Platoon
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Oliver Stone
Produced by	Arnold Kopelson
Written by	Oliver Stone
Starring	Charlie Sheen Tom Berenger Willem Dafoe Forest Whitaker John C. McGinley Mark Moses Kevin Dillon Tony Todd
Cinematography	Robert Richardson
Editing by	Claire Simpson
Distributed by	Orion Pictures
Release date(s)	December 19, 1986
Running time	120 min.
Country	United States
Language	English Vietnamese
Budget	$6.5 million
Gross revenue	$136 million
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Platoon is a 1986 Vietnam war film written and directed by Oliver Stone and starring Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe, Forest Whitaker, Kevin Dillon, Keith David, John C. McGinley, and Johnny Depp. The story is drawn from Stone's experiences as a US Infantryman in Vietnam and was written by him upon his return as a counter to the vision of the war portrayed in John Wayne's The Green Berets.^[1] The film won the Academy Award for Best Picture of 1987. In 2007, the American Film Institute placed Platoon at #86 in their 100 Years...100 Movies poll. Channel 4 voted Platoon as the 6th greatest war film ever made, behind Full Metal Jacket and ahead of A Bridge Too Far. A platoon is a military unit. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (488x755, 64 KB) Platoon original theatrical release movie poster. ... William Oliver Stone (born September 15, 1946), known as Oliver Stone, is a three-time Academy Award winning film director and screenwriter. ... Arnold Kopelson (born in New York, New York, February 14, 1935) is an American film producer. ... Charles Irwin Sheen (born September 3, 1965) is a Golden Globe Award-winning and Emmy-nominated American actor. ... Tom Berenger (born May 31, 1949) is an Academy Award nominated and Golden Globe winning American actor known mainly for his roles in action films. ... William Dafoe, Jr. ... Forest Steven Whitaker (born July 15, 1961) is an American actor, producer, and director. ... John Christopher McGinley (born August 3, 1959) is an American actor, producer and screenwriter, most notable for his roles as Perry Cox in NBCs Scrubs and Sergeant Red ONeil in Oliver Stones Platoon. ... Mark Moses (born February 24, 1958 in New York City) is an American actor. ... Kevin Dillon is a fictional character in Rodman Philbricks young adult novel, Freak the Mighty. ... Tony Todd (born December 4, 1954 in Washington, D.C.) is an American actor and producer, known for his cult status amongst horror and sci-fi fans. ... Robert Bridge Richardson (born 27 August 1955 in Hyannis, Massachusetts) is an American cinematographer. ... Claire Simpson is the Academy Award-winning British film editor of the Oliver Stone-directed motion picture, Platoon (as well as editor of Oliver Stones Salvador and Wall Street) and winner of the prestigious BAFTA Film Award for Best Editing for The Constant Gardener. ... Orion Pictures Corporation was an American movie production company, formed in 1978 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. ... is the 353rd day of the year (354th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar). ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... // April 12 - Actor Morgan Mason marries The Go-Gos Belinda Carlisle Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger marries television journalist Maria Shriver. ... The war film is a film genre concerned with warfare, usually about naval, air or land battles, sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training or other related subjects. ... William Oliver Stone (born September 15, 1946), known as Oliver Stone, is a three-time Academy Award winning film director and screenwriter. ... Charles Irwin Sheen (born September 3, 1965) is a Golden Globe Award-winning and Emmy-nominated American actor. ... Tom Berenger (born May 31, 1949) is an Academy Award nominated and Golden Globe winning American actor known mainly for his roles in action films. ... William Dafoe, Jr. ... Forest Steven Whitaker (born July 15, 1961) is an American actor, producer, and director. ... Kevin Dillon is a fictional character in Rodman Philbricks young adult novel, Freak the Mighty. ... Keith David (born June 4, 1956) is an Emmy Award winning, African-American film, television, and voice actor most known for his roles as Childs in John Carpenters The Thing, Goliath in the cartoon Gargoyles, playing the Arbiter in Halo 2 and Halo 3, as well as voice overs... John Christopher McGinley (born August 3, 1959) is an American actor, producer and screenwriter, most notable for his roles as Perry Cox in NBCs Scrubs and Sergeant Red ONeil in Oliver Stones Platoon. ... John Christopher Depp II[1] (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor, best known for his frequent portrayals of offbeat and eccentric characters such as Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy and the titular character of Tim Burtons Edward Scissorhands. ... For other persons named John Wayne, see John Wayne (disambiguation). ... The Green Berets is the title of a 1968 film starring John Wayne and featuring George Takei, David Janssen, Jim Hutton, and Aldo Ray. ... Although he never won an Oscar for any of his movie performances, the comedian Bob Hope received two honorary Oscars for his contributions to cinema. ... ©A.M.P.A.S.® The Academy Award for Best Motion Picture is one of the Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to artists working in the motion picture industry. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article is about the British television station. ... For the type of ammunition, see Full metal jacket bullet. ... A Bridge Too Far is a 1977 film based on the 1974 book of the same name by Cornelius Ryan, adapted by William Goldman. ...

Plot

US Army soldier, Private Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) is a young, naive American who gives up college and volunteers for combat in Vietnam. Along with several other replacements, Taylor joins an experienced rifle platoon that has suffered losses in recent combat operations. His enthusiasm quickly evaporates as he goes on continual patrols and, as a "new guy", is assigned to dig foxholes and perform other arduous tasks. On his first night on patrol, his unit is set upon by a squad of North Vietnamese Army troops after the soldier meant to be on guard duty (Junior) falls asleep. In the subsequent fire fight, one soldier is killed and another maimed by a grenade thrown by Sergeant Red O'Neil (John C. McGinley). Taylor receives a graze to his neck, and Junior shirks all responsibility, telling the platoon that Taylor was on guard duty. The United States Army is the largest, and by some standards oldest, established branch of the armed forces of the United States and is one of seven uniformed services. ... A Private is a soldier of the lowest military rank (equivalent to Nato Rank Grades OR-1 to OR-3 depending on the force served in). ... Charles Irwin Sheen (born September 3, 1965) is a Golden Globe Award-winning and Emmy-nominated American actor. ... The Rookie: Norman Rockwells cover for The Saturday Evening Post Rookie is a term for a person who is in their first year of play of their sport and has little or no professional experience. ... There are many types of defensive fighting positions (DFPs), more commonly known in U.S. military slang as foxholes. ... 40th anniversary of Vietnam Peoples Army, commemorated on 1984 Vietnam postage stamp block The Vietnam Peoples Army (VPA) (Vietnamese: ) is official name for the armed forces of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. ... John Christopher McGinley (born August 3, 1959) is an American actor, producer and screenwriter, most notable for his roles as Perry Cox in NBCs Scrubs and Sergeant Red ONeil in Oliver Stones Platoon. ...

As Taylor recovers from his wound—a rite of passage that grants him greater social contact with the platoon—he is introduced to the "Underworld", a bunker on the American base which has been converted into a pseudo-nightclub, where beer is available and marijuana and opium are smoked. After returning to field duty, Taylor sees more combat and during another patrol, an empty bunker complex is discovered. During the examination of the bunker, two of the platoon are killed by a booby trap. Upon leaving the area, the rest of the platoon encounter another member of their unit, who has been snatched from his guard duty, tied to a post, and mutilated. Cannabis, also known as marijuana[1] or ganja (Hindi: गांजा),[2] is a psychoactive product of the plant Cannabis sativa. ... This article is about the drug. ... This article is about an antipersonnel trap designed for use against humans. ...

The platoon reaches a nearby village, where it discovers a food and weapons cache. The villagers insist the Viet Cong forced them to hide the cache. Led by Staff Sergeant Barnes (Tom Berenger), some of the platoon take out their frustration and anger at the deaths of their comrades on the villagers. A young soldier, Bunny (Kevin Dillon), beats a disabled boy and his mother to death with his shotgun's butt, and several more are killed. The platoon burns the village and leaves, while Taylor prevents the gang-rape of a teenage girl by three other members of the platoon. Sergeant Elias (Willem Dafoe), having witnessed Barnes' actions, reports him to their company commander, Captain Harris (Dale Dye). Taylor, having originally admired Barnes, now finds his loyalties leaning towards Elias, while Barnes' supporters talk of killing Elias to prevent him from giving testimony about the illegal killings. Taylor speaks of this as "a civil war in the platoon. Half with Elias, half with Barnes." A Viet Cong soldier, heavily guarded, awaits interrogation following capture in the attacks on Saigon during the festive Tet holiday period of 1968. ... United States Military Staff Sergeant insignia (U.S. Air Force) Staff Sergeant is the fifth enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force, just above Senior Airman and below Technical Sergeant. ... Tom Berenger (born May 31, 1949) is an Academy Award nominated and Golden Globe winning American actor known mainly for his roles in action films. ... Kevin Dillon is a fictional character in Rodman Philbricks young adult novel, Freak the Mighty. ... William Dafoe, Jr. ... Dale Dye as Robert F. Sink in Band of Brothers. ...

During another patrol, the platoon is ambushed. As the platoon suffers losses, Lieutenant Wolfe (Mark Moses) calls friendly artillery fire down on his own men. Elias, with Taylor and two other soldiers, attempts to intercept flanking North Vietnamese Army troops. During the fire fight, Barnes orders the platoon to fall back, leaving Elias unsupported. While the remainder of the platoon retreats to its landing zone to be airlifted from the area, Barnes goes back into the jungle, citing a desire to retrieve Elias' group. Finding Taylor and the two soldiers, Barnes orders them back to the landing zone and goes to find Elias. Instead, he ambushes and shoots Elias. Lieutenant is a military, naval, paramilitary, fire service or police officer rank. ... Mark Moses (born February 24, 1958 in New York City) is an American actor. ... For other uses, see Friendly Fire (disambiguation). ... Antonov An-124 loading a container for the Dutch military A large military cargo aircraft: the Boeing C-17A Globemaster III An airlift is the organized delivery of supplies primarily via aircraft. ...

Barnes returns to the landing zone, telling Taylor that Elias is dead. As the helicopter takes off, the platoon sees a badly-wounded Elias running from the jungle towards the zone, the North Vietnamese Army in pursuit. As the helicopters fly overhead, he dies in a field after being shot several more times by the North Vietnamese Army. Upon their return to base, Taylor begins to suspect that Barnes caused Elias' death and talks of killing him in retaliation, leading to a confrontation between the two. The platoon is sent back to the ambush area and builds defensive positions to bait the North Vietnamese Army. A battle occurs, which ends with the obliteration of almost the entire platoon after a US aerial napalm attack. For other uses, see Napalm (disambiguation). ...

Taylor regains consciousness the next morning, finding himself wounded and surrounded by bodies. Eventually he finds Barnes, who is also wounded. Taylor trains a rifle on Barnes, who goads Taylor, daring him to pull the trigger. Taylor shoots Barnes three times in the chest, killing him. Taylor collapses and awaits medical attention. He and the other survivors are airlifted from the battlefield.

Development

After his tour of duty in Vietnam ended in 1968, Stone wrote a screenplay called Break: a semi-autobiographical account detailing his experiences with his parents and his time in Vietnam. It featured several characters who were the seeds of those who would end up in Platoon. The script was set to music from The Doors; Stone sent the script to Jim Morrison in the hope he would play the lead (Morrison never responded). Stone's return from Vietnam led into a "big change" in how he viewed life and the war: "Vietnam was really visceral, and I had come from a cerebral existence: study... working with a pen and paper, with ideas. I came back really visceral. And I think the camera is so much more... that's your interpreter, as opposed to a pen." Though Break went ultimately unproduced, it was the spur for him to attend film school.^[2] The Doors were an influential American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles by vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger. ... For other persons named James or Jim Morrison, see James Morrison. ...

After penning several other produced screenplays in the early 1970s, Stone came to work with Robert Bolt on an unproduced screenplay, The Cover-up. Bolt's rigorous approach rubbed off on Stone, and he was inspired to use the characters from his Break screenplay (who in turn were based upon people Stone knew in Vietnam) as the basis for a new screenplay titled The Platoon. Producer Martin Bregman attempted to elicit studio interest in the project, but Hollywood was still apathetic about Vietnam. However, the strength of Stone's writing on The Platoon was enough to get him the job penning Midnight Express in 1978. Despite that film's critical and commercial success, and that of other Stone-penned films at the time, most studios were still reluctant to finance The Platoon, as they feared a film about the Vietnam War would not attract an audience. After the release of The Deer Hunter (1978) and Apocalypse Now (1979), they then cited the perception that these films were considered the pinnacle of the Vietnam War film genre as reasons not to make The Platoon.^[2] Robert Oxton Bolt (August 15, 1924 – February 12, 1995) was an English playwright and a two-time Oscar winning screenwriter. ... Midnight Express is a 1978 film, based on Billy Hayes book of the same name adapted into screenplay by Oliver Stone. ... For other uses, see Deer Hunter. ... Apocalypse Now is a 1979 Academy Award and Golden Globe winning American film set during the Vietnam War. ...

Stone instead attempted to break into mainstream direction via the easier-to-finance horror genre, but The Hand (1981) failed at the box office, and Stone began to think that The Platoon would never be made. Stone wrote Year of the Dragon (1985) for a lower-than-usual fee of $200,000, on the condition from producer Dino de Laurentiis that he would then produce The Platoon. De Laurentiis secured financing for the film, but struggled to find a distributor. Because de Laurentiis had already spent money sending Stone to the Philippines to scout for locations, he decided to keep control of the film's script until he was repaid.^[2] Then Stone's script for what would become Salvador (1986) was passed to John Daly of British production company Hemdale. Once again, this was a project that Stone had struggled to secure financing for, but Daly loved the script and was prepared to finance both Salvador and The Platoon off the back of it. Stone shot Salvador first, before turning his attention to what was by now called Platoon.^[2] To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Year of the Dragon is a 1985 film directed by Michael Cimino, starring Mickey Rourke and John Lone. ... Agostino De Laurentiis, usually credited as Dino De Laurentiis, (born August 8, 1919) is an Italian movie producer born at Torre Annunziata in the province of Naples. ... Salvador (meaning saviour in Spanish and Portuguese) can be: the Central American nation of El Salvador. ... This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Hemdale Film Corporation is an independent film production company and distributor founded in the early 1970s by David Hemmings and John Daly, headed by John Daly and Derek Gibson. ...

Production

The famous scene depicting Elias with his hands in the air is a recreation of a 1968 photograph by Art Greenspon.^[1]

Platoon was filmed on the island of Luzon in the Philippines, starting in February 1986. The production of the film on a scheduled date was almost canceled due to the political upheaval in the country with then-dictator Ferdinand Marcos, but with the help of a producer well-known in Asia, Mark Hill, the shoot went on as scheduled. The shoot lasted 54 days and cost $6.5 million. The production made a deal with the Philippine military for the use of military equipment.^[2] Map of the Philippines showing the island groups of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. ...

James Woods, who had starred in Stone's previous film, Salvador, was offered a part in Platoon. He turned the role down, later saying he "couldn't face going into another jungle with [Stone]". Upon arrival in the Philippines, the cast was sent on a two-week intensive training course, during which they had to dig foxholes and were subject to forced marches and night-time "ambushes" which utilized special-effects explosions. Stone explained that he was trying to break them down, "to fuck with their heads so we could get that dog-tired, don't give a damn attitude, the anger, the irritation... the casual approach to death".^[2] For other persons named James Woods, see James Woods (disambiguation). ... This article is being considered for deletion in accordance with Wikipedias deletion policy. ...

Stone makes a cameo appearance as the battalion commander in the final battle. Dale Dye, who played company commander Captain Harris, is a U.S. Marine Corps Vietnam veteran who also acted as the film's technical advisor. ^[1] A cameo role or cameo appearance (often shortened to just cameo) is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television. ... Dale Dye as Robert F. Sink in Band of Brothers. ... The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is a branch of the United States armed forces responsible for providing force projection from the sea,[1] using the mobility of the U.S. Navy to rapidly deliver combined-arms task forces and is one of seven uniformed services. ...

Music used in the film includes Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber, White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane, Okie From Muskogee by Merle Haggard, and Fortunate Son by Creedence Clearwater Revival. During a scene in the "Underworld" the soldiers sing along to The Tracks of My Tears by Smokey Robinson and The Miracles. Samuel Barber, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1944 Adagio for Strings is a work for string orchestra, arranged by the American composer Samuel Barber from his first string quartet. ... Samuel Barber, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1944 Samuel Osborne Barber II (March 9, 1910 – January 23, 1981) was an American composer of classical music ranging from orchestral, to opera, choral, and piano music. ... White Rabbit is a psychedelic rock song from Jefferson Airplanes 1967 album Surrealistic Pillow. ... Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band from San Francisco, a pioneer of the psychedelic rock movement. ... Okie from Muskogee is an American country music song performed by its co-writer, Merle Haggard. ... Merle Ronald Haggard (born April 6, 1937) is an American country music singer, guitarist and songwriter. ... Fortunate Son is a song by Creedence Clearwater Revival on their album Willy and the Poor Boys in 1969. ... Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR) was an American roots rock band who gained popularity in the late 1960s and early 70s with a string of successful songs from multiple albums released in 1968, 1969 and 1970. ... The Tracks of My Tears is a 1965 hit single by The Miracles for the Tamla (Motown) label. ... Smokey Robinson (born February 19, 1940) is an American R&B and soul singer and songwriter. ...

Reception

Critics both praised and criticized Platoon for its presentation of the violence seen in the war and the moral ambiguity created by the realities of Guerrilla warfare, when unit leaders have to make a choice between saving the lives of their own men and taking those of suspected Guerrilla sympathizers.

It shows some US soldiers as violent and indiscriminate killers. Fueled by rage at seeing their friends killed and maimed by booby traps, they take their anger out on villagers who were found hiding a cache of firearms, killing and torturing Vietnamese villagers and setting their village on fire. The film has been banned in Vietnam mostly due to these scenes and the negative and arguably condescending portrayal of the Vietnamese.

The film currently has an 88% rating at Rotten Tomatoes and a Metacritic score of 86% This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Metacritic is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows, DVDs and books. ...

Platoon's release was timely. During the mid-1980s there was a softening of attitudes towards Vietnam veterans (which had taken over ten years, since the last American soldiers pulled out of Vietnam in 1973. Saigon fell in 1975).Sparked by the dedication of the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial in Washington, DC, in 1982, Hollywood suddenly saw a small surge in films related to the war. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a national war memorial located in Washington, D.C., that honors members of the U.S. armed forces who served in the Vietnam War. ...

Awards and nominations

• Winner of 4 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Film Editing, and Best Sound.
• Nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Tom Berenger), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Willem Dafoe), Best Cinematography and Best Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen.

Academy Award The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are the most prominent and most watched film awards ceremony in the world. ... ©A.M.P.A.S.® The Academy Award for Best Motion Picture is one of the Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to artists working in the motion picture industry. ... The Academy Award for Directing is one of the awards given to directors working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. ... The Academy Award for Film Editing was first given for films issued in 1934. ... The Academy Award for Sound Mixing is an Academy Award that recognizes the finest or most aesthetic sound mixing or recording, and is generally awarded to the production sound mixers and re-recording mixers of the winning film. ... The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor is one of the awards given to male actors working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; nominations are made by Academy members who are actors and actresses. ... The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor is one of the awards given to male actors working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; nominations are made by Academy members who are actors and actresses. ... Charles Rosher the first recipient in 1928 The Academy Award for Best Cinematography is awarded each year to a cinematographer for his work in one particular motion picture. ... // The Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best script not based upon previously published material. ...

Marketing

Several licensed tie-ins were released between 1986-1988. A video game was produced by Ocean Software for various formats. The Nintendo Entertainment System version was ported and published by Sunsoft. Loosely based on the film, the object of the game is to survive in the Vietnamese jungle against guerrilla attacks. A wargame was also produced, by Avalon Hill, as an introductory game to attract young people into to the wargaming hobby, and a board game was also produced.^[3] The novelization of the film was written by Dale Dye. The Ocean logotype had an often prominent placement on the box art. ... “NES” redirects here. ... In computer science, porting is the process of adapting software so that an executable program can be created for a computing environment that is different from the one for which it was originally designed (e. ... Sunsoft is a video game development company founded in 1985 as a division of Sun Corporation, itself a division of Sun Electronics, or Sun Denshi (サン電子) in Japan (its U.S. subsidiary operated under the name Sunsoft of America, though games they published showed a logo that read only SUNSOFT). ... Guerrilla redirects here. ... Glory, an American Civil War game by GMT This article is about the civilian hobby. ... Avalon Hill was a game company that specialized in wargames and strategic board games. ... A shelf of board games. ... Dale Dye as Robert F. Sink in Band of Brothers. ...

See also

• The Deer Hunter
• The Anderson Platoon
• Tour of Duty

For other uses, see Deer Hunter. ... The Anderson Platoon (original French title: La Section Anderson) is a war documentary movie directed by Pierre Schoendoerffer. ... Tour of Duty was an American television drama series on CBS which ran from September 1987 to April 1990. ...

References

The Orion Publishing Group Ltd. ... Screenshot of the BoardGameGeek entry for Settlers of Catan. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini/Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 163rd day of the year (164th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Platoon (film)

• Platoon at the Internet Movie Database
• Platoon at Allmovie
• Platoon at Box Office Mojo
• Platoon at Rotten Tomatoes