The disaster that forced Stanley Kubrick to halt production of ‘Full Metal Jacket’
Falling squarely between the critical benchmarks of Vietnam cinema, Apocalypse Now and Platoon, Stanley Kubrick’s 1987 tour de force Full Metal Jacket remains a seminal testament to the horrors of warfare. Kubrick’s meticulous crafting of the psychological disintegration of soldiers in Vietnam, coupled with his unrivalled prowess in storytelling, places this film in a distinct realm of its own amongst war cinema.
Full Metal Jacket offers a narrative split into three distinct segments, each bristling with its own separate intensity and atmosphere. The first follows the brutal training regimen at a US Marines boot camp, where raw recruits are shaped into hardened soldiers. The second part immerses us in the urban warfare of Hue City, and the third delves into the paradoxical tranquillity and impending dread of the Vietnam War’s frontline. The characters are archetypal yet nuanced, ranging from the terrified and mentally fragile private Pyle to the hardened Joker. However, the film will forever be remembered for its sadistic drill instructor, Sergeant Hartman.
As is per the norm, apparently, for epic Vietnam War films, the production of Full Metal Jacket wasn’t exactly boring. From disputes over toxic fumes emanating from the Beckton Gas Works set to the tension simmering amongst the cast and crew, the film’s path to the big screen was fraught with obstacles, often exacerbated by Kubrick’s brilliant yet fiercely stubborn creative mind. But one incident involving R. Lee Ermey, the man behind Sergeant Hartman, would put the entire shoot at a standstill for over four months.
The casting of Ermey as Sergeant Hartman was somewhat serendipitous. Initially hired as a technical advisor, Ermey’s past as a real-life drill instructor and his remarkable screen presence soon led to his elevation to a full-fledged cast member. With a trademark military resolve, the non-actor decided he wanted to be the character rather than advise on it — and wouldn’t relent until Kubrick was convinced enough to sack the previous actor in order to make room. His brutal and darkly comedic performance underscored the stark realities of boot camp training.
In a 1987 interview with Rolling Stone, the year of the film’s release, the director provided some insight into the production of the movie, as well as his admiration for Ermey, whom he believed had an unparalleled level of dedication and professionalism. On the real-life Marine soldier, Kubrick said: “If I did a hundred takes on every scene, I’d never finish a film. Lee Ermey, for instance, would spend every spare second with the dialogue coach, and he always knew his lines. I suppose Lee averaged eight or nine takes. He sometimes did it in three. Because he was prepared.”
However, a near-fatal disaster struck one late night. According to Kubrick, “It was about 1:00 in the morning, and his car skidded off the road. He broke all his ribs on one side, just tremendous injuries, and he probably would have died, except he was conscious and kept flashing his lights. A motorist stopped. It was in a place called Epping Forest … anyway, Lee was out for four and a half months.”
This incident caused an unexpected halt to the film’s production as the filmmakers waited for Ermey’s recovery. An inconvenience, certainly, but infinitely better than having to replace a dead man.
In spite of this ordeal, Ermey’s portrayal of Sergeant Hartman has left a lasting impression. His performance has gone on to serve as the definitive stereotype of a domineering military drill sergeant. His performance has inspired pop-culture parodies in the likes of Toy Story and SpongeBob Squarepants and has influenced pretty much every portrayal of an army general in cinema since. We were dangerously close to never getting it, but Ermey’s role as Sergeant Hartman single-handedly shaped a brand of character that we continue to see in films to this very day.
