It transforms your very soul into the movie right from the start!!

Rating: 9/10 (13 June 2010)

My movie choice was one of my favorites of all time, Platoon, it is an academy award-winning movie about Vietnam and how a young man from a wealthy family volunteers for duty and finds himself fighting for not only for his life but lives of his platoon members as well. Chris Taylor played by Charlie Sheen narrates his story through his experiences that he and his platoon encounter with the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong that eventually leads to a series of events both physically and emotionally demanding. Other actors that were involved in this film, Tom Berenger (Sgt, Barnes), a true veteran in the field and an emotionally strong, violent leader that tries to control the action at all times against his fellow enlisted members. Next, William Defoe (Sgt. Elias), also a true veteran but with a softer more understanding view of the war that after an accidental murder due to the stresses of combat creates tension between him and Sgt. Barnes. Both have major roles in the film and display a good guy bad guy relationship with one another. It reminds me of a movie I have not seen in a while by the name of "The Siege Of Fire Base Gloria" another Vietnam movie that has similar concepts as Platoon. Oliver Stone, one of the best directors in the business, with this movie captures the intense drama, and experiences that he himself came to realize as a young Vietnam soldier. It won Oscars for sound, best director, picture, film editing, and several others. This movie involves the most incredible sounds and emotions that I have ever experienced as a movie watcher. Oliver Stone creates sounds that subjectively place the actor with the experience. Through emotional transitional elements of firefights and explosions he creates an on the edge of your seat feeling that keeps the action real from beginning to end.
There were so many different types of sounds and physical emotions it is difficult to choose just one. Some of the specialized purposes of sound were the beginning of the movie with the first musical score by, Vancouver Symphony Orchestra-Adagio for Strings (The 80's rewind, 2008), which if you have never seen this movie it would make no sense to you but to experience it is the most moving piece of music I have ever heard. It transforms your very soul into the movie right from the start and plays throughout the movie to transition the most emotional parts of the film. One thing that I will tell you about this film is about the expansion and compression of time in slow motion. The most intensified, ironic, and emotional part of this type of compression displayed during the death of Sergeant Elias (William Defoe) by far one of the best scenes in any war movie ever made. With many movies out there today Platoon gives you the most realistic experience, and an all-star cast of characters that have moved on to become movie icons in the industry. A must see movie to add to your movie night experience and collection.