“Excuses are like assholes, Taylor. Everybody’s got one.”
Drawn from Oliver Stone’s personal experience in the Vietnam war, the screenplay was finished in 1976, but studios passed on it until 1986. One of three Vietnam-based films released within 9 months of each other in 1986-87. The other two films were Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket and John Irvin’s Hamburger Hill. The lead role of Pvt. Chris Taylor was offered to Kyle MacLachlan and Keanu Reeves – both turned it down. Stone considered casting Johnny Depp but felt he was too young but cast him in a supporting role. Sergeant Barnes (Tom Berenger) was first offered to Kevin Costner. All of the actors had to endure a harsh 14-day boot camp in the Philippines before filming. The actors were given military haircuts, ate only military rations, weren’t allowed to shower, slept in the jungle, and even had rotations for night watch. Prior to the scene where Elias’ half of the platoon smokes dope, the actors actually smoked it. But by the time they were ready to shoot, they had come off their high and felt sick. In U.S. military leadership classes, the character of Lt. Wolfe is used as an example of how not to behave as a junior officer. The movie poster of Elias with his hands in the air is based on a 1968 photograph by Art Greenspon, recognized as the 13th greatest military photo by the Army/Navy/AF Times. The U.S. Department of Defense refused to cooperate in the making of this film, so military equipment was loaned by the Filippino armed forces. The film is banned in Vietnam because of its depiction of the Vietnamese. Filmed in 54 days.
