Full Metal Jacket

FEW films are as cruel and compelling as Stanley Kubrick’s ninth feature. After the supernatural shocks of The Shining, the notoriously demanding director shifted to real-life horror with the story of the training and deployment of war reporter Joker (Matthew Modine) – a bloke who scrawls “Born to kill” on his helmet, yet also wears a peace symbol badge. The first half of the film follows Joker as he and his fellow recruits are verbally abused by Drill Sergeant Hartman (played by former US marine R Lee Ermey, who employs the most imaginative swearing ever heard on film). Then, with their humanity beaten out of them, they head to Vietnam to put their preparation into bloody practice. Co-written by reporter Michael Herr, Full Metal Jacket is a merciless depiction of what happens if you try to turn men into killing machines.