These three films are generally viewed as the best Vietnam movies by most of the people that I know. Which of these do you think is the best and why?
Apocalypse Now was the first of these that I saw, and at the time I didn't think much of it. Too long, overly dramatic and confusing. I saw it again a few years ago and loved it. If you are going to see it, see the original cut. The extended edition is much worse.
Full Metal Jacket was a film that shocked me the fist time I saw it. The scene where Pvt. Pyle goes insane was genuinely frightening to me, like staring into the horrors in man's soul. This film does a good job at balancing the lighthearted moments with scenes of unimaginable horror.
Platoon is, in my opinion, the film that focuses the most on the actual war. Apocalypse Now has a story that could be transplanted into pretty much any way (the original story takes place in colonial Africa). Full Metal Jacket seems to be more about how men are destroyed, their souls deadened by combat and training. Platoon's story is firmly rooted in the Vietnam war, and it would not truly work in any other setting. In some ways it is the most "realistic" of the three. There is very little comic relief and sets a tone of sadness in a story of men with no moral restraint.
Of the three, I like Full Metal Jacket the most. It tells a story that has clear moral and social messages that aren't bogged down in confusing delivery like Apocalypse Now, and feels less.... stereotypical than Platoon's more simple story of a group of insane soldiers.
I still love all three films and would easily recommend all of them.
edit: Added Good Morning Vietnam and We Were Soldiers per request.
Apocalypse Now was the first of these that I saw, and at the time I didn't think much of it. Too long, overly dramatic and confusing. I saw it again a few years ago and loved it. If you are going to see it, see the original cut. The extended edition is much worse.
Full Metal Jacket was a film that shocked me the fist time I saw it. The scene where Pvt. Pyle goes insane was genuinely frightening to me, like staring into the horrors in man's soul. This film does a good job at balancing the lighthearted moments with scenes of unimaginable horror.
Platoon is, in my opinion, the film that focuses the most on the actual war. Apocalypse Now has a story that could be transplanted into pretty much any way (the original story takes place in colonial Africa). Full Metal Jacket seems to be more about how men are destroyed, their souls deadened by combat and training. Platoon's story is firmly rooted in the Vietnam war, and it would not truly work in any other setting. In some ways it is the most "realistic" of the three. There is very little comic relief and sets a tone of sadness in a story of men with no moral restraint.
Of the three, I like Full Metal Jacket the most. It tells a story that has clear moral and social messages that aren't bogged down in confusing delivery like Apocalypse Now, and feels less.... stereotypical than Platoon's more simple story of a group of insane soldiers.
I still love all three films and would easily recommend all of them.
edit: Added Good Morning Vietnam and We Were Soldiers per request.
