Preparing for war is hell.

Rating: 8/10 (10 April 2002)

First,let me state,that this is without question the nastiest movie,in terms of language,that I have ever seen.I am normally a person,who, though I rarely use bad language myself,am able to tolerate it when I hear it.With this film,however,I found myself blushing at the language used by Gunnery Sergeant Hartman (they could not have picked a better actor to portray this man than R. Lee Ermey,by the way).Not only is war hell,preparing for it can be just as bad,if you don't have a healthy state of mind to begin with.This is the case for Pvt. Pyle (Vincent D'Onofrio,who really packed on the pounds for this role).You can almost feel him cracking throughout the first portion of the film,leading to a violent showdown with his tormenting commanding officer.The second half of the film is a basic display of the horrors of war itself,and very well done.Excellent direction by Stanley Kubrick,who always seemed to have a knack for not repeating himself a director,in terms of the types of films he directed.This was his "war" film,and it's an absolute masterpiece.Must see film.