Full Metal Jacket

Honest response

Full Metal Jacket is a critically acclaimed film and I would have to agree with many of the reviews.  The transition between both halves of the film is done perfectly and every character in the film is portrayed right.  The character of the drill instructor is the undisputed most realistic and perfectly portrayed character in the film, through his extreme language he can occasionally seem a funny character- however it is dark humour at most as in the end it creates a monster that leads to his shocking demise.   The first half of the movie is almost perfectly executed. The 2^nd half slips a bit in comparison. It does not display the war; its chaos and horror as well as Apocalypse Now for example.  Also, in a film focuses on the transformation from new volunteers into trained killers, I thought the 2^nd half (minus the final scenes) did not include enough character development and changed more into a narration of a military units struggle in Vietnam, including characters we have had no back-story or information on. Despite this, the film is still excellently made and will leave audiences filled with emotions.  Stanley Kubrick should be proud of this film as the techniques involved make it one of the greatest war/anti-war films out there.

8/10

Cinematography - Full Metal Jacket

    Douglas Milsome is the man behind the Cinematography in Full Metal Jacket, he uses it to its full potential, it always reflects the themes, issues and the mood of the scene. However what is unique in this film is that the cinematography is completely different each half of the film- reflecting the change in the film of the Marines training to the Marines on the field, training.  

    In the first half of the film, the camera is generally neat and organised- representing the strict rules and tradition of the Marine training. This is shown in the marching scene’s, which is filmed continuously using a tracking shot, as to show the unit as one and to give no extra recognition to any main character. It moves as the same pace- as to show the order in the training.

 In fact the only time you see close ups of a lot of the characters in the first half of the movie is in the opening scene- showing their heads being shaved, representing their  rebirth into the marine court, where they are all completely equal.  A majority off the shots in the first half will be focused medium- long shots as to show the equality in the group, with the exception of the Sergeant Hartman, who will often get close ups and in one case gets a shot looking up at him to show his importance and authority.

   This order and neatness turns to chaos once the second half of the movie begins, in Vietnam. This is to show the Chaos and Horror of the War in comparison to the strict law in the Marine training. A good example of this is in the war Joker and the unit he is accompanying enter a town with armed VC in, the camera follows the soldiers in a rugged, not neat way to each bit of cover they got too, as if we were also in the unit. This can be compared to the tracking shot in the first half, showing the chaos now.  The bridge between these two different types of cinematography in the movie is the final Private Pyle scene, showing the transition from the order to the chaos. 

Edgar Wright

Director + Screen Writer 

Edgar Wright has directed some of my favourite films of all time, as well as Space- a great comedy show. To me what makes Edgar Wright my favourite director is his creativity. He creates nearly flawless films on a regular basis. He does this by utilizing every part of film-making in a superb, nearly unequaled level (at least in comedy)   This includes various camera techniques, set manipulation, audio queues and to me his signature move, quick and long cuts. Edgar Wright is extremely consistent with the level in each of his films, a fan knows when they go see a film directed by him they will come out laughing or wanting more.  One of the great things about his more independent films is the references he puts in for his fans, ranging from props, one- liners or cameos from actors from his older projects- this gives fans a reason to re-watch his films to see just how many are in there. 

28 Days Later

London Abandoned

      The Mise-en-scène is used a lot throughout the movie to create a great sense of isolation. This is shown especially in the second scene of the movie which also features the introduction of our main protagonist, Jim. Jim leaves the hospital where he has awoken after being unconscious for nearly a month to find that London has changed. The first shot outside is a wide shot that shows an abandoned London- this not only creates the sense of despair and isolation, but shows Jim to be at the mercy of his surroundings, as the next shot shows him being nothing more than a small speck on a much larger picture. When the camera cuts to a closer shot of Jim's face- we see his expression, we can tell from his turning and slow, cautious walking that he is scared and confused- the close up shot also shows us that he is quite malnourished, probably due to his long vegetative state, this is one example of the make up in the movie being used well. His malnourished state and his hospital scrubs reflect the city, that like him has been abandoned and hurt.
    

As the scene continue we can see him getting more and more desperate by his pace and his frequent turning, this further displays Jims vulnerability in the setting around him. There is a tight shot of Jim walking taken through the smashed window of a fallen down London bus- this massively reflects Jim who is also figuratively broken. There are two main props in the scene- first is the money, that has been dropped and left all over the streets- Jim picking it up shows how confused and out of his element he is, as despite picking it up where others know there is no use for money anymore, he does not smile. This shows his own despair as well as further showing the despair of the whole scene. Throughout the scene there is a few pan shots- this is to draw the audience in, create an emotional connection with them, as well as to show the scale of the cities isolation. Around 3 minutes into the scene there is footage of Jim walking towards the camera, it is zoomed in just enough to show only Jim and the billboard behind him- which shows a smiling woman in an almost ironic fashion as Jim's face at the exact same time is of disbelief. This smiling woman also represents life 28 days before this scene, when life was normal- so it helps re-illiterate the change and abandonment of London and Jim. The 2nd prop features near the end of the scene- Jim attempts to open the door of a car that has been stopped in the middle of the road. The car alarm goes off- startling Jim and sending him back a few feet suddenly, afterwards however is the first time in the scene Jim smiles, This tells us a lot about Jim, first of all it shows he has a sense of humour, but it also shows his relief to hear a noise other than his own break the silence.