is death as well, cruelity is virtue and virtue is cruelity.

And the first casualty of war is innocence.

Rating:
Summary: An All Time Great
Review: For anyone who is interested in war movies this is by far one of the best ever created. Savage and frighteningly real images of war.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful DVD
Review: This Special Edition Platoon DVD is fantastic not only because it brings this excellent story to the screen with crystal clear picture and sound, but because of the "special feature" documentary also found on the DVD. The Platoon Documentary showcases interviews with the satrs of the picture, and also Oliver Stone...a fantastic addition, and a filmmaker's and film student's best friend! The DVD also features Oliver Stone's Audio Commentary throughout the movie among other features. We get to see and hear this brilliant filmmaker (Stone) talk about his movie! Invaluable. All of these special features would be meaningless of course, if the movie itself wasn't so fantastic! Highly Recommended DVD.

Rating:
Summary: Sad, Brilliant War Film
Review: Oliver Stone's legendary picture Platoon has lost little impact over the years. While some war films date themselves in a matter of years, Platoon is still a gritty, sad, and amazing piece of filming. The story is about a young American man named Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen, in a good role) who volunteers to fight in the Vietnam war. Through his eyes we see the savagery and horror of that war: needless killings, villages burning, and Chris' terrifying transformation from an innocent, quiet man into a brazen, bloodthirsty soldier. His enemy might be the Viet Cong on the outside, but inside he is battling the squad leader, Sgt. Barnes (Tom Berenger, in an incredible performance), a hard-core, nearly psychotic killing machine. He is opposed by Sgt. Elias (Willem Dafoe, outstanding), the hippie anti-war voice. Elias once wanted to fight, but his mind has changed. In the middle is the entire platoon, taking sides, with a civil war brewing inside the unit. Chris' struggle escalates when Barnes shoots Elias and tells Chris the VC shot him, but he sees Elias, nearly dead, running across a field. Before he dies, he throws his arms up, which is the picture on the cover. A heartbreaking study in the madness of war, it stands with Apocalypse Now as the greatest anti-war movies, and ranks with All Quiet on the Western Front as the most powerful anti-war productions ever.

Rating:
Summary: The Most Accurate Retelling Of Vietnam
Review: Platoon brings Vietnam too life. Oliver Stone really knew what he was talking about. He was there!! Tom Berenger and Willam Dafoe have the most unforgettable roles of the carrer in this film. Platoon sends a powerful message about teamwork and the struggle in Vietnam, where inoccent civilians were murdered, young men's incconce were lost, and valor was lost. But, it is gets borring in some parts and picks up after that. The sound was excellent and brought Vietnam to life. Not for weak stomached though. Some scenes get extremlly grusome. I suggest anyone who was there, likes Vietnam movies, or just plain likes war movies sees this.

Rating:
Summary: It ain't no "Full Metal Jacket," but....
Review: This is still a great, great movie. If you haven't seen this movie and you are any kind of war movie fan, what's wrong with you? Plenty of disturbing, emotional, action-packed, and gripping storytelling here. A can't miss.