PLATOON: Blu-ray (Hemdale, 1986) Shout! Factory

BEST PICTURE - 1986

Often critiqued as a valiant successor to Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now (1979), Oliver Stone’s Platoon (1986) is a far more absorbing – less self-indulgent tour of duty, albeit with its prerequisite roster of casualties. Stone’s excoriating exposé follows thirty soldiers on their harrowing tour of duty, set at the height of the conflict in 1967. In a subtle homage to Coppola’s war classic, Stone cast Charlie Sheen as Platoon’s narrator, Pvt. Chris Taylor; a cockeyed optimist at the beginning, about to get the ‘blackened’ eye opener to forever taint his outlook on humanity at large and its lowest common denominator in war, in particular. Fresh faced, middle-class and college-graduated, Taylor is not only ill-equipped for the horrors of war – he is an absolute washout. Given the test of endurance Sheen suffered on Coppola’s classic (capped off by a near-fatal heart attack), it is a sincere wonder he deigned to partake of another like-minded outing to the jungle. Stone’s screenplay favors the conscientious objector’s stance; Stone, packing his roster with an A-list of stars who can also act: Tom Berenger (top-billed as Sgt. Barnes), Willem Dafoe (Sgt. Elias), Keith David (a.k.a. King), Kevin Dillion (Bunny), John C. McGinley (Sgt. O’Neill), Forest Whitaker (Big Harold), and Johnny Depp (Lerner). In hindsight, Platoon is the first movie in Stone’s Vietnam trilogy; its success followed, with diminishing returns, by 1989’s Born on the Fourth of July and 1993’s Heaven & Earth.

Stone based Platoon on his own wartime experiences – a dubious distinction, as no other film about Vietnam had ever been written by an actual participant in the war; the entire fiasco seen, mostly through the impressionable eyes and heart of Sheen’s U.S. Army volunteer, observing the gradual disintegration of relations between his warring sergeants, Barnes and Elias.  Today, Oliver Stone’s reputation as the maverick film-maker of insightful, hard-hitting dramas is well-ensconced. But in 1986, popular opinion regarding his talents remained affixed to two screenplays, for Midnight Express and Scarface (1983). Despite the success of these films, Stone could stir no interest in Platoon until Hemdale Film Corporation agreed to a two-picture deal; his other project, the as unflinchingly political drama, Salvador (1986). As early as his return to the U.S. after his own tour of duty in 1968, Stone had written his first draft of the screenplay that would eventually become Platoon. Then, entitled ‘Break’, it was a semi-autobiographical account, signaling a seismic shift in Stone’s attitudes on both the war, and the life to which he returned, ostensibly, and forever changed by the experience. Break featured several archetypes, later to be more fully fleshed out, as Stone continued to refine and polish his screenplay. Stone had hoped to cast The Doors, lead singer, Jim Morrison as his lead – arguably, a pipe dream that ended with Morrison’s untimely passing in 1971. Interestingly, Morrison had the copy of ‘Break’ Stone had sent him at the time of his death, the manuscript returned to Stone by Morrison’s agent.  

Having reached an impasse, Stone elected to attend film school, his apprenticeship with noted screenwriter, Robert Bolt on the never-to-be-produced, The Cover-up allowing him the opportunity to observe a master screenwriter involved in the rigors of his craft. Evidently, Bolt’s acumen rubbed off on Stone.  He went back to the drawing board with renewed verve on another draft, entitled, Platoon.  The screenplay caught the attentions of producer, Martin Bregman who, alas, could find no takers to fund it. Nevertheless, on the basis of Stone’s already exhibited prowess as a screenwriter, Bregman hired him to write Midnight Express. Even after the picture proved profitable, Stone discovered, perhaps more than ever, a general aversion to any movie about the Vietnam war; studios heads citing that the real ‘heavy-lifting’ had already been done by Michael Cimino’s The Deer Hunter (1978) and Coppola’s Apocalypse Now. What more was there to say about the war that would not open old wounds simply for the sake of rehashing them? Perhaps despondently, Stone countered by taking a mad stab at directing the easier-to-finance horror flick, The Hand (1981) – a colossal flop. To leverage his waning popularity, Stone bartered his talents on a deal with producer, Dino De Laurentiis. For half his usual salary, Stone agreed to write Year of the Dragon (1985), but only if De Laurentiis’ agreed to produce Platoon. This was the beginning of an awkward détente, as De Laurentiis seemed unable to stir any interest in Stone’s passion project. However, the producer was successful at getting Hemdale’s John Daly to read Stone’s draft for what would eventually become Salvador. As Daly loved Stone’s script, he agreed to finance not only Salvador, but Platoon as well.

Salvador was shot first; Stone, barely taking a break before delving head-strong into Platoon’s location shoot in the Philippines.  With its dense jungle foliage, the isle of Luzon would stand in for Vietnam; Platoon, encountering yet another delay that threatened its cancellation due to political upheaval under Ferdinand Marcos’ tyrannical rule. This derailment was averted by Asian producer Mark Hill; Stone and his company settling in for 54 days, just 2 days after Marcos’ escape into exile. At a cost of $6.5 million, Stone shot Platoon chronologically, and, made the absolute most of the resources at his disposal, including the Philippine military, and, Vietnamese refugees. Actor, James Woods, who had starred in Salvador, was offered a part in Platoon, adamantly refusing to partake as, by his own account he “couldn't face going into another jungle.” And although Denzel Washington heavily campaigned to play Elias, Stone would instead turn to Willem Dafoe, whom he greatly admired. Cast were subjected to an intensive crash course in combat training led by war vet, Dale Dye (who also appears in the movie as Capt. Harris), digging their own foxholes and enduring forced marches, as well as nighttime ‘ambushes’, rigged with realistic SFX explosions. This 30-day military immersion toughened up the stars, but it also generated a convincing camaraderie between them, essential in the creation of believable friendships to evolve within the story. The result of all this preliminary training was, as Stone later recollected, “…to mess with their heads so we could get that dog-tired, don't give a damn attitude, the anger, the irritation ... the casual approach to death.”

Platoon opens in the summer of ’67 as U.S. Army volunteer, Chris Taylor is assigned to the 25th Infantry Division near the Cambodian border. The platoon is formally led by the young, though unproven, Lieutenant Wolfe (Mark Moses). In reality, the men defer to the hard-boiled and scornful Staff Sergeant, Robert Barnes, and the more principled, Sergeant Elias. Almost immediately, Taylor is thrust into the thick of things when he is assigned to accompany Barnes, Elias and other soldiers on a night ambush. Regrettably, the North Vietnamese soldiers manage to get close to the unsuspecting Americans. In the brief firefight that ensues, fellow ‘new recruit’ Gardener (Bob Orwig) is killed and Taylor, slightly wounded. After his recovery in hospital, Taylor connects with Elias and his close-knit circle of marijuana-smokers who remain something of an anathema to Barnes and his uncompromising cohorts. During a successive perambulation, three more soldiers are wiped out by booby traps and unobserved aggressors. Already on edge, the platoon is out for blood after Barnes discovers an enemy supply and weapons cache in the neighboring village. Through a Vietnamese-speaking interpreter, Barnes aggressively cross-examines the local chief, then cold-bloodedly assassinates his wife after she attempts to admonish him. Elias is appalled, and gets into a physical altercation with Barnes before Wolfe intercedes, ordering all supplies burned and the village razed. Meanwhile, Taylor compassionately prevents the gang-rape of two girls by some of Barnes' men.

Veteran company commander, Captain Harris suspects foul play and forewarns that if he unearths any hint of ‘murder’, a court-martial will surely follow. Paranoid about Elias, Barnes begins to plot an unholy revenge. On their next patrol, the platoon is waylaid in a firefight inflicting many casualties, compounded by Wolfe’s unintentional artillery strike onto his own unit. Elias takes Taylor and two more soldiers to capture bordering enemy troops while Barnes orders the rest of the platoon into a jungle retreat. Seizing upon this opportunity to put a definite period to his arch nemesis, Barnes hunts down Elias and presumably murders him, before returning to base camp, claiming Elias was killed by the enemy. While the platoon is evacuating their position via a helicopter rescue, the company glimpses Elias, mortally wounded, but emerging from the jungle, pursued by a small contingent of North Vietnamese soldiers, who do, in fact, kill him. Taylor now realizes Barnes was responsible, having left Elias for dead. At base camp, Taylor tries to convince some of the soldiers to frag Barnes in retaliation for Elias.  Barnes overhears this, coolly mocking the men. Presuming he will never have another opportunity as ripe as this, Taylor assaults Barnes. However, even intoxicated, Barnes is able to overpower Taylor, superficially wounding him with his push dagger.

Sent back into the jungle to maintain their defensive positions, Taylor shares a foxhole with Francis (Corey Glover). Under the cover of night, an intense assault levels their fortification.  Wolfe and most of Barnes’ loyalists are murdered, the battalion’s headquarters blown to bits in a suicide attack. Now in command, Harris orders his air support to disburse all their outstanding weaponry inside his perimeter. During the resultant confusion, Taylor come upon Barnes, injured and insane. However, just as Barnes is about to murder Taylor, both men are knocked unconscious by an air strike. By dawn’s early light, Taylor regains consciousness, discovering Barnes severely wounded, though otherwise alive and demanding medical attention. Seeing Taylor’s apprehension, Barnes contemptuously deduces Taylor will likely kill him instead. And indeed, Taylor does. Francis, who has survived virtually unscathed, purposely stabs himself in the leg and prompts Taylor to play along. As they have both been ‘twice wounded’ they can return home. With mixed emotions, Taylor bids the surviving company farewell. However, as helicopters carry Francis and Taylor to safety, Taylor becomes emotionally overwrought by the overview of multiple craters, teeming with corpses.

Platoon is a powerful indictment of the greatest casualty of war – innocence. Oliver Stone, withholds absolutely nothing to express the abject misery and disintegration of men’s souls as they devolve into their most primal and animalistic behaviors. Robert Richardson’s cinematography lets the humidity of these exotic locales and the fearful grit and sweat of its woeful participants show through; the visual impact greatly abetted by Georges Delerue’s score, interpolating popular tunes, classical orchestrations and his own inimitable themes to create a uniquely unsettling and visceral experience. Noted critic of her generation, Pauline Kael has admitted to one of Platoon’s shortcomings, however, adding “Stone takes too many melodramatic shortcuts, and that there's too much filtered light, too much poetic license, and too damn much romanticized insanity ... The movie crowds you; it doesn't leave you room for an honest emotion.” Due to a legal dispute between HBO and Vestron Home Video, Platoon did not immediately find its way to the consumer market. Its DVD release was even further set back, until 1997, at which time Live Entertainment had assumed custodial rights. Then, in 1999, Polygram Filmed Entertainment held dominion, until its assets were absorbed in 2001 by MGM, intermittently shared with Sony Pictures Home Entertainment again on DVD in 2006, and finally, a Blu-ray from MGM/Fox Home Video, the latter, having bought up MGM/UA, with yet another 2018 Blu-ray reissue from Shout! Factory – under a third-party distribution deal with MGM/Fox.

Shout! Factory's is a pleasant surprise. Given the laissez faire handling of catalog in hi-def from Fox, Platoon looks as though it's been the obvious benefactor of some concerted remastering, advertised as derived from a 4K scan from original 35mm elements, and with both Oliver Stone and cinematographer, Robert Richardson's input. The results - superb. We get fully saturated colors, deep vibrant greens, acrid blacks and raw gory reds. Flesh tones are natural. Contrast is spot on. Fine details pop. Film grain is accurately reproduced. So, no complaints here. The audio is 5.1 DTS and delivers the goods. Extras include an immersive audio commentary, ‘making of’ featurette and theatrical trailer. Bottom line: while Platoon may be too intensely felt for some, and not as deeply invested as other movies, slavishly devoted to telling stories about the Vietnam war, Platoon is buoyed by good solid performances from its all-male ensemble, and immeasurably blessed to have Oliver Stone’s unvarnished ability to pick away at the scabs of these war-torn and wounded psyches. Part character study/part actioner, and overall sobering to a fault, Platoon holds its own in the pantheon of war movies. It’s neither quite as epic nor as moralizing as some of the others, but it does pack its own unique wallop; gripping, heartfelt, and painfully real.

FILM RATING (out of 5 – 5 being the best)

4

VIDEO/AUDIO

5

EXTRAS

3