Love this scene because Pyle has finally become a true soldier, a mindless killing machine, so he kills the enemy his drill instructor then himself. Disturbingly beautiful film that was ruined by chuds obsessing over it because whoa cool war crimes!
I guess that's the CHUD equivalent of every rich person loving Parasite?
Pretty much. I mean the end of the film the marine company is marching through a dark landscape that's on fire, obviously supposed to be hell, singing the mickey mouse song, mickey mouse was slang in vietnam for shit being out of control. The film is literally screaming at you that war is hell and yet chuds are like hahaha m-16 go brrrr, drill instructor abuse fat guy hehhehehe
Right, I might also be misremembering, but up until this scene the opening sequence was presented as a little light hearted. Which I took as a way to communicate how young and innocent the people who fight our wars tend to be before showcasing the result of the mental anguish caused by just their training.
The film is kind of like this slow descent into hell in a lot of ways. Chuds fondly love the boot camp segment but that was clearly meant to show audiences how the military begins to destroy you. Like I said the first real soldier to become a soldier was Pyle then at the end of the film it's the protagonist when he executes the woman sniper, so it completes both arcs of the character's descent into hell.
I'd have to re-watch it, but I thought the protagonist didn't so much execute the woman sniper so much as he put her out of her misery. As I recall, she was badly wounded and asking for one of them to shoot her. I don't have a good take on what that scene is supposed to communicate, but I don't think the best reading is the protagonist finally becoming a mindless killing machine/"real soldier."
Yeah, I definitely think that it was out of compassion but then whatever remorse he might have felt over it didn’t last long. Not long after he’s joining along gleefully with the Micky Mouse song.
That ending where they find out the full metal jacket was inside them all along made me cry
PRIVATE PYLE! YOU UNFUCK YOURSELF RIGHT NOW! YOU'LL NEVER BE A FULL METAL JACKET!
My father took me to watch this in the theater when I was about 10. During the drill instructor scene a guy was laughing his balls off and a guy jumped up and got down in his face and started screaming “Is it funny, motherfucker? Hu? Is it funny?” Well, dude stopped laughing after that. Added a whole other dimension to the viewing experience.
Years ago I walked into an army recruiting station, then walked right back out when I noticed the nametag on the recruiter's uniform that, I swear to fucking god, read "Pyle". Guy even looked like him too, so I took it as a sign and didn't look back.
Mace windu: "there are mother fucking stars in these mother fucking wars"
it's really too bad they cut your big line from this. and Out Of Africa.
