FILM · 1987 · UK
Full Metal Jacket
- Directed by
- Stanley Kubrick
- Runtime
- 117 min
- Studio
- Natant, Stanley Kubrick Productions, Warner Bros. Pictures
20 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
A pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the U.S.-Vietnam War has on his fellow recruits from their brutal boot camp training to the bloody street fighting in Hue.
Summary: TMDB
All facts (20)
- #001
For the boot camp scenes set inside the barracks during the first part of the film, a special lens was designed to keep each recruit in focus. Director Stanley Kubrick wanted to convey that no one was special and that all of them were subject to the same treatment.
- #002
Director Stanley Kubrick did nothing but praise R. Lee Ermey's skills as an artist. Kubrick had initially planned to write the dialogue for Ermey's character himself, but he was so impressed by Ermey's improvisations that he decided it was unnecessary. He allowed him to improvise, an almost unheard-of move for a Kubrick film. Ermey's performances were so flawless that Kubrick needed only two or three takes to shoot his scenes, which was also extremely rare for a Kubrick film. The only instance in which Ermey had to do more than two or three takes was the "Jelly Doughnut Scene," which he claimed was shot in 37 takes, to the point that his voice occasionally gave out.
- #003
According to an interview with Vincent D'Onofrio, the film's production schedule was so long that lead actor Matthew Modine got married, had a child with his wife, the child was born and then turned one year old… all of this happened during filming.
- #004
In a scene cut from the film, a group of marines was playing football. The scene was cut because it turned out that on one play they kicked not the football but a human head.
- #005
Many people have noticed that in the opening scene, where Gunnery Hartman belittles Joker and Cowboy, the Senior Drill Instructor walks past one recruit before reaching Pyle. This led to speculation that the actor was placed there by accident and that Pyle was supposed to stand next to Cowboy, since it would make no sense for Hartman to jump over someone as he does in the film. R. Lee Ermey was asked about this during a 2008 appearance and stated that it was in fact not a mistake: during his time as a drill instructor, Ermey would often skip some recruits and catch the next one off guard, because they would not expect to be yelled at the next time.
- #006
It is a common misconception that R. Lee Ermey's dialogue during the Parris Island scenes was entirely, or mostly, improvised. In several interviews, Ermey stated that he worked closely with Stanley Kubrick to make the script more convincing and that Kubrick kept certain lines that were vital to his vision. While shooting the opening scene in which he disciplines Pvt. Cowboy, he yells at Cowboy and crudely calls him "the kind of guy who could fuck a man in the ass and not even have the courtesy to lie around." Kubrick immediately yelled cut and went over to Ermey and asked, "What does lying around mean?" Ermey politely explained what it meant. Kubrick laughed and reshot the scene, telling Ermey to keep the line.
- #007
Vincent D'Onofrio tore the ligaments in his knee on the obstacle course because of the extra weight he had gained.
- #008
R. Lee Ermey was in a jeep accident during the making of the film. One night at 1:00 a.m. he went off the road and broke all the ribs on his left side. He refused to pass out and kept his car lights on until a driver stopped. You will notice that in some scenes he never moves his left arm. In an interview, Stanley Kubrick claimed that it took Ermey four and a half months to return to work and that production had to be suspended because he appeared in all the remaining scenes.
- #009
Cinematographer Douglas Milsome experimented with a camera whose shutter synchronization was thrown off in order to create a realistic effect in the Vietnam battle scenes. This effect was reused in another war film, Saving Private Ryan (1998).
- #010
Vincent D'Onofrio heard about the film's auditions from Matthew Modine. Using a rented video camera and wearing army clothes, he recorded his audition for the role of Pvt. Pyle. At the time D'Onofrio was working as a bouncer at a club and had appeared in only a few projects, so he did not expect much from the audition. In fact, when director Stanley Kubrick and his assistant called him about the role, D'Onofrio thought someone was playing a joke on him and hung up. In their second conversation, they managed to convince him that they were real and genuinely interested in him. D'Onofrio later said he owed his career to Kubrick casting him in the film.
- #011
All of the film's Vietnam scenes were shot first, and the Parris Island basic training scenes were shot second. The opening shot of the Da Nang street with the local prostitute was the first scene to be filmed. The square where the marines march during their graduation was the last scene to be filmed.
- #012
Most of the actors auditioned for their roles by sending in videotapes shot while performing a scene set in Vietnam. Director Stanley Kubrick and the studio placed advertisements all over the United States for young actor candidates to send in audition tapes for the film. They received about 3,000, and Kubrick personally watched about 800 of them.
- #013
Production designer Anton Furst studied 6,000 photographs of the Vietnam War as research. He wanted to create an image of a nightmarish hell: "We didn't want blue sky; when the sun came out, Kubrick wasn't shooting. When the crew entered the burned city of Quai, we had set all the buildings on fire. Parris Island was supposed to train them for their tour of Vietnam, so we contrasted the incredible cleanliness of the basic training camp with the incredible filth of the real war; the important thing was that they came up against something they could never be trained for."
- #014
This was Stanley Kubrick's first film to be edited by computer rather than by linearly spliced film.
- #015
The entire film was shot in England, at Pinewood Studios and Bassingbourn Barracks. Footage of a real graduation ceremony on Parris Island was used in the film, with an additional segment added from England. For the final battle scenes set in Hue, Stanley Kubrick was able to use Beckton, an abandoned gasworks town on the Thames. Researchers meticulously studied dozens of images of the real Hue to make sure Beckton looked authentic, and palm trees were brought to the area to create a tropical effect.
- #016
Vincent D'Onofrio said he saw Private Pyle's story as a monster created by an experiment gone wrong, a young man transformed into a psychotic killer rather than a warrior, and in his final scene he deliberately used expressions reminiscent of classic movie monsters.
- #017
In the book, Gunnery Sergeant Gerheim (as he is known) is not as crude; he summons people to his office or the showers to beat them privately. He encourages other, worse punishments or orders other recruits to carry them out. R. Lee Ermey once recalled this story and noted that any drill instructor who tried such a thing would never again earn the respect of his recruits.
- #018
Marksmanship is a critical skill for Marines, so discipline is usually relaxed somewhat during rifle training. This is clearly seen in Hartman's attitude during those times, when he tolerates jokes and treats the recruits less harshly.
- #019
Denzel Washington was considered for the role of Eightball but turned it down because he could not read the script before the audition. He has since said it is a role he regrets missing out on.
- #020
Val Kilmer auditioned for the role of Pvt. Joker but was rejected. According to Matthew Modine, he later met Kilmer at a restaurant, and Kilmer confronted him about some of the roles Modine had won that Kilmer had also auditioned for and been rejected from. Kilmer mistakenly thought Modine had been in Full Metal Jacket and nearly invited him to a fight, believing Modine had stolen that part from him. Ironically, Modine was not even aware of the film at the time, but his agent immediately confirmed that Kubrick really was looking for an actor for his new film. Modine then auditioned by sending Kubrick footage from Vision Quest (1985) and won the role.
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