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Platoon (1986) - Full Reaction (Patreon)

Published:
2023-09-04 04:34:02
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2026-06
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Like you all predicted, this was definitely a tough watch, but actually maybe not the worst I've seen. It had some hopeless, helpless feelings but also some goodness left in there too.  It was realistic, pulled you in and never let you go the whole time. 

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[Full Reaction] Platoon (1986)

Comments

Camity

Has Cassie reacted to Tenet on here, for some reason I remember seeing it on the Patreon.

MatthewBrown74m

There a reason when people ask soldiers what it was like in the Vietnam war and they say "we don't talk about that"

Randolph Tirazona

Cassie?!? What's best in life?!? Thee 4 "F's": Family, Friends, Food and Fun!!!

Mike Stevenson

the music in this film is just incredible. Adagio for Strings is legendary.

Barry Justice

Off Topic: Carly Friendly Halloween Halloween is approaching fast and I am hoping that we can give Cassie some Carly friendly options (i.e. Scary Fun Movies?) I would hate to see Carly excluded from the Halloween fun! Please leave any suggestions below.

Joe D. MacGuffinstuff

This was the first movie I ever saw my dad cry watching. He was drafted but stayed stateside, but his brother was there and so were five more of my uncles, and a lot of his friends and classmates, and I only ever talked about it with one of my uncles, a little, and he did say this was the most accurate he'd seen. Oliver Stone served 13 months in Vietnam, 25th Infantry. He's said in interviews that even though it's intended to be a fictional story, a lot of the events, and characters especially, were based on real events and people he either knew or knew of. Ssg Barnes and Sgt Elias, were also based on real NCOs in his unit, although he mentioned that the person Elias was based on was either Native or Mexican American, he didn't know him very well because was in another platoon in his company but he had served with the LRRPs (long range reconnaissance patrols, basically Rangers) before coming to his unit, after Stone finished his tour, he found out that he'd been killed in action.

Barry Justice
>>116743911

I will start things off with my suggestions. Let me know if you think they would be to scary. 1. "The Mummy" 1999 with Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz. 2. "Lake Placid" 1999 with Bill Pullman and Bridget Fonda. Remember "Carly Safe" = "Scary Fun"

Just Plain Bob

Cassie, I’d like to renew my call for you to react to “The World’s Fastest Indian.” As downbeat and depressing as “Platoon” is, that’s how uplifting and inspiring and joyous “The World’s Fastest Indian” is. It’s currently free on YouTube. Here’s the trailer. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=02Yy1vihIKs

Brian McGovern
>>116743911

A bit of fun Halloween, Rocky Horror. 😁 Their reaction will be like Anna Kendricks in Scott Pilgrim"What?"

Brian McGovern

Those who have seen this movie just knew that village scene was going to hit Cassie the hardest. The acts of violence just kept escalating.

Baldielox

Cassie, just so you don't have a complete hatred of this film... All of the guys in the cast got along very well. There are several accomplished musicians (Johnny Depp, Corey Glover and others) who would all get together after the day of filming to party and play music together in the one bar in the hotel they were staying at. The cast had a great sense of comradery and were very invested in the film. The people who were 'killed' during filming would be sent home the same day without being able to say goodbye to anyone, so there was a real feeling of loss among the cast. I feel this is one of the finest war films ever made, simply because of how real it was. Oliver Stone stated in interviews that many of the scenes in the film were taken directly from experiences he had during his tour in Vietnam. (sadly, one of which was the village scene) Both Willem Dafoe (Elias) and Tom Berenger (Barnes) were nominated for Oscars for their perfomance in the film.

Wesley White

As they say, War is Hell! Great reaction Cassie, believe it or not, this was my first time watching this, so I'm glad I was able to experience this with you! Now to be honest, I've seen bits and pieces of this movie before, plus I'm familiar with that iconic image of Willem Dafoe's character when he's on his knees and raising his hands up in the air as he's being shot by the Viet Cong and the choppers flying overhead, that's forever etched! I can't say whether this movie or We Were Soldiers was the more intense, but I guess this one was the more emotional and psychological side of things of the Vietnam War! Seriously, there were so many scenes that made me cringe, especially the village scene, you just want to hate that scum bag Barnes! At least he got his just desserts! Despite the fact this movie portrays the darker side of what war does to a soldiers mind, making them seem like monsters and mindless killing machines, nevertheless, there were in real life a lot of men who fought in Vietnam and were heroes, I read up on the stories of these great men and what they did! For example, and this is my favorite story, Sergeant Roy Benavidez, who fought in the U.S. Army for the Special Forces (Green Berets) in Vietnam! He went into battle, armed with a bowie knife and medical supplies for 6 hours helping to extract his fellow Green Berets, some of whome were friends of his, who were pinned down by heavy gunfire by the NVA (North Vietnamese Army)! Despite getting shot a few times, getting a few cuts from bayonets, getting shrapnel from a grenade in the back, and getting his jaw broken from an enemy rifle buttstock, he survied and saved most of the lives of his fellow Green Berets! He was awared the Medal of Honor by President Ronald Reagan in 1981, he passed away in 1998 at the age of 63! Another soldier of intrigue was Carlos "White Feather" Hathcock, a U.S. Marine sniper who was a legend among his fellow soldiers for getting 93 confirmed kills, though he claims himself to have done 300 to 400 confirmed kills, and was considered one of the best snipers ever, he earned the nickname because he always kept a white feather in his cap when out on a mission to take out an enemy personnel, he's also known for have taken out a Viet Cong sniper codename the Cobra, by shooting through the enemy's rifle scope and through the eye, a feet that has rarely ever occured for a sniper! Carlos Hathcock was honorably discharged from the Marines after he was injured when an anti-tank mine went off on the armored personnel vehicle he and his troops were riding on, he suffered from some burns when carrying out his injured troops from the burning vehicle before the fire could get to the ammo reserves and blow up! For his services and valor he was awared the Silver Star, Purple Heart, and Navy Comendation Medal! After the war, he helped establish the Marine Corps Scout Sniper School in Quantico, VA! However in later years, his health began to decline and was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, he passed away in 1999 at the age of 56! His rifle that he used during the war, along with his Purple Heart and Silver Star, is currently on display at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico, VA! Sorry for this long comment, I just thought I'd share and shed some light by telling you about these brave men who went above and beyond the call of duty for their valor in Vietnam, despite how depressing this movie was, I do hope you found this information interesting and fascinating! Anyway, great reaction as always Cassie, may I suggest a movie a bit more light hearted like Disney's Iron Will LOL, sorry I couldn't help it🤣 BTW, I really liked that red shirt, you looked very pretty in it! Hope this movie hasn't scarred you for life, but you're right, we must never forget what our troops went through and respect them for their sacrifice! I'm glad I could share this first time watching experience with you for Platoon, love and support always, [virtual hug] God bless you, Carly and your family, have a happy Monday and [snaps fingers & winks] stay classy Cassie🥰😁😉😇🙏👍🌹

Patrick Flanagan

Oliver Stone is one of my absolute favorite screenwriters and directors and this movie came along at just the right time I think, the war ended (for America) in 1973 and this came out in 1986, it was still well within living memory but people had time to get some perspective on what had happened. What PLATOON really drives home is the absolute senselessness of it all - besides saving their fellow soldiers, the platoon's actions feel totally pointless, accomplishing nothing except getting a lot of people killed. The Vietnam War might have started out with good intentions by some but it ended up corrupting and wounding a whole generation, from the politicians and generals all the way down to the men in the jungle doing the fighting. At least two million Vietnamese, north and south, were killed, along with hundreds of thousands in neighboring countries Laos and Cambodia when the war spilled over there. (In fact in our efforts to bomb the Vietnamese communists in Cambodia into oblivion we ended up totally destablizing that country which led to the takeover of the Khmer Rouge, a racist genocidal movement which killed one-third of all Cambodians in just a few years.) 58,000 Americans came home in coffins, a third of a million more were wounded in body or mind. And it was all for nothing. The North Vietnamese communists overran South Vietnam two years after we left, and within a few decades we had normalized relations with them because American businesses wanted access to Vietnamese labor and Vietnamese markets. All the scare talk that losing in Vietnam would lead to a chain reaction of communist revolutions turned out to be crap. All these people died for nothing. A lot of folks made money, though.

Lana Gorgeous

A little trivia, the guy who was Charlie Sheen's friend in the film, the one who stabbed his leg, Corey Glover, was a superstar rock and roll guy for the Grammy Award winning group Living Color. Here he is as the lead singer in dreadlocks performing their hit song Cult of Personality https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xxgRUyzgs0

Lana Gorgeous

I was a 2nd Lieutenant in the US ARMY when this movie came out. The director Oliver Stone fought in Vietnam and patterned the Charlie Sheen character loosely after his own service. I saw the film when it came out in 86 and the only issues I had, not with the film but with the leadership as depicted by the film. First off, the Lieutenant who was supposedly the leader of the platoon was a coward and a real piece of sh*t. Had he been a strong leader none of that bullsh*t, including Elias’ murder, would have happened. And the Captain making that threat about a court martial might have well signed Elias’ death warrant. As Charlie Sheen’s character said they weren’t fighting the enemy they were fighting themselves and I blame that mostly on those two officers I mentioned, esp. that weak, cowardly Platoon Leader.

Shehab Dawoud

Very good film but the real ones are #TeamApocalypseNow. Can always hope it gets watched too, would be appropriate. I don't think you need to wait a few months. Trust me when I say Apocalypse Now is nowhere near as emotional, there's nowhere near as much death. It's not really a war movie when you think of it.

JL_83

some trivia: Nicolas Cage and Willem Dafoe have worked together a few times; Dafoe’s big dramatic pose was inspiration for Cage when he holds up the green flares in The Rock

zynjams

I just got out of the service when this movie came out. this was as it was, real and scary. thats why a lot of vets dont want to talk about what happened, and unfortunately carry that baggage with them their whole lives. When I go to Disneyland on those special days, Memorial day, veterans day, 4th of July and Im with my fellow Vets at the flag ceremony, no words are spoken when we shake each others hands and look in each others eyes. Civilians can never know, and are luckier for it.

Richard Bourne

Tough way to start Labor Day, but I had not seen this movie since the 80s when it came out. Tom Berenger (Bear en jur) has played some serious roles like SNIPER (1993) and BETRAYED (1988). I don't think Cassie and Carly would enjoy BETRAYED even though Debra Winger is in it. Cassie just got the DVD for SHOT TO KILL (1988) where Tom teams up with Sidney Poitier to rescue a very young Kirstie Alley. The year before this movie Willem Dafoe stared in TO LIVE AND DIE IN LA (1985) which had the music of Wang Chung, which made for some cool scenes IMHO.

zynjams

Tom Berenger and Charlie Sheen were in a movie you reacted to. Major League.

Richard Bourne

Viet Nam brings back the M16 rifle debate. It greatly downsized the ammo size (5.56mm) from the 7.62mm of previous wars and tried to be too much of a huge leap forward using "space age" materials. Ball vs. Stick gunpowder was an issue, but the thing was they needed to keep the M16 reasonably clean and lubed with a high viscosity oil like 10W30 motor oil. The M16A1 had lousy sights also, and was too light, no robust enough. By the time of the Gulf War, the M16A2 was a much better weapon.

Richard Bourne

People have forgotten about the draft haven't they. Is anyone under the age of 50 aware that most soldiers in Vet Nam were drafted.

Art of Free Speech

As realistic as this movie was, I've always found it rather lacking in plot and story. It felt more like Stone was trying to let you know what it felt like to be part of a platoon, but was just too lazy to use standard story elements. Because of that, I could never really understand the praise for it (which is not to say others shouldn't enjoy it. To each their own. It just wasn't for me).

Wyatt Nuxoll

The lost battalion, is another great war film that would be great for your warrior wednesdays

Tim Raths

If you want to watch a documentary series about the Vietnam War I recommend Vietnam in HD. It’s very informative and very detailed. I believe it’s about six episodes.

Tara

Hi Cassie, as you know, Charlie had been in other movies before this, but this movie was his big break. You know Sergeant Barnes with the scars on his face played by Tom Berenger (Bear-en-jer) He and Charlie starred together again in Major League. Cassie, in the scene when you couldn’t tell who was bombing who, Taylor (Charlie Sheen) was trying to get to Lerner (Johnny Depp) who had been hit.

Popcorn In Bed
>>116759110

i knew that, but if you were in college you weren’t drafted? why were they surprised by sheens choice to be there?

Zane From Canada

The iconic scene where Willem Dafoe raises his arms was supposed to have squibs go off to simulate the gun shot wounds. But they malfunctioned. Willem did such an impressive job during the take that the scene was left exactly as it is.

Richard Bourne
>>116759110

Right, and people like Bill Clinton did all they could to not be drafted. (wait, let's be fair, same allegations as to GW Bush as well). Viet Nam, even moreso than Korea, was a war where US draftees didn't want to be there. Charlie's character was an idealist and from a family of military honor, and after movies like THE GREEN BARETES (1968) with John Wayne, they were trying to sell Viet Nam as noble. I was in graduate school in 1990 as the Gulf War was gearing up. One day, in a lecture of 137 people, someone stood up and said their cousin worked for the DOD and in Iowa the envelopes for the first phase of a draft was ready to go. This is how rumors fly. I will say femanists were VERY quiet for the next 6 months as the media predicted huge US troop losses. BTW, my guy friends and I discussed this and agreed if we had to go into the desert with a M16 we will (no draft dodging).

Tim Raths

That scene with Elias with arms out like Jesus on the cross is one of the most iconic shots in film history.

Zachary K. (Verified Swiftie)

My Uncle survived Vietnam he was exposed to Agent Orange and now he has Parkinson's Disease he can barely stand. Cassie you should really watch Bobby (2006) after watching this one. Directed by Emilio Estevez. I had forgotten that Oliver Stone was actually in this movie. He had a bit part. This was one of Oliver Stone's finest. Along with The Doors, Born on The Fourth Of July.

Anthony Perez

As Cassie said : "At least he's feeling happy for a minute"...yep...sometimes, most times, that's the best you can hope for. I am 68 yrs old now and just missed getting drafted, which was a good thing, I guess. My rite of passage didn't come till much later in life. Cassie, I have been a Kernel since Shawshank Redemption and you have truly grown. You are still the same wonderfully innocent person but you've really opened up to the negative parts of life without letting it change you too much. One has to view the darker side to truly appreciate the beauty of the light side. But don't worry...like Rust Cohle from True Detective says "once there was only dark but if you ask me, light is winning". Keep up the good fight Cassie, but maybe throw in a Rom-Com after these heavy dark reactions!?

Eddie Perkins

A lot of friends that were there said that Oliver Stone did a great job in recreating the way it was, like you said, "Hell on Earth." You asked how they can tell who is who, friend or foe? to tell the truth in a high-stress situation like that. It's tough, and more people get killed by friendly fire than you would ever know. "Apocalypse Now" and "The Deer Hunter" are great movies worth watching. And if you are looking for something much lighter, "Biloxi Blues" is a fun military comedy.

Eddie Perkins
>>116758389

Betrayed (1988) is a great movie. I think it would be hard for Cassie to handle, but her reaction would be fun to watch.

Mike LL
>>116770018

As she said, she pre-cleansed her palate with Kindergarten Cop before this round of movies. I know what you mean, though. Maybe they were so strong an after-cleanser is needed also!

Andrew Ramos

I'll sometimes visit my uncle and he'll be sitting on his back porch staring into the distance and thinking. He was a command sergeant major during the Vietnam war and rarely spoke about his experience. Recently he's started talking about it. He says he often thinks about his friend who died in a tank accident and had both legs blown off just before his wife arrived for a week of leave. He still remembers him crying for his wife as he died. Other times he thinks about the Vietcong men, and their families, his platoon turned over to the South Vietnamese soldiers knowing full well they were about to be tortured and killed. Or the women he saw (who was said to be a double agent) strapped to a tank and tortured. Seeing as I was in the Air Force and not on the ground like him I can't relate. But I know all of these experiences are still alive inside him. I'm reminded of a line from, ironically, The Walking Dead where one of the characters says, "No one thinks they're the bad guy." That line has been used in many other forms elsewhere but I get the sense that is the idea my uncle is confronting now. I think Cassie identified one of the most terrifying aspects of war, the helplessness to not only understand it but to prevent it.

Dioskur
>>116743627

Crush your enemies, see them driven before you and hear the lamentation of their women

Richard Bourne
>>116743911

Don't forget Betty White in Lake Placid. THE MUMMY might have been Brendan Fraser's best movie, showing he could play an action hero.

Bill Hayden

Everything that transpired at the village was a result of the platoons officer being weak.

Terry Yelmene

'War'... there is no damn excuse for it. Extraordinary reaction to this classic Cassie.

Dioskur

I was in the german army during peace time, One year of basic military service, sitting at a desk, drinking coffee. I have a slight idea of what it might possibly feel to be a soldier, but I can't imagine what it feels to be in war. All of this movie seems real to me, believable. Nothing seems like fiction. All of it seems as if it could have happened. The one thing I can't understand is how there are still people that think this was a war that anyone could have won. Hard to believe that any war could realy ever be "won", but even if you think such a thing is possible, this wasn't one of them. This was pure madness, one of the peaks of human stupidity

Mike Gallagher

Lots of references, verbal and visual, comparing Elias to Jesus. Two years later Defoe would play Jesus in the controversial "The Last Temptation of Christ".

Carol_White

"We didn't fight the enemy, we fought ourselves." Uh no, dipshit, you did in fact fight the Vietnamese. Also, it's remarkable the extent to which both Stone and Kubrick ripped off Apocalypse Now and basically failed to tell original Vietnam stories.

China Andronicus

Another extremely difficult film to watch, despite how amazing it is. I'm very glad you didn't go with Casualties of War because the majority of the film is basically that village scene on repeat and I don't know how you would have made it through. Apocalypse Now is also rough (I don't know that you can make a Vietnam film that won't be) but very good, and fascinating when you take into account that it is based on a novel that was set in Victorian times (Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad) and updated to be set in Vietnam. One of the most interesting adaptations I've ever seen, to be honest. If you want a wonderful and moving song, look up Goodnight Saigon by Billy Joel. It's about the Marine experience in Vietnam and it is sad but very beautiful.

Omar

That was my first time seeing it too. Gritty stuff. Only thing funny was Dr Cox from Scrubs was basically the same character here lol

Wes Stewart

For those that are also interested in sobering real life history, you can read about the My Lai Massacre online. There’s also a podcast called “History on Fire” about this harrowing event.

Patrick Flanagan
>>116759110

College students could get deferments from service. That's why it's been argued that the war was fought disproportionately by the poor, men who didn't have the money or the grades to go to college because they grew up with substandard schooling. It was extremely rare for someone going to college to intentionally drop and request combat service, but that is what Oliver Stone did - he was going to Yale at the time.

Patrick Flanagan
>>116783069

Weird to lecture an actual veteran of the war on what his own experiences were. Also these three movies were not at all similar besides the general theme that the Vietnam War was awful and dehumanizing.

Rick Williams

Tough, powerful reaction, Cassie. This is a tough, powerful movie. I haven't seen this movie since it first came out. It's a tough movie to watch more than once. Thank you for a great reaction. One of your most emotional reactions. I am sorry you had to go through that.

nick bell

Another favorite of mine!! This movie amazed me as a kid. A few random thoughts Always thought Francesco Quinn (Rhah) would've become a bigger star after this film. Thought he was so compelling in his role Tom Berengers turn as Sargeant Barnes definitely is as memorable as any role by any actor in my lifetime. One of the great movie villains. They should've reshot Dafoes death scene. The faulty squibs always take me out.

Larry Darrell

Now that you’ve seen a film that shows the Horrors of War, especially the Vietnam War, and how far into Hell it took everyone, I think you’re prepared for The Deer Hunter (1978). I Believe this is the Film you’re looking for after Platoon. Trust Me. I can understand not wanting to watch another Vietnam film for a while, but when you’re ready… I highly recommend The Deer Hunter (1978).

Baldielox
>>116749503

Just a quick bit of info for you. The scene where Taylor (Charlie Sheen) and bunny (Kevin Dillon) find the one legged kid in the hole and are making him dance by shooting the ground, then bunny kills him. When Charlie Sheen and Kevin Dillon found out he was mostly blind in his one eye due to a bad cataract, they both paid for the kid to have surgery that gave him his sight back.

David Murray

Platoon was the first film in Oliver Stone's Vietnam trilogy. The second film was Born on the Fourth of July, a true story starring your friend Tom Cruise. The thid film was Heaven & Earth starring Tommy Lee Jones.

John Cohen
>>116758836

Well from what I remember some reasons why the changes were made was because the M-14 wasn’t doing great either. And in testing it did ok but they never tested it like they do now. It was described as a “self cleaning” weapon and only after people started dying did they make and issue cleaning kits for it. The lighter weight made it easier for carrying in the jungle and the plastic didn’t crack like the wood sticks did. Luckily the weapons used now are a much better weapon even if they still are designed and bought as the lowest bidder.

Richard Bourne
>>116758836

Yes and the M14 had too much kick for full auto fire. Notice the Army came back to the M14 as a sniper rifle as the 7.62 NATO round has great range, far better than the little 55 grain bullet of 5.56mm. Minn. won't even let you deer hunt with it, what does that say? Right, the self-cleaning claim was very bad advice, esp. in the hot wet jungle with mud. If you talk to experts now they say it also needs to be kept lubed, but not over lubed. I'm kind of surprised Oliver Stone didn't make M16 jamming a real part of the movie.

Richard Bourne
>>116759110

I think that point is well made through Charlie's character with the "Grunt" speech. The other big inequality issue there is that women are not drafted, and even now women are not required to register for selective service. Look at Israel, they require women to do military service including combat training.

Richard Bourne
>>116811047

Born on the Fourth of July is another painful watch. So many veterans come back with their bodies destroyed. Nothing new there, just look at the Civil War in particular in that as it had high levels of amputations. The Gulf War was a turning point where keeping US casualties to a minimum was high priority. The other big thing was GH W Bush (41) did not micro-manage it like LBJ did with Viet Nam. He have Storm'n Norman simple directives based on UN Resolutions and left it to the General to figure out how to do it. 4 star generals talk tactics, one star generals talk logistics.

warcrimes

Cass and confusion with names will never get old. <3!

Grad
>>116798228

"They should've reshot Dafoes death scene. The faulty squibs always take me out." Maybe they can add some (tasteful) CGI in a future release of the movie. I'm for it.

Grad
>>116803729

A bit spoilerish IMO. No need to go into so much detail about the plot and structure of the movie. Other than that, I agree with you.

Shehab Dawoud
>>116753234

It is. It is said that art is often chaos, and there's no better word to describe the making of that film. It's also arguably the most beautifully shot film ever.

KTVindicare

You really really have to feel for the villagers caught in the crossfire in Vietnam. On the one hand you have the NVA and Vietcong who were mercilessly cruel to villages that didn't help support them against the invading Americans and on the other you had the American GI's and a massive language barrier, many of the GI's dealing with massive stress or other mental health issues (not to mention rampant drug use throughout the war), trained to treat every village as a potential Vietcong stronghold, and the Villagers just want to be left alone when there's essentially 3 different armed forces with various degrees of coordination rampaging across the country side. That's before we get into the American heavy use of pesticides and Agent Orange across the country side which had massive impacts on local ecosystems, and crop production. These poor people were just stuck in the middle of all of it. At any time just hoping that all of the armies would just leave them alone for another night. Just a horrible conflict. It's truly incredible that the Vietnamese people don't hate us after all of that.

Larry Darrell
>>116803729

Didn’t think I said anymore than anyone else has already… but I’m Easy. Thanks for the feedback. It’s Edited.

David Collins
>>116774780

BTW, when you do get around to watching Born on the Fourth of July, that also has Tom Berenger in it - who is a fantastic actor and a much better guy than his character (Sgt. Barnes) in Platoon. And, not to be "that guy" (I butcher names ALL THE TIME) but you'll want to check the correct pronunciation of Berenger :D Another great show with Berenger (and Kevin Costner) is the three part mini-series Hatfields & McCoys. But save that for AFTER you finally get to Lonesome Dove, which is practically criminal that you've not watched yet, given how much you like Robert Duvall and Augustus "Gus" McCrae being hands down his most beloved role.

ENC SW DV Rush
>>116840175

Not only all that - the war started for them a lot earlier - it was a 30 year war for them - over 3 million died - includes from when the French were fighting in the 40's & 50's, men, women, & children from both sides. Its estimated that you would be hard put to find ANY family there that wasn't affected. It started as a civil war to push the French out, but the French blackmailed us into supporting the continued conflict after WW2. Every American president from Truman on had the capacity to stop helping escalate this war - first in terms of money, then support and finally men,... and ALL of them failed in that regard. The French pulled out in 1956 and left us with their garbage. It truly is a tragic situation that America NEVER should have gotten involved in. The worst part of it is that politics drove too many decisions in how it was run (on the American side) and the people who suffered (other than the Vietnamese who suffered the most by far) were the soldiers fighting at the behest of politicians sitting in Washington.

Brian Harris

This war was so fucked. SO fucked. It feels odd to talk about cinematic quality with a movie like this, or comparisons to other Vietnam films like Apocalypse Now or The Deer Hunter. They’re all horrific because there was nothing glorious or even redeeming about Vietnam. In WW2 at least we were fighting for civilization, and everybody on the ground knew it. In Vietnam, the goals changed month to month and year to year, and nobody seemed to know what the point was. Modern warfare changed substantially in WW2, and by the time Vietnam had come around, the philosophical element had fallen behind. That’s why you had guys doing drugs and willfully killing innocents. War for a clear cause is horrible, but it keeps your head on straight - you have a compass. When there’s no collective true north, everyone’s compass is pointed in a different direction. Then you have guys like Bunny, who have no compass at all. War is a playground for them.

djKENTO

We all know home as WILLEM Dafoe now but originally as a young actor it was William and it was pronounced Day-Foe

Jay Robert

Remember Taylor and Barnes had better days together in Major League! Did you recognize them? Berenger played Jake Taylor and Sheen played Ricky 'Wild Thing' Vaughn.

Kieren Newton

As someone who has served 9 years in the British Army, I have come across a few SSgt Barnes types. They are hard with no BS but there is no other Platoon sergeant would want when there's contact.

Brian
>>116743911

"The Ring" is a classic that has a reputation for being horror (probably due its source material) when really it's just a gothic mystery thriller that is PG-13 and would certainly fit into Cassie's definition of Scary-but-not-too-scary Halloween! Plus, it's one of Naomi Watts' better known films and there isn't any Watts on PiB yet.

Brian
>>116758618

All of these years and I never made that connection! I think it's because Berenger usually plays the attractive protagonist hero so for him to be the scary antagonist with that gnarly facial scar is so against type I've never connected Barnes with Jake Taylor.

Russell Teo

Still the best Nam war movie. That village massacre scene still haunts me

SeanATX

Haven't watched this in almost 20 years, when we watched in 11th grade history class (and probably didn't really appreciate it). What a film.

Randolph Tirazona

Well, I know I didn't vote for this one; and will not ever. For one it's too much on the 'gory' side. There is little to be gained nor learned from this movie and soo many other ones! One I'd like much better than most is: Rambo: First Blood <- Or it it just 'First Blood'? Did they change the name?!? What's to learn in that one? How my brother and our troops where received after coming back from that awful war. How some felt about our Troops... And how this fictional character felt about it all. Most of my brothers company got cancer from AO; he passed from that just a few months ago. FYI: PTSD wasn't even recognized till about 1977 - many years after Vietnam. As some of you know - not only does the immediate service person serve - the entire family serves too, especially the parents! Here's a different movie I'd like to recommend: "Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey" LOL Its a Great Show! :) Cassie!!! :)

Dean Holt

I thought this would be a hard watch for you, especially the village scene I just wanted to press the skip button for you. The more you read about that war the more screwed up it sounded. One little positive you could get out of it is when you eventually watch Rambo it might help you understand him a little more.

Clay F

There is a lot to be gained and learned from this movie (shockingly realistic). For instance, how the poor fight our wars, the complexity of VC being in the villages, etc.

China Andronicus
>>116803729

This is a good one especially for Walken’s performance. So many know him as a quirky person and don’t appreciate just how talented the man is. Love him in this film.

Raj K. Dixit

An emotional reaction to a gut-punching film. Glad you were able to make it, Cassie!

David Patterson

Conversation from the show M*A*S*H: Frank: Everybody knows war is Hell. Hawkeye: War isn't Hell. War is war and Hell is Hell. And of the two, war is a lot worse. Father Mulcahy: How do you figure that, Hawkeye? Hawkeye: Easy, Father. Tell me, who goes to Hell? Father Mulcahy: Sinners, I believe. Hawkeye: Exactly! There are no innocent bystanders in Hell. The war is chock full of them.

Clay F

Thank you for reacting to this movie.

K Vaz
>>117026437

I understand not liking gore, but there is so much to be learned from this movie. That’s why it was made. Few examples would be: 1.) Not falling to peer pressure and standing up for what’s right even when it’s dangerous or unpopular and you may be targeted for it. 2.) America made a lot of mistakes in Vietnam 3.) war changes people, (example if you do digging into the story, Elias and Barnes used to get along and were friends, but the war changed Barnes) 4.) Just because someone is right in one scenario doesn’t mean they’ll continue to be (ie barnes being a good leader when getting shot at, but not a good leader around innocent civilians). 5.) we can’t keep making the same mistakes., we have to learn from these atrocities. I agree it’s a hard movie to watch but I think these movies teach the best lessons