Director
Stanley Kubrick
Leading Actors/Actresses
Matthew Modine, Vincent D'Onofrio, Adam Baldwin, R. Lee Ermey
Supporting Actors/Actresses
Kevyn Major Howard, Arliss Howard, Dorian Harewood
Genre
Drama, War
Language
English
Awards
Nominated for Academy Award for Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium
Date of Release
1987
Producer
Stanley Kubrick
Setting and Context
Parris Island, South Carolina and Vietnam during the Vietnam War
Narrator and Point of View
Narrator and Point of View is that of Private J.T. 'Joker' Davis
Tone and Mood
Serious, Dark, Suspenseful
Protagonist and Antagonist
Protagonist is Joker and Pyle. Antagonist is Gny. Sgt. Hartman
Major Conflict
In the first half of the film, Pyle is ostracized from his squad during boot camp; in the second half, the split between soldiers who believe they are in Vietnam to help and those who have no clue why they are there.
Climax
Pyle kills Sgt. Hartman in first half of the film and himself. In second half of the film, the soldiers confront a sniper who is slowly picking them off.
Foreshadowing
When Pyle doesn't repeat what the Sergeant is saying during training while everyone else screams, "Kill, kill, kill!" it foreshadows his snapping, and his eventual murder-suicide.
Understatement
Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques
Allusions
Joker alludes to the psychoanalyst Jung when describing his "BORN TO KILL" helmet and peace sign as an example of the "duality of man"; Hartman's nickname for Leonard Lawrence ("Gomer Pyle") is an allusion to a character on the Andy Griffith Show
Paradox
Pyle is awful at everything he does from PT to inspections, but paradoxically he is an ace when it comes to being a rifleman, as he hits his target every time.
