FILM REFERENCE
TITLE: FULL METAL JACKET
RELEASE YEAR: 1987
RELEASE DATE: JUNE 26, 1987
DIRECTOR: STANLEY KUBRICK
WRITERS: STANLEY KUBRICK · MICHAEL HERR · GUSTAV HASFORD
BASED ON: THE SHORT-TIMERS BY GUSTAV HASFORD
PRODUCER: STANLEY KUBRICK
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: JAN HARLAN
ASSOCIATE PRODUCER: MICHAEL HERR
CO-PRODUCER: PHILIP HOBBS
CINEMATOGRAPHY: DOUGLAS MILSOME
EDITING: MARTIN HUNTER
PRODUCTION DESIGN: ANTON FURST
MUSIC: ABIGAIL MEAD
PRODUCTION COMPANIES: WARNER BROS. PICTURES · NATANT FILMS, N.V. · HARRIER FILMS · HAWK FILMS
DISTRIBUTION: WARNER BROS. PICTURES
GENRE: DRAMA · WAR
CAST
MATTHEW MODINE — Pvt. James “Joker” Davis
ADAM BALDWIN — Animal Mother
VINCENT D’ONOFRIO — Pvt. Leonard “Gomer Pyle” Lawrence
R. LEE ERMEY — Gunnery Sergeant Hartman
DORIAN HAREWOOD — Eightball
ARLISS HOWARD — Pvt. Cowboy
KEVYN MAJOR HOWARD — Rafterman
ED O’ROSS — Lt. Walter J. Touchdown
JOHN TERRY — Lt. Lockhart
KIERON JECCHINIS — Crazy Earl
THE STORY
After completing Marine recruit training, Pvt. James “Joker” Davis is serving in Vietnam as a combat correspondent for Stars and Stripes.
During the Tet Offensive of 1968, Joker and combat photographer Rafterman join Marines operating around the ruined city of Huế. What begins as an assignment to document the fighting becomes an increasingly direct encounter with the realities of combat.
The Marines advance through destroyed buildings and streets while coming under fire from an unseen enemy. The sequence culminates in the squad’s confrontation with a female Viet Cong sniper, forcing Joker and the other Marines to confront the consequences of the violence they have been documenting.
TRIVIA & BEHIND THE SCENES
A Vietnam War Film Shot in Britain
One of the defining production facts about Full Metal Jacket is that Kubrick did not film the movie in Vietnam.
The entire production was filmed in Britain, with locations transformed to represent South Carolina and Vietnam. BFI specifically identifies Bassingbourn Barracks in Cambridgeshire as the Marine training location and Beckton Gasworks in London as the setting used for the Huế battle sequences.
Beckton Gasworks as Huế
The battle sequences were filmed at the former Beckton Gas Works in East London.
The production altered the industrial site to create the appearance of a devastated Vietnamese city, making use of existing structures, controlled demolition, set dressing, smoke, and tropical vegetation.
The Tanks
Six Belgian Army M-47 tanks were used during production after American armored vehicles proved impractical to transport to Britain.
The Vietnamese Community in London
Approximately 5,000 members of London’s Vietnamese immigrant community were recruited as background performers for the Da Nang street sequences.
Rafterman and Combat Photography
Rafterman’s role as a combat photographer is central to the film’s second half. His character accompanies Joker into the fighting and photographs the war while simultaneously becoming part of it.
The film therefore treats photography not simply as documentation, but as another way of experiencing and interpreting combat.
R. Lee Ermey
Former Marine drill instructor R. Lee Ermey was originally employed as a technical adviser before Kubrick cast him as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman. His performance became one of the film’s defining elements.
Abigail Mead
The film’s music is credited to Abigail Mead, the professional name used by Vivian Kubrick, Stanley Kubrick’s daughter.
Vivian Kubrick also made the behind-the-scenes documentary Shooting ‘Full Metal Jacket’ during the production.
Production Dates
Principal photography took place from August 27, 1985 to August 8, 1986.
AWARDS & LEGACY
Full Metal Jacket received an Academy Award nomination for Writing (Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium).
The film was also ranked No. 95 on the American Film Institute’s 100 Years…100 Thrills list.
Its combination of military training, black comedy, psychological conditioning, documentary-style combat imagery, and Kubrick’s controlled visual language has made it one of the most enduring Vietnam War films.
CARE
• Machine wash cold, inside out.
• Do not bleach.
• Do not iron directly over the print.
• Wash with similar colors.
IMPORTANT
This is a contemporary H354 T-shirt featuring a graphic interpretation of the movie itself does not represented as an original promotional or production garment.
