Great Scene: “Full Metal Jacket”

Private Pyle declares “I am in a world of shit” and his subsequent actions prove the point.

The 1987 movie Full Metal Jacket, screenplay by Stanley Kubrick & Michael Herr & Gustav Hasford. IMDB plot summary:

A pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the U.S.-Vietnam War has on his fellow recruits from their brutal boot camp training to the bloody street fighting in Hue.

On night patrol, Private J.T. ‘Joker’ David hears a strange sound coming from the barrack’s head.

Background:

• Gustav Hasford began working on “The Short Timers” (the book on which this film is based) while serving in Vietnam, and based many of the characters (and names) on soldiers he served with.
• Michael Herr, a very close friend of Stanley Kubrick, helped write much of the screenplay, particularly the part set in Vietnam. His contributions to the script are based largely on his own experiences as a reporter covering the war. Like Joker and Rafterman he was essentially freelance and allowed to travel anywhere in the…