Among the films available on TV tonight are Full Metal Jacket, masterpiece signed by Stanley Kubrick which will air at 9:21 p.m. on Iris. Inspired by Gustav Hasford’s novel entitled Born to kill and released in 1987, Full Metal Jacket it is a film that presents viewers with a cynical and pessimistic view of US soldiers, military prescriptions, and the bullying that soldiers are often forced to suffer. The feature film, set in 1967, is somewhere in the middle Vietnam Warfollows a group of young recruits trained by the brutal Sergeant Hartman (R. Lee Ermey). Among the young soldiers was young Lawrence (Vincent D’Onofrio), is constantly humiliated by the Sergeant Major, who gives him a less than flattering nickname Lard balls. However, among the other recruits, there is also the Joker (Matthew Modine), a boy who dreams of becoming a war journalist and witnesses the abuse of his friends and the constant humiliation that Lawrence’s soldiers endure. However, violence, anger, and war will soon enter the lives of the young soldiers, changing them forever.
Full Metal Jacket This is a film that has become iconic also thanks to the presence of very black characters like Sergeant Hartman. A character dedicated to the most absolute discipline: this is a characteristic he shares with director Stanley Kubrick. It’s actually no mystery that the director of such a masterpiece The Shining One And 2001: Space Odyssey it’s a bit dignified not to mention it despot during the making of all his films. The methods were often so harsh and the director demanded so much control over every aspect of the production that it had an impact on the actors’ personal lives – as in the case of Shelley Duvall in The Shining One or from Tom Cruise And Nicole Kidman For Eyes Wide Closed – either on the performer’s “freedom” to move around the set or outside it.
In special cases Full Metal JacketKubrick found himself repeatedly having to loosen his reins while filming. In fact, it is punctuated by accident which delayed the schedule, which was almost unbearable for the director who had to face situations in which he could not intervene, as in the case of the accident involving R. Lee Ermey who was forced to sit still for almost four months. However, Kubrick did not diminish his almost tyrannical character when “issues” were brought to his attention over which he could exert veto power, as in the case of the birth of Matthew Modine’s son.
As Modine himself said in an interview with frameless, during filming, the actor learned that his wife would have to undergo a emergency caesarean section. That day Matthew Modine knew he couldn’t just be absent from work, even though his participation was not included in the filming plans, because scenes had to be shot in which he wasn’t there. However, the translator still appeared on set to talk to Kubrick and explain the situation to him, so as not to upset him. The director, instead of understanding the difficult moment of a man who wanted to meet his seven-month pregnant wife, instead told him in a flat tone: “What are you going to do? Are you going to be in the operating room? You’re going to pass out as soon as they open it. You’re going to see all that blood and you’re going to pass out. You’re going to be at the feet of the doctors.” Matthew Modine, however, did not give up, explaining that he had to go to his wife, being by her side for a series of reasons he explained to set in the scene. When he realized that Kubrick wasn’t willing to give up, the actor pulled out his own pocket knife and aimed it at the center of his open palm. Recalling that moment, Modine said: “I told him, ‘Listen, my hand is going to be cut off and I have to go to the hospital. Or you can let me go so I can be with my wife.
Kubrick realized that Modine was serious in his threat, a threat that could have slowed his work even further. So he finally gave her the freedom to leave the set, but not before reminding her to come back. “come back as soon as it’s all over.”
