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Click above to purchase "Platoon Special Edition" at
amazon.com
Platoon
Special Edition
review by Zach B.
Rated R
Studio: MGM
Running Time: 120 minutes
Starring Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe, Charlie Sheen
Written and Directed by Oliver Stone
Retail Price: $24.98
Features: Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Oliver
Stone, Audio Commentary with Military Supervisor Captain
Dale Dye, "Tour Of The Inferno" Documentary, Photo Gallery,
Poster Art, Collectible Booklet, Theatrical Trailer, TV
Spots
Specs: 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, English 5.1 Dolby
Digital, 2.0 English Dolby Stereo, French 2.0 Dolby Surround
Stereo, Spanish Mono, French Subtitles, Spanish Subtitles,
Chapter Search (32 Chapters)
Based on Oliver Stone's experiences when he served during
the Vietnam war, "Platoon" won four Academy Awards®
(including Best Picture) and is now fifteen years old. The
third version of the film on DVD is the one to own. It
includes all the supplements from the Live version (that was
pretty much a port of the laserdisc), new supplements and
the anamorphic transfer from MGM's previous bare bones
edition.
"Platoon" follows the story of Chris Taylor (Charlie
Sheen), a naive college dropout who enlists in Vietnam as a
young man who believes in serving his country. However,
Taylor soon realizes he made a pretty big mistake and
doesn't know what he's getting in for. Taylor is a grunt
(foot soldier) and experiences all aspects of war
first-hand. While he must face the battle with the Viet
Cong, there is some real internal conflict between himself.
Also creating conflict out his two Sergeants. Elias (Willem
Dafoe) who has a heart, while Barnes (Berenger) is as cold
as ice. Throughout the film, Taylor changes from a nice guy
to a man who becomes filled with intense rage and anger, he
becomes pretty nasty and begins to lose his sanity. While
Stone has created a ton of incredible films with range, this
is certainly the cream of the crop in my opinion.
There's really no surprise why "Platoon" is highly
regarded and has a mountain of awards, there's a ton to this
movie. While I wasn't even alive for Vietnam, from what I've
learned and footage I've seen of the way it seems to be
incredibly accurate. This movie grips you right from the
start and doesn't let you go. It's hard to put this movie in
words since there's so much to it, but I am going to do my
absolute best.
There's a lot more to "Platoon" than combat and the war,
there's a whole "real" sense to it. I mentioned the accuracy
and how it is based on Stone's experiences, but what I
really liked about how brutally honest this film is. It does
not manipulate you or play on your emotions, it creates
feelings. Stone's script has some perfectly written
dialogue, a great sense of evenness and strong themes about
life, humanity and bravery. So many movies try to create
these themes, while some come closer than others, this movie
creates them perfectly. This is a movie you can analyze to
death. A lot of conflicts and a lot of Taylor and his
conscience.
The performances are fantastic. Sheen is sincere and
truly captures the character of Chris Taylor (who, I once
heard in an interview and mentioned in the booklet, was
meant for his brother Emilio "Gordon Bombay" Estevez). A man
who loses his innocence and becomes traumatized in many ways
from the war. Dafoe and Berenger each got Best Supporting
Oscar® nods for their roles, as Sgts. Elias and Barnes.
I'm a big Dafoe fan, and this is truly one of his best
performances as the kind-hearted sergeant who does know
about doing the right thing. Berenger is great as Barnes,
who is the opposite of Elias. Barnes is just plain mean and
hateful.
From a technical standpoint, "Platoon" really does stand
out. The editing, sound and directing all won Oscar®s,
and they were rightfully deserved. All of those are just
captured so well in the film to really bring it to life. The
editing never makes things confusing, Stone's directing is
personal and the sound takes you there. The film also has
some incredible cinematography that was also nominated for
an Academy Award® and Stone's script (also nominated) is
true to the bone. There's a lot to the script and it's a
very remarkable story set against the backdrop of a
remarkable war. The movie has a lot of powerful images that
really stick with you. I also loved Georges Delerue's deep
but really underrated musical score.
"Platoon" is more than a war movie. It's a tremendous
experience and shows the power of storytelling. It
definently ranks as one of the best war movies of all time,
but there's so much more to it. The realities of war, what
it brings and the darkness of man's heart. This is a movie
that everyone should own, and if you missed it the first two
times around, you shouldn't miss it this time. Or maybe you
should get it again... you get the best and more from both
packages.
MGM's transfer is pretty much the same as last year's...
which is always a good thing. The film is in 1.85:1
anamorphic widescreen, and while it stars off terrible with
scratches, dirts and print marks, it really does clear up
early on. "Platoon" does offer a very good visual
experience, with a ton of breathtaking exterior shots. The
image has a ton of depth and an excellent three dimensional
look to it. The greens of the jungle and reds of the blood
have some great saturation, while black levels are dead on.
The image does look soft sometimes, and there is a good
amount of dirt on the print throughout the film, but there's
a ton of good things that do beat out the bad things in the
end.
MGM has included an English 5.1 mix with "Platoon" (just
like their last release and the Live release), and it
appears to be the same one from both of those. While the
movie kind of looks its age, the sound doesn't sound worn
out or old. Dialogue is clear and easy to understand, there
is no distortion or other background sounds do not overpower
it. I felt this was a pretty good remix. While more .1 LFE
extension could have brought more intensity to the film, and
some of the surrounds could have been more powerful, at
times I really did feel like I was there experiencing the
Vietnam war. The gun shots ringing out, the powerful Georges
Delerure music, guns clicking up, the painful screams,
crickets chirping in the night time and all the sounds that
come with war... I felt there were good surrounds, though I
think some won't be as impressed as I was. An English Dolby
Stereo track is included, as well as a French Stereo
Surround, Spanish Digital Mono and French as well as Spanish
subtitles. You also have English closed captioning.
Yes, a dream come true... all the Live supplements and
even more in an anamorphic presentation. First up, there are
two Commentaries. The first Audio Commentary with
Oliver Stone is a gem. Stone always provides
commentaries for his films, and I am always happy to see
that he's willing to provide insight. Stone, who of course
wrote and directed the movie, shares a lot here. From his
inspirations from actually serving in the war to some
interesting behind-the-scenes stories, there's a lot to gain
out of this track from a filmmakers standpoint. He's soft
spoken and really gives a lot of great information about
vietnam, casting, the making of the film and a lot more.
Don't miss this track.
The Audio Commentary with Dale Dye is also quite
good. Dale Dye has a small role in the film and served as a
military supervisor for the film. Dye has a lot of praise
for Stone and the film, and provides a unique rememberance
about him working on the film. I wouldn't call it as good as
Stone's track, but there is some technical details and good
information on making the film realistic.
Tour Of The Inferno is a great documentary that
lasts nearly an hour long. It has interviews with Stone,
Sheen, Dafoe, more of the cast and some of the crew. It
features some vietnam footage, behind the scenes information
and a lot more. It's well edited and never drags on. There's
a really nice flow to it. You get a lot about the film in
addition to it being entertaining. There's also clips from
the films. The experiences shared and the detail here is
priceless. This really deserves a watch.
Rounding the disc out is some new stuff not on the
previous Live addition or MGM addition. You have the
original Theatrical Trailer in anamorphic widescreen,
three TV Spots (and for some add reason have the MGM
Home Video banner before them... maybe because they own them
now and Orion no longer exists?), a "Behind The Scenes"
Photo Gallery and various Poster Art. Also, in
the keep case there is a really nice Collectible
Booklet.
Finally, MGM has delivered the best of both worlds. They
have taken their great presentation from the bare bones
edition released last year and added all the supplements
from the Live release from a few years back. All of this for
a great price... tremendous movie and a pretty tremendous
package. While the original MGM release will be around for
the same old retail of twenty bucks, for an extra five it's
worth it to take this package.
 (4.5/5 - NOT included in
final score)
 (4/5)
(4/5)
 (3/5)
 (3.5/5, NOT an average)
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