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Platoon
MGM
- Cert:
- Cat.no: 15883 DVD
- Running time: 115 minutes
- Year: 1986
- Pressing: 2000
- Region(s): 2 (UK PAL)
- Chapters: 32 plus extras
- Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
- Languages: 5 languages available
- Subtitles: 10 languages available
- Widescreen: 1.85:1
- 16:9-enhanced: Yes
- Macrovision: No
- Disc Format: DVD 9
- Price: £19.99
- Extras : Scene index, Booklet, Trailer
Director:
- Oliver Stone
(Born on the Fourth of July, The Doors, Heaven and Earth, JFK, Natural Born Killers, Nixon, Platoon, Salvador, Talk Radio, U-Turn, Wall Street)
Producer:
- Arnold Kopelson
Screenplay:
- Oliver Stone
Music :
- Georges Delerue
Cast :
- Sargeant Barnes: Tom Berenger
Sargeant Elias: Willem Dafoe
Chris Taylor: Charlie Sheen
Big Harold: Forest Whitaker
Sargeant O’Neill: John C. McGinley
Bunny: Kevin Dillon
Lerner: Johnny Depp
Platoonis the first part of Oliver Stone‘s Vietnam trilogy, having beenfollowed byBorn on the Fourth of Julyand Heaven and Earth.
The world here is seen through the eyes of raw recruit Chris Taylor (CharlieSheen) who dropped out of college and wanted to do his share for hiscountry, touring ‘Nam for a year from September 1967. He really doesn’t knowwhat he’s letting himself in for though with insects in the jungle bitinghim being the least of his worries as troops from the other allegiances areout to hunt him and his platoon out too.
This is an exceptionally powerful film with strong dialogue, a number ofsurprise scenes and plenty of violence as the men tour from place to placesetting up camp, getting high to ease the pain, torching “gook” villages andcommitting illegal acts as they go.
A large cast is effectively led by Charlie Sheen with his narration in theform of letters home to his grandma. There are the two warring Sargeants,Barnes (Tom Berenger) and Elias (Willem Dafoe) leading to atense showdown, the aptly-named Big Harold (Forest Whitaker), thebig-talk-but-chicken-shit Sargeant O’Neill (John C. McGinley),the over-zealous Bunny (Kevin Dillon, who later appeared in Stone’sThe Doors) and translator Lerner (Johnny Depp).
Stone obviously drew upon his recollection of his own time in Vietnam forthis film. It’s certificate is a mystery too, since the content is typicalfor most 18-cert war films, but Stone was favoured by the BBFC and the filmwas given a 15-cert, whilst the less-violent Full Metal Jacket from StanleyKubrick was stuck with an 18.
Sargeant Barnes. He’s not very nice.Presented in the original 1.85:1 widescreen ratio, the print is anamorphicsimilar to the recent Region 1 release, making them both better picture-wisethan the previous Region 1 Special Edition, although with much less extras.There are a few flecks on the print but nothing to worry about particularly.The average bitrate is 7.65Mb/s, often peaking above 9Mb/s.
In 1992, a widescreen video was released in the UK framed at approx 2.00:1. On comparisonwith this DVD, some scenes have been matted a little bit more to get that ratio, whileothers appear to have lost a little info from the sides. Given that the film was shotopen-matte in the first place and that the 1.85:1 ratio is stated on the Region 1 SpecialEdition as a ‘Director-approved transfer’, then this is the ratio we’ll forever be leftwith but there’s never a scene that looks badly-framed so I’m happy with it and the colourson the DVD are a lot stronger.
A remixed Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is available for English dialogue and comesinto its own when the gunfire lets rip in the jungle, not to mention the evocativeuse of Barber’s Adagio for Strings, often played during the film – particularlyat the end – and it was recently bastardised by William Orbit and stuck in thecharts with a dance beat behind it. Dialogue is clear too, which is essential forSheen’s narration.
Sargeant Elias poses for the cover.Extras : Chapters :The usual 32 from MGM, just three short of that used in the Region 1 Special Edition. Languages & Subtitles :Dialogue comes in Dolby Digital 5.1 for English only, while the French, German, Italianand Spanish have to make to with Dolby Surround.Subtitles are in English, German (both with hard of hearing alternatives), Dutch, French,Portuguese, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Finnish and Polish. And there’s more… :Just the same two-minute Trailer from the Region 1 DVD SE and a booklet with someproduction notes. Why can’t we have the same as that one, with two audio commentaries(one from director Stone and the other from technical advisor Dale Dye, whodoubled up in a small role as Captain Harris) and a documentary, “A Tour of the Inferno” ? Menu :The main menu is silent, but with some animation through a gun-sight.
War’s a drag for Charlie Sheen.Overall, this is one of my all-time favourite films and it’s great to finally see ananamorphic transfer, but while the first casualty of war is innocence, so thefirst casualty of this disc is the extras which are severely lacking.
If you can get it for a good, fairly cheap price, then get it, but with few extrasit’s not worth the full twenty quid.
PICTURE QUALITY
SOUND QUALITY
EXTRAS
OVERALL
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.