Platoon
Action, Drama, War
MGM / UA  (1986) 120 mins R

8.2 (85,925 votes) Top 250: #140
The first casualty of war is innocence.

Winner of four Academy Awards including Best Picture, and based on the first-hand experience of Oscar-winning director Oliver Stone, Platoon is powerful, intense and starkly brutal. "Harrowingly realistic and completely convincing" (Leonard Maltin), it is "a dark, unforgettable memorial" (The Washington Post) to every soldier whose innocence was lost in the war-torn jungles of Vietnam.

Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) is a young naïve American who, upon his arrival in Vietnam, quickly discovers that he must do battle not only with the Viet Cong, but also with the gnawing fear, physical exhaustion and intense anger growing within him. While his two commanding officers (Oscar-nominated Tom Berenger and William Dafoe) draw a fine line between the war they wage against the enemy and the one they fight with each other, t...

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Cast and Crew
Willem Dafoe  ......  Sgt. Elias Grodin
Charlie Sheen  ......  Pvt. Chris Taylor
Tom Berenger  ......  Sgt. Bob Barnes
Forest Whitaker  ......  Big Harold
Francesco Quinn  ......  Rhah
John C. McGinley  ......  Sgt. Red O'Neill
Director  .....  Oliver Stone
Producer  .....  Arnold Kopelson; John Daly; Derek Gibson
Writer  .....  Oliver Stone
Notes
Goofs:
Continuity: In the third battle (Ambushed by VC), the machine gunner (Morehouse) was hit spot on by an artillery shell from friendly fire and was shattered into pieces by the explosion. When the troops evacuated, his quite complete body, although charred, was the first one taken out. (more)

Trivia:
The movie poster depicting Elias with his hands in the air, is a recreation of a 1968 photograph by Art Greenspon. This photograph was recognized as the 13th greatest military photograph in a Sept 2000 issue of the Army/Navy/AF Time. (more)

Filming Locations:
Philippines

Quotes:
[first lines]
Pvt. Gardner: [seeing body bags] Aw, man, is that what I think it is?
Sergeant: All right, you cheese-dicks, welcome to the 'nam! Follow me.
(more)

Awards:
Won 4 Oscars. Another 18 wins & 9 nominations (more)