Cheap Platoon (DVD) (Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe, Charlie Sheen) (Oliver Stone) Price

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Customer Reviews of Platoon

If you love this film it's imperative that you get the "Special Edition"--it's well worth the few bucks extra. The hour-long Documentary "Tour of the Inferno" is truly spectacular and contains extensive interviews with Stone, Defoe, Berenger, Sheen, et al, describing the "method direction" Stone employed to create an atmosphere of reality unparalleled in other war films. By method direction, I'm referring to the boot camp experience Stone and Dale Dye employed to cultivate a sense of the psychosis felt by those who served in the Nam, and impart that sense to the actors who were to portray very tangible characters drawn from Stone's own Vietnam experience as an infantryman.

While listening to Stone's commentary I finally found the answer to a question about Platoon that had dogged me for years. In the scene after Barnes is killed, Chris is sitting down and is discovered by US soldiers followed by an American tank flying a Nazi swastika flag. I never understood this and scoured the Internet looking for an answer. In the commentary, Stone explains that the APC units were very extreme and used to adorn themselves with Nazi regalia[?].

Although some DVD's contain a lot of extras that simply aren't worth the effort, this is not the case with the Special Edition of Platoon. Outstanding!!!

5/5

Sad, Brilliant War Film
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.

not God as some people praise it at but pretty damn good
very very enjoyable flick, mainly because it reminded me of FMJ(full metal jacket) and the humor was pretty good too. i might have preferred this film a little better if charlie s. wasnt in it but he actualy didnt do that bad of a job one part i found hysterical was that johnny depp has a part in it. with short blonde hair and he just is walking by then gets blown up. this film should deffinalty be in a war collects colection.