Platoon

Oliver Stone’s 1986 film drops Chris Taylor, a volunteer in Vietnam, between two sergeants, Barnes and Elias. Stone lived this war before writing it: infantryman with the 25th Infantry Division from September 1967, then the 1st Cavalry Division, wounded twice, home with a Bronze Star for valour and a Purple Heart. The cast went to a camp, not rehearsals. Dale Dye, a retired Marine captain with three Vietnam tours, ran a mock boot camp in the jungle on short food, water and sleep; Stone wanted them dog-tired, not bonded. Dye also plays Captain Harris. The Philippine shoot on Luzon was nearly cancelled by the fall of Ferdinand Marcos; cameras rolled two days after he fled. A six million dollar budget took 138.5 million in North America. The film won Best Picture, Directing, Film Editing and, under the name it carried then, Sound. It lost four more: Tom Berenger and Willem Dafoe against each other in Actor in a Supporting Role, Robert Richardson in Cinematography, and Stone in Writing (Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen), where he was up twice that year, also for Salvador. A good fit if you want the friction between Barnes and Elias rather than with the enemy. Not for you if the village scene, which does not cut away from violence against civilians, is too much.