Director: Stanley Kubrick
Cast: Matthew Modine, Vincent D’Onofrio, R. Lee Ermey, Adam Baldwin
Have I Seen it Before: Never. I know, I know...
Did I Like It: Any criticism of a Kubrick movie has a certain limitation right out of the gate. There is likely no greater director from an aesthetic point of view. Even if someone has the gall to dismiss any of his movies as boring—a critique often leveled at 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)—no one can say his movies look bad. This film is no exception. His pure photographer’s eye is incapable of being distracted from his intended purpose. If you haven’t gotten around to see any of his films—as I had with this one—and profess to love cinema, then you probably better fill out the gaps in your experience.
But there are a few things that strike me about the film as it proceeds.
Normally, I would be very dim on a film which spends as much time on a first act that doesn’t really serve the story later on, but once again Kubrick’s artistry is such that I’d be willing to give him a break on almost anything. You can swing your arms and hit films that depict the insanity and absurdity of war, but few are willing to drive home how foolish something like basic training can become.
I was surprised by how much popular music Kubrick used in the film, as I would have assumed it would be filed to the brim with classical selections. Then again, if Kubrick simply duplicated his choice from 2001 and A Clockwork Orange (1971), that wouldn’t be worth his time or mine.
I’m also struck by a phenomenon unique to his films, and its a thought that flies in the face of how I’ve viewed his films in the past, especially 2001. He shoots in an aspect ratio that would actually maintain—more than any other films from the era—the experience as much as possible when viewed on televisions before the ubiquity of widescreen sets. There is no need to Pan and Scan his films. It’s staggering that he could both work to create an experience that simply must be experienced on the largest screen possible and could be viewed on a crappy VHS copy without having any of the frame summarily lopped off.