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thedrifter
11-09-07, 06:42 AM
Building a DVD Library: 'Full Metal Jacket' (Deluxe Edition)
Friday, November 09, 2007
The Oregonian

Key players: Matthew Modine, R. Lee Ermey, Vincent D'Onofrio; director/co-writer Stanley Kubrick

The film: Here's a great way to celebrate the U.S. Marine Corps' birthday (Nov. 10, 1775). With "Sands of Iwo Jima" (1949), the films deal with the making of Marines by tough combat vet sergeants. Only here, the tough sergeant is real Vietnam combat vet Ermey.

Kubrick, with novelist Gus Hasford and correspondent vet Michael Herr, shows how "boots" are made into Marines at Parris Island and how combat finishes the job.

Why this DVD matters: This new DVD of the 1987 film has new features discussing how Kubrick made his version of "Apocalypse Now," a film set in Vietnam but not about Vietnam. Instead, it shows how young men are ground into warriors -- a necessary evil and necessary virtue. Commentaries show how the film is even more philosophical and cold-blooded than it seems on first viewing.

Essential features: A making-of feature is excellent -- informative and analytical. Voice-over track by D'Onofrio, Ermey, Adam Baldwin and critic Jay Cocks shows how Kubrick was exhaustingly meticulous yet open to ideas from his cast. They detail subtleties that are otherwise invisible and significantly enhance our appreciation of a difficult, great film. So far, this excellent DVD is available only in the five-film Kubrick set (Warner, $79.9 released Oct. 23, or on HD DVD or Blu-ray. (Warner, $28.99)

-- Ted Mahar

Ellie