A Few Words About A few words about…™ Full Metal Jacket – in 4k UHD Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Robert Harris]

Warner’s new 4k UHD of Stanley Kubrick’s 1987 Full Metal Jacket originally split the critics.
Some saw it as a series of short films tied together by an overriding anti-war tale, while others found it more cohesive in form.
Regardless of how they (or viewers today) feel about the film, one point rings true. It is an unrelenting voyage into the lives and minds of Marines, from their arrival at training camp – shot meticulously by Douglas Milsome, with nary a hint that all of it – from the Parris Island training camp to Viet Nam – was all shot on location in Vancouver.
The new 4k release is one of those miraculously beautiful examples of precisely how film-like a 4k disc can appear, perfectly mimicking it’s analogue counterpart, except in terms of overall steadiness, and whatever wear one might find in the analogue world.
The imagery on this disc is beyond reproach. Color, grain structure, densities, shadow detail, all perfect, as would befit viewing a digital representation of an...

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[Powell&Pressburger]

its nice they included an original MONO audio track on the disc, however it’s a weak compressed Dolby Digital 192kbps option

 

[Tino]

shot meticulously by Douglas Milsome, with nary a hint that all of it - from the Parris Island training camp to Viet Nam - was all shot on location in Vancouver.

Wow. Amazing how Vancouver looks so much like England.

 

[Richard Pyke]

The sniper sequence was filmed at the old disused gas works at Beckton, East London. Suitable vegetataion and trees etc were imported and planted to give the Vietnam effect. I believe the training sequences were filmed in Cambridgeshire (but stand to be corrected).
Mr Kubrick didn't like flying.

 

[Tino]

FMJ Trivia

In the first part of the movie, in the sequences inside the barracks during the drill, a special lens was designed to keep every single Recruit in focus. Director Stanley Kubrick intended that no one was special and they all had the same treatment.
To make Gunnery Sgt. Hartmann's performance and the recruits' reactions as convincing as possible, Matthew Modine, Vincent D'Onofrio, and the other actors playing recruits never met R. Lee Ermey prior to filming. Stanley Kubrick also saw to it that Ermey didn't fraternize with the actors between takes.
One scene cut from the movie showed a group of Marines playing soccer. The scene was cut because a shot revealed they were kicking a human head, not a soccer ball.
Director Stanley Kubrick had nothing but praise for R. Lee Ermey's skills as a performer. Kubrick originally was going to write dialogue for Ermey's character himself, but he became so impressed with what Ermey improvised, he decided it was not necessary. He simply let him ad-lib, an act practically unheard of for a Stanley Kubrick film. Ermey's performances were so faultless that Kubrick only needed two to three takes to get his scenes filmed, which was also extremely rare for a Kubrick film. The only instance Ermey had to film more than two to three takes was in the "Jelly Doughnut Scene," which he claimed was filmed in 37 takes, to the point his voice kept disappearing from time to time.
To create a realistic effect during Vietnam battle scenes, DP Douglas Milsome experimented with a camera with a shutter thrown off sync. This effect was reused in another war movie, Saving Private Ryan (1998).
Private Joker's shirt on Parris Island reveals that his real name is J.T. Davis. It is a deliberate reference to Spec. James T. Davis, the first officially recognized U.S. casualty in Vietnam, who was killed in 1961.
According to an interview with Vincent D'Onofrio, the production schedule for the film was so drawn-out that lead actor Matthew Modine got married, conceived a child with his wife, the child was born, and then turned 1 year old...all during the course of filming.
Vincent D'Onofrio gained 70 pounds for his role as Pvt. Pyle, breaking Robert De Niro's movie weight-gain record (60 pounds) for Raging Bull (1980) (a record that still stands as of 2020). It took him seven months to put the weight on, and nine months to take it off with physical training. He noted that his new look scared off women, and people would often repeat things to him, thinking that he was mentally challenged.
R. Lee Ermey was involved in a jeep accident during the making of the movie. At 1:00 a.m. one night he skidded off the road, breaking all the ribs on his left side. He refused to pass out, and kept flashing his car lights until a motorist stopped. In some scenes you'll notice that he does not move his left arm at all. Stanley Kubrick claimed in an interview that it took four and a half months before Ermey could return to work in which production simply had to be suspended since he was involved in all the remaining scenes.
This was Stanley Kubrick's first film edited by computer rather than linearly spliced film.
While location scouting for the film Stanley Kubrick was driving his wife's new SUV around the countryside with cinematographer Douglas Milsome and R. Lee Ermey as passengers. At one point Kubrick noticed a potential location out his window, and became so distracted describing to Milsome how he wanted the location used in the film that he crashed the car into a six foot deep ditch, rolling the SUV onto its side. Undeterred, Kubrick continued talking about the location uninterrupted as they climbed out of the car and walked back home.
It is a common misconception that much, if not all, of R. Lee Ermey's dialogue during the Parris Island sequence was improvised. In several interviews Ermey himself has stated that he worked closely with Kubrick to help mold the script so that it was more believable, all while retaining certain dialogue crucial to Kubrick's vision. While filming the opening scene, where he disciplines Pvt. Cowboy, he says Cowboy is the type of guy who would have sex with another guy "and not even have the goddamned common courtesy to give him a reach-around". Stanley Kubrick immediately yelled cut and went over to Ermey and asked, "What the hell is a reach-around?" Ermey politely explained what it meant. Kubrick laughed and re-shot the scene, telling Ermey to keep the line.
R. Lee Ermey said he felt Vincent D'Onofrio's performance was the best in the film.

 

[Bryan^H]

Warner's new 4k UHD of Stanley Kubrick's 1987 Full Metal Jacket originally split the critics.

Some saw it as a series of short films tied together by an overriding anti-war tale, while others found it more cohesive in form.

Regardless of how they (or viewers today) feel about the film, one point rings true. It is an unrelenting voyage into the lives and minds of Marines, from their arrival at training camp - shot meticulously by Douglas Milsome, with nary a hint that all of it - from the Parris Island training camp to Viet Nam - was all shot on location in Vancouver.

The new 4k release is one of those miraculously beautiful examples of precisely how film-like a 4k disc can appear, perfectly mimicking it's analogue counterpart, except in terms of overall steadiness, and whatever wear one might find in the analogue world.

The imagery on this disc is beyond reproach. Color, grain structure, densities, shadow detail, all perfect, as would befit viewing a digital representation of an original camera negative.

I commend Warner Bros. for having released the film as a single, along with the Kubrick 3-Film 4k Collection, which also offers The Shining and 2001, allowing those who already have the other two films, to add Full Metal Jacket.

Image – 5

Audio – 5 (DTS-HD MA 5.1)

Pass / Fail – Pass

Upgrade from Blu-ray - without a doubt

Very Highly Recommended

RAH

I never turn the film off after the "boot camp" part of the film. I know people that do.
My only guess is that the segment of the film is too draining, and by the end they have had enough. I find every other part of the film just as interesting as the first 45 minutes.

 

[Dave Moritz]

Will be buying the 4K blu-ray as soon as it comes out!

 

[Dave Moritz]

Glad I have this title on 4K blu-ray especially since my Toshiba HD-DVD player got glitchy as heck!

 

[skylark68]

Interesting that the new cover art portrays the second half of the film which many people disregard as inferior to the first half. I personally like the entire film but it’s tough to follow up Ermey’s performance.

 

[Britton]

Gave this a watch after getting it at BB for $9.99 last week and having my LG C8 OLED calibrated this past Monday.

WOW. Just WOW. That ending scene with the orange glow. Stunning. The movie was more intense than on previous formats. Benefits of HDR?

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Gave this a watch after getting it at BB for $9.99 last week and having my LG C8 OLED calibrated this past Monday.

WOW. Just WOW. That ending scene with the orange glow. Stunning. The movie was more intense than on previous formats. Benefits of HDR?

I've only ever seen a few minutes of it on a couple occasions on cable long ago back in my college days presumably soon after its theatrical run.

The mixed-to-poor reviews kept me away all these years until BB made us that $10 4K offer I couldn't refuse last week -- well, of course, the raves here, especially including RAH's, make all the diff. Probably woulda gone w/ a $5 4K digital from iTunes at some point if not for BB's sale.

Haven't had time to watch it yet -- my backlog has blown up like crazy, especially w/ my recent foray into iTunes sales and streaming subs like Criterion Channel on top of various disc sales of late... and the having a family thing, haha...

Cheers! And enjoy!!!

_Man_

 

[Ahab]

Saw this in the theater when it was first released. I remember being blown away by the first part because it was the best depiction of boot camp I'd seen on film. Leastways, it closely matched my experience at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego back in the early 70's. But I was disapointed in the second half. Fortunately for me I never had to go over to Vietnam.
Given the rave reviews I've been reading, have decided to give it another chance. Plan on watching it this weekend.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Saw this in the theater when it was first released. I remember being blown away by the first part because it was the best depiction of boot camp I'd seen on film. Leastways, it closely matched my experience at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego back in the early 70's. But I was disapointed in the second half. Fortunately for me I never had to go over to Vietnam.
Given the rave reviews I've been reading, have decided to give it another chance. Plan on watching it this weekend.

The second half of the movie has its moments that I appreciate more now than when the movie first came out.

 

[Worth]

Saw this in the theater when it was first released. I remember being blown away by the first part because it was the best depiction of boot camp I'd seen on film...

It's kind of shocking just how much of it seems like a direct lift from The Boys in Company C, right down to R. Lee Ermey as the drill sergeant.

 

[Wes Candela]

its nice they included an original MONO audio track on the disc, however it’s a weak compressed Dolby Digital 192kbps option

why did they do that?
Just give us the lossless audio track
Moving forward that’s all we should be getting in my opinion

 

[Ahab]

It's kind of shocking just how much of it seems like a direct lift from The Boys in Company C, right down to R. Lee Ermey as the drill sergeant.

Haven't seen that movie. Will have to check it out. Thanks.

 

[Ahab]

The second half of the movie has its moments that I appreciate more now than when the movie first came out.

After watching it last night, I agree.

As far as the realistic portrayal of boot camp: The character Pyle would have been sent to the 'Fat Farm' fairly quickly in real life. Or simply 'washed out'. Also, a number went AWOL and ended up in the brig.
Only about 1/3 of the originial members in my platoon made it all the way to graduation. During training replacements were continually being added from those who had completed their training in the Fat Farm or who had been injured during training and were now considered physically fit to continue it.

Of course, Kubrick was not making a documentary so it is understandable why these realistic elements were ignored in order to presereve the dramatic elements of the film.

 

[DigniT@DigniT!]

As a huge Kubrick admirer, I hope we get a 4K UHD of all of his work, particularly BARRY LYNDON... I've enjoyed owning all of the transfers of his work!