Skip to content
Platoon: Special Edition
MGM
- Cert:
- Cat.no: 15883 CDVD
- Running time: 115 minutes
- Year: 1986
- Pressing: 2001
- Region(s): 2 (UK PAL)
- Chapters: 32 plus extras
- Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
- Languages: English, Spanish
- Subtitles: 13 languages available
- Widescreen: 1.85:1
- 16:9-enhanced: Yes
- Macrovision: No
- Disc Format: DVD 9
- Price: £19.99
- Extras: Trailers, TV Spots, Making Of (Tour of the Inferno), Stills Galleries,2 Audio Commentaries (Oliver Stone, Captain Dale Dye)
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.This time round we get the extras we deserve. First up are trailers forboth Platoon and the DVD release of Salvador. Note that the latteris a promotional trailer so doesn’t tell you what the actual film is like.There are also three 30-second TV Spots, focusing on different areas of theproduction, along with Stills Galleries for ‘Behind the Scenes’ and’Poster Art’.
The documentary, Tour of the Inferno, runs for 50 minutes and issuperb. It showed that the cast all took in two weeks of basic training thatwould normally be done in 14 weeks. Charlie Sheen talks about making achoice between not breathing while sleeping, or letting mosquitos eat him allnight and then wake up looking like the Toxic Avenger; John C. McGinleydiscusses being woken up with water bugs copulating in his mouth; WillemDafoe mentions the time he drank water from a stream then noticed furtherup the stream was a fat, dead pig in there, which caused him to be deliriousfor the next 24 hours. Finally, Tom Berenger complains about having towalk miles and miles carrying heavy luggage, while Oliver Stone casuallydrives past in his jeep.
Two Audio Commentaries are also included. One from director Stone andthe other from Military advisor Captain Dale Dye.
There are 32 chapters to the movie, dialogue comes in Dolby Digital 5.1 forEnglish and Spanish, while subtitles come in 13 languages: English (and hardof hearing), Spanish, Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian, Danish, Portuguese,Polish, Greek, Hungarian, Hebrew, Turkish and Czech.
The menus are silent but contain subtle animation.
War’s a drag for Charlie Sheen.Overall, this is one of my all-time favourite films and it’s great to finallycombine an anamorphic transfer with some great extras.
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.