Episode 104: Stanley Kubrick’s “Full Metal Jacket”

A discussion with David Blakeslee (@CriterionRefs) of the Criterion Reflections blog on Stanley Kubrick’s 1987 film, “Full Metal Jacket.”

In 1987, after a number of filmmakers like Oliver Stone, Francis Ford Coppola and Michael Cimino tackled the tricky topic of the Vietnam War, Stanley Kubrick decided to make his won film on the war and the military hierarchy itself. “Full Metal Jacket” stands as Stanley Kubrick’s most accessible and easily digestible film. Split into two parts, “Full Metal Jacket” examines the meaning war and the psyche of soldiers and their higher command.

Why did Stanley Kubrick want to explore the Vietnam War when so many others have gone down that genre? How do the two separate parts of “Full Metal Jacket” inform each other’s themes? And why is “Full Metal Jacket” considered Stanley Kubrick’s most popular film?

Stanley Kubrick’s “Full Metal Jacket” is the subject of episode 104 of the AuteurCast…