At the time of the Vietnam War, a gang of new marines start their brutal training at the hands of Gunnery Sergeant Hartman (R. Lee Ermey), who is intent on turning his raw recruits into killing machines.
By the time they arrive in Vietnam, the battle of Hue is raging and Private Joker (Matthew Modine) is working as a combat correspondent for Stars And Stripes newspaper. Joker sees little front-line action, but before long he is forced to face the brutal reality of combat and, ultimately, his worst nightmare.
Released in 1987, director Stanley Kubrick's penultimate film gained an Oscar nomination for Best Writing, and is regarded as a classic war film, with Modine putting in a particularly strong performance.
Ex-drill sergeant R. Lee Ermey was initially employed as a consultant, but so impressed Kubrick with his examples of foul-mouthed tirades at the recruits, he was given the role of the colourful Sergeant Hartman.
Full Metal Jacket is a Film programme that first aired in 1987 and has been classified a 18 certificate.
