Platoon         

By Jim Emerson

Platoon put writer-turned-director Oliver Stone on the Hollywood map; it is still his most acclaimed and effective film, probably because it is based on Stone's firsthand experience as an American soldier in Vietnam. Chris (Charlie Sheen) is an infantryman whose loyalty is tested by two superior officers: Sergeant Elias (Willem Dafoe), a former hippie humanist who really cares about his men (this was a few years before he played Jesus in Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ), and Sergeant Barnes (Tom Berenger), a moody, macho soldier who may have gone over to the dark side. The personalities of the two sergeants correspond to their combat drugs of choice--pot for Elias and booze for Barnes. Stone has become known for his sledgehammer visual style, but in this film it seems perfectly appropriate. His violent and disorienting images have a terrifying immediacy, a you-are-there quality that gives you a sense of how things may have felt to an infantryman in the jungles of Vietnam. Platoon won Oscars for best picture and director.

Academy Awards

Platoon received an Academy Awards for Best Picture (Arnold Kopelson - Producer), Directing (Oliver Stone), Film Editing (Claire Simpson), Sound (John "Doc" Wilkinson, Richard Rogers, Charles "Bud" Grenzback, Simon Kaye). It also received nominations for Supporting Actor (Willem Dafoe), Supporting Actor (Tom Berenger), Writing (Best Screenplay written directly for the screen; Oliver Stone), and Cinematography (Robert Richardson).

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