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Platoon

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Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) is a young American who has abandoned a privileged life at a university to enlist in the infantry, volunteering for combat duty in Vietnam. The year is September 1967. Upon arrival in Da Nang, South Vietnam, he sees dead soldiers in body bags being loaded into his plane, but more distressing to him is the shellshocked state of a departing soldier with the thousand-yard stare. Taylor and several other replacements have been assigned to Bravo Company, 25th Infantry division, "somewhere near the Cambodian border." Worn down by the exhausting work and living conditions, his enthusiasm for the war wanes quickly and he develops an admiration for the more experienced soldiers, despite their reluctance to extend their friendship.

One day, another new arrival, platoon commander Lieutenant Wolfe (Mark Moses) discusses the plans for a patrol later that night with the platoon sergeants: the compassionate Sergeant Elias (Willem Dafoe), harsh but hard core Staff Sergeant Barnes (Tom Berenger), cowardly lifer Sergeant Red O'Neil (John C. McGinley), and drug addict Sergeant Warren (Tony Todd). Barnes and Elias argue over whether to send the new men out on a patrol that is likely to be ambushed. O'Neil insists that the new troops go out instead of several men under him who are nearly finished with their tours of duty. Barnes agrees, only on the condition that O'Neil goes out as well.

That night, Taylor's sleeping unit is set upon by a squad of North Vietnamese Army soldiers. Gardner (Bob Orwig), a fellow new recruit, is killed, and another soldier, Tex (David Neidorf), is maimed. Despite having passed the watch duty to Junior (Reggie Johnson), a more experienced soldier who fell asleep, Taylor is blamed for the casualties (O'Neil is also to blame, having thrown the grenade that maimed Tex). Immediately after the fighting Taylor discovers a light wound to his neck, and he is sent to the field hospital for treatment.

Taylor returns from the hospital and through a soldier named King (Keith David), gains acceptance from the "heads", a tight-knit group led by Elias that socializes, dances, and takes drugs in a private bunker. Next door, the more traditional members of the unit drink beer and play cards. Taylor becomes a more seasoned soldier as the patrols continue and soon no longer stands out amongst the others.

During one patrol on January 1, 1968, two members of the platoon, Sandy (J. Adam Glover) and Sal (Richard Edson) find an abandoned bunker and are killed when they stumble upon a booby trap attached to a box of documents. Shortly after, a soldier named Manny Washington (Corkey Ford) goes missing. His mutilated body is found tied to a post close by.

The platoon reaches a nearby village, where a food and weapons cache is discovered. Despite the villagers' denials, Barnes believes they are aiding Viet Cong soldiers and shoots the wife of the village chief in the head. The other soldiers explore the village. In one house, Taylor discovers a mentally disabled boy and his mother hiding in a hole beneath the floor. Taylor harasses and taunts the retarded boy but goes no further. However, Bunny (Kevin Dillon) then takes over and beats the boy to death with his gun, even though Sgt. O'Neil demanded the men to leave the house. Outside, Sergeant Elias arrives at the scene and starts a fistfight with Barnes over the incidents. Lieutenant Wolfe, passive during the shooting of the wife, eventually ends the fight, and relays orders from the company commander to burn the village. As the men leave, a group of four soldiers, including Bunny and Junior, drag a young Vietnamese girl into the bushes with the intention of raping her. Taylor comes upon them and stops the group from raping the child.

Upon returning to base, Elias reports Barnes' actions to Captain Harris (Dale Dye), who cannot afford to remove Barnes due to a lack of personnel. However, Harris threatens to court martial Barnes if there is evidence that he committed a murder of an unarmed civilian. O'Neil and Bunny, nervous about the possibility of an investigation, speak to Barnes and Bunny suggests "fragging" Elias. A narrating Taylor speaks of this as "a civil war in the platoon. Half with Elias, half with Barnes."

On their next patrol the platoon is ambushed and pinned down in a firefight by unseen enemy soldiers. Flash (Basile Achara) is killed and Sergeant Warren (Tony Todd) and Lerner (Johnny Depp) are badly injured in the resulting skirmish. Lieutenant Wolfe calls in wrong coordinates for artillery support, resulting in the deaths of Fu Sheng (Steve Barredo), Morehouse (Kevin Eshelman), and Tubbs (Andrew B. Clark) and the severe wounding of Ace (Terry McIlvain). Big Harold (Forest Whitaker) has his leg blown off by a trip-wire booby trap while trying to escape the artillery barrage. Elias, with Taylor, Rhah (Francesco Quinn), and Crawford (Chris Pedersen), go to intercept flanking enemy troops. Though Lt. Wolfe is commanding officer, his inaccurate coordinates for artillery bombardments cause the injury of several of his own troops and Barnes takes command. He orders the rest of the platoon to retreat to be airlifted from the area, and goes back into the jungle to find Elias' group. After sending Taylor, Rhah, and Crawford (who has been shot in the lung) back, Barnes finds Elias. Barnes fires three rounds into Elias' chest and leaves him for dead. Barnes reaches the helicopter, telling the others that Elias is dead. After they take off, the

Tags: mgm, war, action, drama, tom berenger, willem dafoe, keith david, charlie sheen, kevin dillon, johnny depp, richard edson, reggie johnson, john c mcginley, francesco quinn, forest whitaker
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Music and songs you're hearing

The Tracks Of My Tears
- Smokey Robinson

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Partial Film Information

Director: Oliver Stone
Writer: Oliver Stone
Studio: MGM
Cast: Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe, Keith David

Release: December 24, 1986

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