Editing Full Metal Jacket (section)

==Production==

===Development===

In early 1980, Kubrick contacted [[Michael Herr]], author of the Vietnam War memoir ''[[Dispatches (book)|Dispatches]]'' (1977), to discuss work on a film about [[the Holocaust]] but Kubrick discarded that idea in favor of a film about the Vietnam War.<ref name="vulliamy">{{cite news |last = CVulliamy |first = Ed |title = It Ain't Over Till It's Over |work = [[The Observer]] |date = July 16, 2000 |url = http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/artsandentertainment/story/0,6000,343722,00.html |access-date = October 11, 2007 |archive-date = November 16, 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071116045651/http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/artsandentertainment/story/0,6000,343722,00.html |url-status = live }}</ref> Herr and Kubrick met in England; Kubrick told Herr he wanted to make a war film but had yet to find a story to adapt.<ref name="lobrutto">{{cite news | last = LoBrutto | first = Vincent |title = Stanley Kubrick | publisher = Donald I. Fine Books | year = 1997 }}</ref> Kubrick discovered [[Gustav Hasford]]'s novel ''[[The Short-Timers]]'' (1979) while reading the ''[[Kirkus Reviews|Kirkus Review]]''.<ref name="clines">{{cite news | last = Clines | first = Francis X | title = Stanley Kubrick's Vietnam | work = [[The New York Times]] | date = June 21, 1987 | url = https://www.nytimes.com/library/film/062187kubrick-jacket.html | access-date = October 11, 2007 | archive-date = April 28, 2006 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060428173250/http://www.nytimes.com/library/film/062187kubrick-jacket.html | url-status = live }}</ref> Herr received the novel in [[Galley proof|bound galleys]] and thought it a masterpiece.<ref name="lobrutto" /> In 1982, Kubrick read the novel twice; he concluded it is "a unique, absolutely wonderful book" and decided to adapt it for his next film.<ref name="clines" /> According to Kubrick, he was drawn to the book's dialogue, which he found "almost poetic in its carved-out, stark quality".<ref name="clines" /> In 1983, Kubrick began researching for the film; he watched archival footage and documentaries, read Vietnamese newspapers on [[microfilm]] from the [[Library of Congress]], and studied hundreds of photographs from the era.<ref name="rose"/> Initially, Herr was not interested in revisiting his Vietnam War experiences, but Kubrick spent three years persuading him, describing the discussions as "a single phone call lasting three years, with interruptions".<ref name="vulliamy" />

In 1985, Kubrick contacted Hasford and invited him to join the team;<ref name="lobrutto" /> they spoke by telephone three to four times a week for hours at a time.<ref name="lewis">{{cite news | last = Lewis | first = Grover | title = The Several Battles of Gustav Hasford | work = [[Los Angeles Times Magazine]] | date = June 28, 1987 | url = https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-06-28-tm-430-story.html | access-date = October 20, 2017 | archive-date = October 19, 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151019063159/http://articles.latimes.com/1987-06-28/magazine/tm-430_1_full-metal-jacket | url-status = live }}</ref> Kubrick had already written a detailed treatment of the novel,<ref name="lobrutto" /> and they met at Kubrick's home every day, breaking the treatment into scenes. Herr then wrote the first draft of the film script.<ref name="lobrutto" /> Kubrick worried the audience might misread the book's title as a reference to people who did only half a day's work and changed it to ''Full Metal Jacket'' after coming across [[Full metal jacket bullet|the phrase]] in a gun catalogue.<ref name="lobrutto" /> After the first draft was complete, Kubrick telephoned his orders to Hasford and Herr, who mailed their submissions to him.<ref name="carlton" /> Kubrick read and edited Hasford's and Herr's submissions, and the team repeated the process. Neither Hasford nor Herr knew how much each had contributed to the screenplay, which led to a dispute over the final credits.<ref name="carlton" /> Hasford said: "We were like guys on an assembly line in the car factory. I was putting on one widget and Michael was putting on another widget and Stanley was the only one who knew that this was going to end up being a car."<ref name="carlton" /> Herr said Kubrick was not interested in making an [[anti-war film]] but "he wanted to show what war is like".<ref name="vulliamy" />

At some point, Kubrick wanted to meet Hasford in person, but Herr advised against this, describing ''The Short-Timers'' author as a "scary man, a big, haunted marine", and did not believe Hasford and Kubrick would "get on".<ref name="vulliamy" /> Kubrick, however, insisted on the meeting, which occurred at Kubrick's house in England. The meeting went poorly; Kubrick privately told Herr: "I can't deal with this man," and Hasford did not meet with Kubrick again.<ref name="vulliamy" />

===Casting===
[[File:Full_Metal_Jacket_-_Hartman's_Diagloue.webm|thumb|right|Ermey's performance with improvised verbal insults was an integral part in ''Full Metal Jacket'' that received critical acclaim.<ref name="lobrutto" />]]
Through [[Warner Bros. Pictures|Warner Bros.]], Kubrick advertised a casting search in the United States and Canada. He used [[videotape]] to audition actors and received over 3,000 submissions. Kubrick's staff screened the tapes, leaving 800 of them for him to review.<ref name="lobrutto" />{{rp|461}}

Former U.S. Marines drill instructor Lee Ermey was originally hired as a [[technical advisor]]. Ermey asked Kubrick if he could audition for the role of Hartman. Kubrick, who had seen Ermey's portrayal of drill instructor Staff Sergeant Loyce in ''[[The Boys in Company C]]'' (1978), told Ermey that he was not vicious enough to play the character. Ermey improvised insulting dialogue against a group of [[Royal Marines]] who were being considered for the part of background Marines in order to demonstrate his ability to play the character and to show how a drill instructor attacks individuality in new recruits.<ref name="lobrutto" />{{rp|462}} Upon viewing the videotape of these sessions, Kubrick offered Ermey the role, realizing he "was a genius for this part".<ref name="rose" /> Kubrick incorporated the 250-page transcript of Ermey's rants into the script.<ref name="lobrutto" />{{rp|462–463}} Ermey's experience as a drill instructor during the Vietnam War proved invaluable; Kubrick estimated that Ermey wrote 50% of his character's dialogue, particularly the insults.<ref name="cahill" />

While Ermey practiced his lines in a rehearsal room, Kubrick's assistant [[Leon Vitali]] would throw tennis balls and oranges at him, which Ermey had to catch and throw back as quickly as possible while saying his lines as fast as he could. Any hesitation, slowdown, slip or missed line would necessitate restarting, and 20 error-free runs were required. "[He] was my drill instructor," Ermey said of Vitali.<ref name="lobrutto" />{{rp|463}}<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/06/30/movies/jacket-actor-invents-his-dialogue.html | title='Jacket' Actor Invents His Dialogue | work=The New York Times | date=June 30, 1987 | last1=Harmetz | first1=Aljean }}</ref>

Nine months of negotiations to cast [[Anthony Michael Hall]] as Private Joker were unsuccessful; Hall would later regret not doing the film.<ref name="ugodz" /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-04-03-ca-928-story.html|title=MOVIES : On the Rebound With Anthony Michael Hall|date=
April 3, 1988|newspaper=Los Angeles Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://dnyuz.com/2024/06/13/anthony-michael-halls-biggest-regret-is-turning-down-kubricks-full-metal-jacket/|title=Anthony Michael Hall's biggest regret is turning down Kubrick's 'Full Metal Jacket'|date=June 13, 2024|newspaper=DNYUZ}}</ref> [[Val Kilmer]] was also considered for the role, and [[Bruce Willis]] declined a role because of commitments to his television series ''[[Moonlighting (TV series)|Moonlighting]]''.<ref name="Willis" /> Kubrick offered [[Ed Harris]] the role of Hartman but Harris declined it, a decision that he later called "foolish".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sharf |first=Zack |date=2018-05-02 |title=Ed Harris Rejected a Direct Offer From Stanley Kubrick, and He Knows 'It Was Foolish' |url=https://www.indiewire.com/2018/05/ed-harris-rejected-stanley-kubrick-full-metal-jacket-1201959566/ |access-date=2022-07-13 |website=IndieWire |language=en}}</ref> [[Robert De Niro]] was also considered for the role, although Kubrick eventually felt that the audience would "feel cheated" if De Niro's character were killed in the first hour.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2010/04/kubrick-199908|title=Kubrick|date=April 21, 2010|magazine=Vanity Fair}}</ref> [[Bill McKinney]] was also considered for the part, but Kubrick professed an irrational fear of the actor. McKinney was known for his role as a rural psychopath in 1972's ''[[Deliverance]]'', most memorably in a sequence that Kubrick described as "the most terrifying scene ever put on film". McKinney was about to fly from Los Angeles to London to audition for Kubrick and the producers when he received a message at the airport informing him that his audition had been canceled. However, McKinney was paid in full.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2009-09-24 |title=Story of the Scene: 'Say it again, Bobby' and other greats |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/story-of-the-scene-say-it-again-bobby-and-other-greats-1792684.html |access-date=2023-11-09 |website=The Independent |language=en}}</ref> [[Denzel Washington]] showed interest in the film but Kubrick did not send him a script.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2012/08/5-things-you-might-not-know-about-stanley-kubricks-full-metal-jacket-107476/|title=5 Things You Might Not Know About Stanley Kubrick's 'Full Metal Jacket'|date=August 7, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gq.com/story/denzel-washington-interview-gq-october-2012|title=Denzel Washington GQ October 2012 Cover Story|website=GQ|date=September 18, 2012}}</ref>

===Filming===
[[Principal photography]] began on August 27, 1985, and concluded on August 8, 1986.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://thecinemaholic.com/where-was-full-metal-jacket-1987-filmed/ |title=Where Was Full Metal Jacket (1987) Filmed? |last=Handore |first=Pratik |date=March 28, 2022 |publisher=Cinemaholic |access-date=May 16, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-03-06 |title=Full Metal Jacket (1987) - Misc Notes - TCM.com |url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/75816/full-metal-jacket#notes |access-date=2023-10-18 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306080339/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/75816/Full-Metal-Jacket/misc-notes.html |archive-date=March 6, 2016 }}</ref> Scenes were filmed in [[Cambridgeshire]], the [[Norfolk Broads]], in eastern London at [[Millennium Mills]] and [[Beckton Gas Works]] in [[London Borough of Newham|Newham]] and on the [[Isle of Dogs]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.information-britain.co.uk/movies/fullmetaljacket.htm|title=Movies, films TV locations in the UK Film and TV Set information, - Full Metal Jacket|website=www.information-britain.co.uk|access-date=January 1, 2021|archive-date=September 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200928034030/https://information-britain.co.uk/movies/fullmetaljacket.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> Kubrick hired [[Anton Furst]] as the production designer, impressed by his work on ''[[The Company of Wolves]]'' (1984).<ref name="BOMB Magazine">{{cite magazine | url=https://bombmagazine.org/articles/anton-furst|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20171103185346/http://bombmagazine.org/articles/anton-furst/|archivedate=November 3, 2017|url-status=dead | title=Anton Furst |magazine=BOMB Magazine| date=April 1990 }}</ref> [[Bassingbourn Barracks]], a former [[Royal Air Force]] [[RAF Bassingbourn|station]] and then a [[British Army]] base, was used as the Parris Island Marines boot camp.<ref name="rose" /> A British army rifle range near Barton, Cambridge was used for the scene in which Hartman congratulates Private Pyle for his shooting skills. Kubrick and Furst worked from still photographs of Huế taken in 1968. Kubrick found an area owned by [[British Gas plc|British Gas]] that closely resembled it and was scheduled to be demolished. The disused Beckton Gas Works, a few miles from central London, was filmed to depict Huế after attacks.<ref name="cahill"/><ref>{{Cite news |last=Wise |first=Damon |date=2017-08-01 |title=How we made Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2017/aug/01/how-we-made-full-metal-jacket-stanley-kubrick-matthew-modine |access-date=2023-10-18 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref name="BOMB Magazine"/> Kubrick had buildings demolished and the film's art director used a [[wrecking ball]] to knock holes in some of the buildings over the course of two months.<ref name="cahill"/> Kubrick had a plastic replica jungle delivered from California, but once he saw it, he dismissed the idea, saying; "I don't like it. Get rid of it."<ref name="watson" /> The open country scenes were filmed at marshland in [[Cliffe-at-Hoo]]<ref>{{cite web|author=Kent Film Office|url=http://kentfilmoffice.co.uk/1987/09/12208/|title=Kent Film Office Full Metal Jacket Article|access-date=September 25, 2015|archive-date=September 26, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150926011045/http://kentfilmoffice.co.uk/1987/09/12208/|url-status=live}}</ref> and along the [[River Thames]]. Locations were decorated with 200 palm trees imported from Spain<ref name="clines" /> and 100,000 plastic tropical plants from Hong Kong.<ref name="cahill" />

Kubrick acquired four [[M41 Walker Bulldog|M41 tanks]] from a Belgian army colonel who was an admirer of his work.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/style/1987/06/28/stanley-kubrick-at-a-distance/543f1135-e5ab-44ba-ad83-37c539057f13/|title=Stanley Kubrick, At a Distance|last=Grove|first=Lloyd|date=June 28, 1987|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=November 3, 2017|archive-date=November 15, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171115205805/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/style/1987/06/28/stanley-kubrick-at-a-distance/543f1135-e5ab-44ba-ad83-37c539057f13/|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Westland Wessex]] helicopters, which have a much longer and less-rounded nose than that of the Vietnam era H-34, were painted Marines green to represent [[Sikorsky H-34 Choctaw]] helicopters. Kubrick obtained a selection of rifles, [[M79 grenade launcher]]s and [[M60 machine gun]]s from a licensed weapons dealer.<ref name="rose"/>

Modine described the filming as difficult. Beckton Gas Works was a toxic environment for the film crew, being contaminated with [[asbestos]] and hundreds of other chemicals.<ref>Modine; ''[[Full Metal Jacket Diary]]'' (2005)</ref> During the boot camp sequence of the film, Modine and the other recruits underwent Marine Corps training, during which Ermey yelled at them for 10 hours a day while filming the Parris Island scenes. To ensure that the actors' reactions to Ermey's lines were as authentic and fresh as possible, Ermey and the recruits did not rehearse together.<ref name="lobrutto" />{{rp|468}} For film continuity, each recruit had his head shaved once a week.<ref name="linfield"/>

Modine fought with Kubrick about whether he could leave the set to be with his pregnant wife in the delivery room. Modine threatened to cut himself and get sent to the hospital himself to force Kubrick to relent.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sokol |first=Tony |date=2019-06-26 |title=Full Metal Jacket and Its Troubled Production |url=https://www.denofgeek.com/books/full-metal-jacket-and-its-troubled-production/ |access-date=2023-10-18 |website=Den of Geek |language=en-US}}</ref> He also nearly fought with D'Onofrio during filming the boot camp scenes after he taunted D'Onofrio while laughing with the film's extras between takes.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/matthew-modine-interview-wrong-turn-stranger-things-b1804216.html | title=Matthew Modine interview: 'America has never dealt honestly with what its history is' | website=[[Independent.co.uk]] | date=February 22, 2021 }}</ref>

During filming, Ermey was injured in a car crash and broke several ribs, leaving him unavailable for four and a half months.<ref name="cahill"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.denofgeek.com/books/full-metal-jacket-and-its-troubled-production/|title=Full Metal Jacket and Its Troubled Production|first=Tony|last=Sokol|date=June 26, 2019|website=Den of Geek}}</ref>

During Cowboy's death scene, a building that resembles the alien monolith in Kubrick's ''[[2001: A Space Odyssey (film)|2001: A Space Odyssey]]'' (1968) is visible. Kubrick described this as an "extraordinary accident".<ref name="cahill"/>

During filming, Hasford contemplated legal action over the writing credits. Originally, the filmmakers intended Hasford to receive an "additional dialogue" credit, but he fought for and eventually received full credit.<ref name="carlton"/> Hasford and two friends visited the set dressed as extras but was mistaken by a crew member for Herr. Hasford identified himself as the writer of the source material.<ref name="lewis"/>

Kubrick's daughter [[Vivian Kubrick|Vivian]], who appears uncredited as a news camera operator, shadowed the filming of ''Full Metal Jacket''. She filmed 18 hours of behind-the-scenes footage for a potential "making-of" documentary that went unmade. Sections of her work can be seen in the documentary ''[[Stanley Kubrick's Boxes]]'' (2008).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://vimeo.com/322890808|title=Stanley Kubrick's Boxes|publisher=[[Vimeo]]|accessdate=February 25, 2024|at=34:34-35:15, 35:21-38:36}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Crow |first=Jonathan |date=20 February 2014 |title=Behind-the-Scenes Footage of Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket |url=https://www.openculture.com/2014/02/watch-behind-the-scenes-footage-of-stanley-kubricks-full-metal-jacket.html |access-date=24 June 2024}}</ref>