Certification. 15
Running Time. 2 hours
Director. Oliver Stone
Cast. Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe, John C. McGinley, Charlie Sheen.
Rating. 81%
The first real casualty of war is innocence.
When you consider a list of the most iconic Vietnam War films, Platoon will almost certainly be included alongside the likes of Apocalypse Now, Born On The Fourth Of July, The Deer Hunter, Full Metal Jacket and Good Morning, Vietnam. Why? Because there is a level of authenticity apparent in Oliver Stone's vaguely biographical dramatisation of his experience of combat. Platoon was, after all, the first film about the Vietnam War written and directed by a veteran of the conflict.
With little in the way of introduction, Platoon opens with a deployment of fresh-faced recruits, including Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen), arriving at camp only to encounter the stark reality of US soldiers in body bags. Idealistic hopes are soon quashed alongside the realisation, that this is Vietnam. This is Hell. In Taylor's letters home to his grandmother, which double as narration, he admits he has made a mistake, not considering the toll it will take on his soul righteously trying to serve his country.
Platoon is not an action film. The combat sequences and jungle warfare only serve to emphasize the relentless confusion, suffering and inhumanity of the oppressive conditions. Platoon is ultimately an intense and uncompromising experience.
Robert Richardson's cinematography is impressive, routinely devoid of flamboyance, and George Delerue's score leans heavily on Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings to create one of the most memorable and emotive conflict soundtracks.
Oliver Stone's own requiem for the fallen won the Academy Award for Best Picture in 1987. The film is perhaps the authoritative depiction of the conflict and certainly one that served to create an uncomfortable dialogue surrounding the Vietnam War at the time of release.
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