Film Studies: Full Metal Jacket 15

The new draftees at an American military barracks during the Vietnam War are put through their paces by a ferocious Gunnery Sergeant (an astounding debut performance by real-life army veteran R. Lee Ermey). Not all of them make it to their first tour of duty in a hellish urban war zone, where they come face to face with the enemy – inside themselves.

Amid the contemporary cycle of Vietnam War films, Full Metal Jacket stands out for its bold two-part structure and radical stance on masculinity and militarism. Filmed in the Isle of Dogs, East London, its portrayal of the dehumanising effects of both army training and neo-colonialist combat makes this one of the most powerfully disturbing works to come out of 1980s Hollywood.

Presented in association with Sheffield Hallam University.

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