Platoon

The 1986 film Platoon about the Vietnam war, starring Charlie Sheen was written and directed by Oliver Stone to counter the 1965 film The Green Beret directed by John Wayne which was written during the war and was used to counter the strong anti-Vietnam opinion among the public at the time and managed to obtain full co-operation from the military and the President Lyndon B. Johnson. Now that the war was over Stone wanted to portray what life was really like for soldiers who fought in the war, as Stone served in the military and fought in the Vietnam War and Wayne did not.


 A professional film critic Roger Ebert describes this film as portraying the worst part of war with no 'standard hero' and describes the narrator of the film; Charlie Sheen's character as being 'quickly at the point of physical collapse, bedevilled by long marches, no sleep, ants, snakes, cuts, bruises and constant gnawing fear.' Ebert says that the film does not make war look fun, and that is what Stone wanted, it seems he did not want to glorify war by making it with 'energy and a sense of adventure.' The film shows what war was really like.

Even this film poster that was used shows the dispare of the soldier and was used to recreate a famous photograph in 1968, during the war which has been named one of the greatest military photographs.

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19861230/REVIEWS/612300301/1023