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 enlarge | Actors: Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe, Keith David, Johnny Depp, Kevin Dillon
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
Category: DVD
List Price: $14.98
Buy New: $3.62
You Save: $11.36 (76%)
New (71) Used (61) Collectible (4) from $2.45
Rating:  296 reviews
Sales Rank: 4017
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Original Language), French (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), Spanish (Dubbed)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 120 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.1 x 0.6
MPN: MGMD1002044D
UPC: 027616862815
EAN: 0027616862815
ASIN: B00005AUJQ
Theatrical Release Date: December 24, 1986
Release Date: June 5, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Order with confidence - Every single package is shipped with insurance, and domestic packages have Delivery Confirmation. We will email you a confirmation with tracking information before we ship. Many individual CD's and DVD's get upgraded to first class mail to get to you quickly.
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Showing reviews 76-80 of 296
 Middle of the road rating for 'half and half' movie. September 24, 2004
R Jess (Limerick, Ireland.)
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
The relative authenticity of life in the U.S. army during the Vietnam war is an argument that will always be debated by veterans and history scholars alike. For the rest of us these debates are largely beyond our intervention as we have never experienced what these soldiers had to go through. All we can do is appreciate the fear, paranoia and everyday frustrations of their lives in Vietnam.
Stone evokes some sense of the claustraphobia these soldiers must have experienced in the dense thicket of the jungle. Unlike other war movies, the frame isn't filled with the enemy, yet you sense they're always there. The only time they do attack is at night, when their camoflaged frames seem to float in and out of the woods. Stone's constant use of medium and close-up shots only seem to tighten the already confined setting. The U.S. soldiers don't just look out of place in this crippling environment, they look like aliens from another planet.
Charlie Sheen plays a very similiar role to his father's in 'Apocolypse Now', even down to the narrative voice-over. The striking contrast between Elias & Barnes is an almost super-simplistic symbol of the divisions felt in America over the war. Stone has often referred to Vietnam as the 2nd American Civil War with Tom Berenger representing conservative America and Willem Defoe its liberal opposition. The contrast even shows in the musical and recreational division of the platoon.
Stone has admitted that 50% of the film is true and 50% is fiction. The U.S. army thought that Stone's script was so unrealistic they refused to be involved in its making.
"This is bad, man. I've got bad vibes here." August 28, 2004
Steven Y. (Marvel Universe 616)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Oliver Stone's "Platoon" is not a cinematic glamorization of war. This is a mature critique of the stark and horrifying realities of armed conflict. It is also a bold production that forever changed how Hollywood would make war films in the future.
Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) is a college dropout who volunteers for military duty because he feels it is his patriotic duty to serve in Vietnam. He immediately realizes he is in over his head as the long sleepless nights and ever-present dangers start to wear him down. Two figures start to play important roles in his life - Sergeant Bob Barnes (Tom Berenger), the scarred veteran who represents the darker aspects of human nature, and Sergeant Elias Grodin (Willem Dafoe), the mentor and friend who symbolizes the generosity and goodness in humanity. While trying to survive the perils around him, Taylor comes to realize that the hostile dynamics within his platoon are proving to be just as dangerous as the engagements with enemy forces.
"Platoon" is not a film populated by indestructible warriors who engage in false heroics. It is a film that examines how war can dramatically alter one's notions of right and wrong and good and evil. Stone pulls no punches in getting across the point that war oftentimes brings out the worst qualities in human beings. Watching his characters deteriorate into savagery because of the chaos that surrounds them is a sobering viewing experience. Stone also adds a unique dimension to the film by emphasizing how the Vietnam experience turned American soldiers against each other. The conventional "enemy" soldiers in the film are nothing more than faceless entities. Yet, the conflict within the platoon is vividly portrayed as the disparate attitudes of its members lead to horrifying incidents that pit platoon soldier against platoon soldier. Watching conflict where there should be no conflict destroys the notion of the unified sense of purpose that characterized war films of earlier eras. Much credit should be given to Stone for redefining the war experience for a new generation of filmgoers.
 Best Vietnam War Movie. August 16, 2004
Sean
1 out of 4 found this review helpful
If you want to know how the vietnam war was buy this movie. Its very realistic, its the second most realistic war movie ever (saving private ryan is the first of course). Its got a lot of war action, very chaotic with lots of explosions like the real thing. Its got good performances from the three main characters dafoe, berenger, and sheen. Its sad and funny at times, very dramatic when dafoe gets shot. It truely depicts the terrible things in war, definetly worthy of the best pic oscar. 9 out of a 10.
"Death? Whadda ya'll know about death?" August 4, 2004
R. Hansen (Campbell, CA United States)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This sits right behind `The Godfather' as my all time favorite movie. Actually I have probably watched this film more times than any other. A friend and I had seen this so many times that if one of us quoted a line from it the other would answer with the next part of the script and then we would go on for about 15 minutes verbatim from the dialogue (much to the annoyance of anyone around us).
Though I've never been in combat, I have been in the Army for 17 years and I have a feeling (from knowing my fellow soldiers like I do) that this movie is accurate in portraying combat and the life of the grunt in Vietnam. And if it is this verite that compels the film, it the acting that keeps it focused. The supporting cast is tight and the three main players (Sheen, Berenger and Dafoe) are outstanding. Stone really inspired these men and brought out indelible performances.
The intensity of this work is severe. It is commensurate with a good horror film that keeps you on the edge of your seat, but in this case the horror is all too real. Three scenes are particularly nonplusing: the playing of `Tracks of My Tears' in the middle of the film as a clear point in which to delineate the hopelessness of the soldiers; the fulminating village scene culminating in Barnes with the gun to the little girls head and the disconcerted face of Chris as he strains with emotion, wanting to say something; and the incomparable tableau of Elias' death, arms outstretched to the sky as the chopper flies by. That scene has affected me like few scenes ever have, and it always takes me a few minutes to recover from it. It is one of the most powerful film moments I have ever seen. And Stone's choice of `Aidiago For Strings' for the background music was very perceptive.
The only question I have about the movie is the ending. I can't praise it or condemn it. I suppose that it is realistic, but it seems to lessen the humanity of Chris especially considering his final words about going from this point to make a better world. It just seems like such a great film deserved a better ending but, as I cannot come up with one myself, I'll keep my criticism low.
A quick side note: I met Corey Glover who played `Francis' (the guy who stabs himself in the leg at the end in order to go home) in Stuttgart Germany. He was the lead singer for the band `Living Colour' (they had a hit with the song `Cult of Personality') and they were playing a club there. He was very cordial and talkative. I didn't realize at the time that he had even been in the film until I watched it for a second time on video and noticed his name.
Powerful film on man in battle July 30, 2004
Richard E. Hourula (Berkeley, CA. United States)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The best evidence of how powerful a film "Platoon" is comes from the Viet Nam War veteran's testimonies as seen and heard on a documentary about the film. That documentary, "A Tour of the Inferno" rounds out this wonderful DVD presentation of a great American film. Those veterans, many in tears, talk about the film's realism and how it was so evocative as to bring back the very smell of their war experiences.
"Platoon" is director Oliver Stone's semi-autobiographical rumination on his tour of duty in Viet Nam during the late Sixties. The film follows 27 men banded together with the common purpose of survival but driven apart in many other ways. As lead character Charlie Sheen says towards the end of the film, they were fighting themselves as much as the enemy.
Seeing "Platoon" is an excellent way to understand American participation in the Viet Nam War particularly its impact on the "grunts" -- the infantry.
Both as a screenwriter and director, Stone doesn't shy away from the profanity, the blood, the tedium, the fear and the immorality of this war (or for that matter any war). While some scenes are difficult to watch, the movie as a whole is difficult to ignore, it's message so powerfully presented.
The battle scenes are among the best ever filmed. Special effects both in sounds and sights are superb. "Platoon" also features an unfogettable score highlighted by "ADAGIO FOR STRINGS" whish was arranged and conducted by Georges Delerue
A strong ensemble cast is headed by Sheen, Tom Berenger, David Keith, Willem Dafoe and a very young then unknown Johnny Depp.
The accompanying commentaries featuring Stone and technical adviser ex Marine Captain Dale Dye add much to the appreciation of "Platoon's" realism. Both are engaging and easy to listen to.
The documentary tells the grueling tale of the making of "Platoon" and further adds to one's appreciation of this magnificent movie.
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