Vietnam on Film: Platoon (1986) on 35mm film
Director: Oliver Stone Run Time: 120 min. Rating: R Release Year: 1986
Starring: Charlie Sheen, Forest Whitaker, Francesco Quinn, Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe
Country: United States, United Kingdom
Language: English, Vietnamese
Vietnam on Film: 50 Years Later
A collection of films presenting the war’s origins and lasting impact. Presented by Gateway Film Center in partnership with the National Veterans Museum, the National Veterans Film Festival, and the Ohio History Connection.
Join us at 12:30 pm for a reception in The Festival Lounge before the 1:45 pm presentation of Oliver Stone’s Platoon (1986) on 35mm film.
About the film:
Writer/director Oliver Stone has created a personal and searing testament to the men who fought the war in Vietnam. Seen through the eyes of a college drop-out, the war is a real nightmare, a private hell of fears from outside and in, with enemies on both sides of the line.
His platoon’s allegiance is split between leaders Sergeant Barnes and Sergeant Elias. Barnes is a scar-faced, gung-ho fanatic bent on destroying the elusive Viet Cong and anyone who disagrees with him. Elias is a different type of soldier; he has lost faith in the war, but not in man. Friction between the two sergeants leads to a second war, as deadly as the one being waged against the enemy.
Platoon (1986) received eight nominations at the 59th Academy Awards, and won four including Best Picture, Best Director for Stone, Best Sound, and Best Film Editing. In 2019, the film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.
About the filmmaker:
Oliver Stone is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter known for stories focusing on controversial American political issues of the late 20th century. Stone served as an infantry soldier in the Vietnam War, which informed his critically acclaimed war dramas that include the Academy Award winners Platoon (1986) and Born on the Fourth of July (1989), followed by Heaven & Earth (1993). His other features include financial drama Wall Street (1987), the action comedy Natural Born Killers (1994), biopics The Doors (1991) and Snowden (2016), and a trilogy of films based on American presidents: JFK (1991), Nixon (1995), and W. (2008). Stone also won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay as writer of Alan Parker’s Midnight Express (1978).
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