< an d leads a b lin d cam el into the desert; b u t th e n ag ain , w hen C lark e collapses in the d esert, a sw arm o f v u ltu re s hovers an d p ran ces a ro u n d h im — an d this for a m a n w hose n ick n am e is H aw k. Raffaele Caputo ISHTAR: Directed by Elaine May. Producer: Warren Beatty. Associate producers: David L. MacLeod, Nigel Wooll. Screenplay: Elaine May. Director of photo graphy: Vittorio Storaro. Editors: Stephen A. Rotter, William Reynolds, Richard Cirincione. Production designer: Paul Sylbert. Music: John Strauss. Cast: Warren Beatty (Lyle Rogers), Dustin Hoffman (Chuck Clarke), Isabelle Adjani (Shirra Assel), Charles Grodln (Jim Harrison), Jack Weston (Marty Freed), Tess Harper (Willa), Carol Kane (Carol). Production company: Columbia Pictures. Distributor: Fox-Columbia. 35mm. 107 minutes. USA. 1987.
• FULL METAL JACKET S tanley K u b ric k ends Full M etal Jacket w ith M ick J a g g e r singing ‘P a in t It B lack’ as the final credits roll. O n ly th en does his them e becom e clear: th a t m en destro y each o th e r w hen they d en y the fem ale in them selves. F ro m the first im age of the new recru its b ein g shorn of h a ir an d in d iv id u ality we w atch the b reak d o w n o f A m eric an boys an d th e ir reco n stru ctio n into killing m achines on “ th e I s la n d ” , the M a rin e C o rp s tra in in g gulag. A t one stage the recru its m arch a ro u n d in th e ir u n d e rw e a r, a rifle in one h a n d an d th e ir genitals grasped in the o th er, ch a n tin g , “ T h is is m y rifle, this is m y gun, one is for killing, one is for f u n .” T h e links betw een sex and b attle have rarely been as explicit. G u n n e ry S erg ean t H a rtm a n (Lee E rm ey ) drills the plato o n to M a rin e C o rp s songs w hich set up the w hole sexw ar dichotom y: M a m a an d P a p a w ere lying in bed M a m a rolled over this is w hat she said H o C h i M in h is a son of a bitch G o t the blue balls, crabs an d the seven y ear itch. T h e connection is m ad e visually w hen the film ’s n a rra to r, J o k e r (M atth ew M o d in e) an d fellow re c ru it C ow boy (Arliss H o w ard ) are m o p p in g o u t the toilet block. J o k e r quips, “ I w an t to stick m y tu b e in y o u r sister. W h a t do you take in tra d e ? ” C ow boy: “ W h a t do you g o t?” C u t to bullets h ittin g targ ets on the rifle ran g e. In the second h a lf of the film , J o k e r m eets C ow boy in H u e , an d C ow boy says, “ G ettin g a n y ? ” Jo k e r: “ O n ly y o u r sis te r.” C ow boy: “ W ell b e tte r m y sister th a n m y m o th er. ” T h e clau stro p h o b ic first h o u r of the film has the g an g re n e pallo r o f all total in stitu tio n s — p risons, asylum s, h o sp i tals an d m ilita ry tra in in g cam ps are all physically in te rch an g e ab le, lit by b are bulbs an d sm elling o f antiseptic. T h e sym m etrical second h a lf of the film follows J o k e r into the p u rg ato ry of the T e t offensive, in the b u rn in g city o f H u e . K u b ric k here forsakes the lush an d psychedelic colours of the tropics for w ash ed -out, overcast, grey skies w hich are the sam e d ra in e d colour as the bodies o f the dead.
50 - JANUARY CINEMA PAPERS
Jo k e r, d etach ed a n d sard o n ic, w ears a peace sign an d his h elm et b ears the w ords “ B o rn to k ill” . A n an n o y e d colonel d em an d s an ex p lan a tio n , an d J o k e r tells h im th a t it stan d s for “ the duality of w ar. Y ou know , th e J u n g ia n th in g ” . T h e d u ality w hich b o th J o k e r an d K u b rick face is th a t w hile co n d e m n in g the b ru ta lity of w ar, th ey are fascinated by it. A w ar p h o to g ra p h e r in V ie tn a m was asked w hy his photos seem ed so glam orous. H e rep lied th a t try in g to take the g la m o u r o u t o f w ar w as like try ing to take the g la m o u r o u t o f sex. T h e cam era is a ttra c te d to actio n , n o t to philosophical arg u m e n ts. As the d istu rb in g im ages of w ar are also an ad re n alin b u zz, so too the poetic profan ity o f G u n n e ry S erg ean t H a r t m a n is b o th b ru ta l a n d fu n n y . H e destroys a re c ru it w ith his invective an d we laugh: “ Y ou clim b obstacles like old people fuck . . . I ’m going to rip y o u r balls off so you c a n ’t co n tam in ate the rest of the h u m a n r a c e .” W e do n ot see a w o m an in th e first h a lf of the film. T h e only references to w om en are obscene. In the second h a lf we m eet three: two are p ro stitu tes an d one is the sn ip er w ho kills E ig h tb all, D oc an d C ow boy. W e only discover th e sex of this angel of d eath in the p en u ltim a te scene of the film , w hen she is w o u n d ed . J o k e r shoots h er to p u t h e r o u t o f h er m isery. W e see his face tw isted in orgasm ic rictus as he pulls th e trig g er. C u t to M a rin e s m a rc h in g p ast the b lazing b ack d ro p of H u e , singing n o t H a r tm a n ’s M a rin e C o rp s ditties b u t the M ickey M o u se C lu b th em e song: “ C om e along an d jo in the fun w ith all the fam ily . . . ” V oiceo v er from Jo k e r: “ M y tho u g h ts d rift back to the great h o m ecom in g fuck w ith M a ry J a n e R o tte n c ru tc h . . . ” By co n c en tra tin g on w ar as E ros denied, defam ed an d deflected, K u b rick has little room to explore the w ider p o li tical issues. H e uses interview s w ith a film crew ro v in g d u rin g a lull in the battle to m ake a few points. T h e soldiers spot the cam era an d yell, “ V ie tn a m the m ovie. W e ’ll let the gooks play the In d ia n s .” J o h n W a y n e is the p o in t of reference, hero of countless S a tu rd a y aftern o o n s at the m ovies. B ut as one of th e black M a rin e s com plains, “ W e get killed for these people an d they d o n ’t ap p reciate i t . ” J o k e r grins at the view ers back hom e and explains, d ea d p an , “ I w an ted to go to exotic S outh E ast A sia a n d m eet in terestin g an d stim u la tin g people an d kill them . I w an ted to be the first kid on m y block to get a con firm ed k ill.” V ietn am has d are d film m akers to m ake use of its d ra m a . It was the first fully televised w ar, a n d its im ages are etched on the m o d e rn consciousness, b u t a decade after the V ietn am e se arm y defeated the A m eric an w ar m ach in e, film m akers are still try in g to com e to term s w ith the subject. The Deer Hunter Apocalypse Now a n d Platoon all co n tain e d
,
fine sequences b u t w ere u ltim ately d is ap p o in tin g . K u b ric k said all th a t needs to be said ab o u t m ilita rism in Paths Of Glory. In Full M etal Jacket his final p a n n in g shot of m a rc h in g m e n takes us b ack to Barry Lyndon a n d th e lines o f soldiers, sh o u ld er to sh o u ld er, m a rc h in g to th e ir d eath s, ran k s u n w av e rin g . In Full M etal Jacket, the M a rin e s strid e to p erd itio n w ith th e so u n d s o f W a lt D isn ey on th e ir lips an d th e th o u g h t th a t th e d ead know only th a t it is b e tte r to be alive. As th e U S falls to w ard s an o th e r w ar in C e n tra l A m erica, K u b ric k offers only the d esp air of a la tte r-d a y C o n ra d . Campbell Thom son FULL METAL JACKET: Directed by Stanley Kubrick. Executive producer: Jan Harlan. Associate producer: Michael Herr. Co-producer: Philip Hobbs. Screenplay: Stanley Kubrick, Michael Herr, Gustav Hasford. Director of photography: Douglas Mllsome. Editor: Martin Hunter. Production designer: Anton Furst. Music: Abigail Mead. Cast: Matthew Modine (Private Joker), Adam Baldwin (Animal Mother), Vincent D’Onofrio (Pri vate Pyle), Lee Ermey (Gunnery Sergeant Hartman), Dorian Harewood (Eightball), Arliss Howard (Cowboy), Kevyn Major Howard (Rafterman). Production com pany: Warner Bros. Distributor: Village Roadshow. 35mm. 116 minutes. USA. 1987.
• RECENT RELEASES
A Supplementary Guide November:
T h ree For T h e R o ad (Village R oadshow ) M atad o r (H oyts) H otel Colonial (Film pac) T h e Squeeze (Fox C olum bia) Lady Beware (Village R oadshow ) Evil D ead 2 (H oyts) Body Slam (Film pac) C herry 2000 (Village R oadshow ) T he Living D aylights (U IP ) Back T o T h e Beach (U IP ) H earts O f Fire (Village R oadshow ) H am b u rg e r H ill (Film pac) W h o ’s T h a t G irl (Village R oadshow ) T he Last E m p ero r (Fox C olum bia) Big Shots (Village R oadshow ) W ith Love T o T h e Person N ext T o M e (AFI) T he F uneral (R onin) T h e M agic T oyshop (A FI) T he R ight H an d M an (G reater U nion) M an o n Des Sources (G reater U nion) K am ikaze (H o yts/P rem ium )
December: Space Balls (H oyts) Jaw s: T h e R evenge (U IP ) A N ight O n T h e T ow n (Village Roadshow ) T h e Princess B ride (Film pac) H arry & T h e H endersons (U IP ) Revenge O f T h e N erds 2 (Fox C olum bia) D ark Eyes (Film pac) L eonard P art 6 (Fox C olum bia) Planes, T rain s A nd A utom obiles (U IP ) T hrow M o m m a From T h e T ra in (Village Roadshow ) Benji T h e H u n te d (Village R oadshow ) W ish You W ere H ere (G reater U nion) Fatal A ttraction (U IP ) T h e Fam ily (AZ) Sum m er School (U IP ) R ita, Sue A nd Bob T oo (N ew V ision) T he Good F ath er (New V ision) Salvation (New V ision) T am popo (R onin) T he Black C an n o n Incident (R onin) Belly O f A n A rchitect (H oyts/P rem ium ) S uperm an IV (H oyts) M ade In H eaven (Village R oadshow )