{"id":648484,"date":"2026-03-11T17:37:18","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T17:37:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/648484\/"},"modified":"2026-03-11T17:37:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T17:37:18","slug":"oliver-stone-on-the-40th-anniversary-of-platoon-and-the-iran-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/648484\/","title":{"rendered":"Oliver Stone on the 40th Anniversary of ‘Platoon’ and the Iran War"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tThere\u00a0has\u00a0never been a war film quite like \u201cPlatoon<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tHollywood\u00a0delivered\u00a0powerful combat stories\u00a0about\u00a0the brutality of battle, but\u00a0nothing came close to matching\u00a0Oliver Stone<\/a>\u2019s\u00a0depiction of\u00a0America\u2019s tragic\u00a0Vietnam\u00a0chapter. This drama about an idealistic recruit (Charlie Sheen) confronting the savagery, the chaos,\u00a0the true horror of war, was a searing corrective to jingoistic action movies like \u201cRambo.\u201d\u00a0In \u201cPlatoon,\u201d the enemy is\u00a0largely unseen\u00a0\u2014 the Vietnamese soldiers\u00a0masked by\u00a0dense jungle \u2014 but the camera does not shy away from\u00a0the\u00a0depiction of\u00a0the\u00a0mangled bodies of the\u00a0servicemen\u00a0who draw their fire.\u00a0Stone, who served in\u00a01967 and 1968, was the first Vietnam vet to direct a movie about\u00a0his experience, giving the picture greater authenticity.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tFilmed for just $6 million and featuring a cast of then largely unknown actors like Willem Dafoe, Forest Whitaker and Johnny Depp, \u201cPlatoon\u201d was a smash hit, earning\u00a0$137.9 million to become the third-highest-grossing film of 1986. It went on to sweep the Oscars, picking up six Academy Awards including best picture and best director.\u00a0To mark \u201cPlatoon\u201d\u2019s\u00a040th anniversary, Stone talked to\u00a0Variety\u00a0about his struggles to get the movie made, his\u00a0sadness over America\u2019s unbreakable attraction to foreign conflicts and his fears that his outspoken beliefs\u00a0derailed\u00a0his Hollywood career.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\tWas it hard to get a studio interested in \u201cPlatoon\u201d?\u00a0\u00a0\t<\/p>\n

\n\tWe were rejected for 10 years. People thought the script was a bummer. You\u00a0have to\u00a0realize,\u00a0this\u00a0picture was made in a market that was\u00a0unfriendly to anti-Vietnam statements. I was truth-telling and clearing out some of the lies being told about Vietnam.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\tDespite\u00a0the setbacks, the film\u00a0was a huge box office hit. Why did the audience show up?\u00a0\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI\u2019m\u00a0hardly a\u00a0sociologist;\u00a0all\u00a0I can say\u00a0is that\u00a0I was\u00a0very surprised. We made an independent, low-budget film in the Philippines, but by the time we were done, something in the national consciousness had changed.\u00a0We\u2019d\u00a0just gone through the \u201cRambo\u201d films and that Chuck Norris movie\u00a0\u201cMissing in Action\u201d\u00a0that were hardcore and like,\u00a0\u201cLet\u2019s go back to Vietnam and do it again!\u201d I was coming out of this\u00a0wholly different\u00a0point of view that war\u00a0is hell and that Vietnam\u00a0was a lost cause. We had no\u00a0business being\u00a0there.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\tIn your Oscar acceptance speech, you said that\u00a0a war like Vietnam should \u201cnever, ever\u00a0in our lifetimes\u00a0happen again.\u201d Do you feel like\u00a0we\u2019ve\u00a0ignored that message?\u00a0\t<\/p>\n

\n\tIt\u2019s\u00a0just ridiculous that\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0back in this state\u00a0of loving war\u00a0again.\u00a0We\u00a0haven\u2019t\u00a0learned anything from Vietnam \u2014 we just continue to militarize and build up our defense budget.\u00a0We continued to dominate and bully and threaten.\u00a0The war in Iraq was the greatest disaster since Vietnam. George Bush,\u00a0the worst single president\u00a0we\u2019ve\u00a0ever had. What did Iraq get us? It drained our wealth and made us callous as a nation. And now Mr. Trump is\u00a0[starting]\u00a0a war in Iran,\u00a0and\u00a0he\u2019s\u00a0playing the same game with Cuba and Venezuela.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0like the Roman Empire. We never learn our\u00a0lesson.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\tYour body of work\u00a0\u2014\u00a0from \u201cPlatoon\u201d to \u201cJFK\u201d to \u201cNixon\u201d\u00a0\u2014\u00a0is about the psychic scar left by Vietnam. Do you feel like\u00a0you\u2019ve\u00a0been shouting into the wind?\u00a0\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI feel frustrated.\u00a0I\u2019ve\u00a0certainly been loud in sharing my\u00a0beliefs\u00a0over the years, and my career has suffered for it.\u00a0I\u2019ve\u00a0learned my lesson:\u00a0Keep your\u00a0views quiet.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCourtesy of MGM<\/p>\n

\t\tHow soon after you\u00a0returned\u00a0to civilian life\u00a0in 1968\u00a0did you start to think about dramatizing your experience fighting in Vietnam?\u00a0\t<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen I got back,\u00a0I was\u00a0disoriented\u00a0for a long time. Drugs\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0help. Marijuana\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0help. And then I wrote a screenplay\u00a0in 1969\u00a0called\u00a0\u201cBreak,\u201d\u00a0which was\u00a0very surrealistic.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0about someone who\u00a0enlists.\u00a0And it becomes a blend of sci-fi\u00a0and\u00a0LSD\u00a0\u2014\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0very, very phantasmagoric.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0a very\u00a0Jim Morrison kind of movie. And\u00a0I sent it to Morrison\u00a0\u2014 actually, Morrison\u00a0had it in his apartment in Paris when he died.\u00a0The script was returned to me years\u00a0later, when\u00a0I made\u00a0\u201cThe Doors,\u201d written\u00a0by his\u00a0road\u00a0manager.\u00a0That script was not \u201cPlatoon,\u201d but it became the basis for \u201cPlatoon.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\tThere were\u00a0several\u00a0films made in the\u00a0\u201970s about the Vietnam experience like \u201cApocalypse Now,\u201d \u201cComing Home\u201d and \u201cThe Deer Hunter.\u201d What did you think about the way they portrayed the war?\u00a0\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cComing Home\u201d was\u00a0very powerful. But it was told from the point of view of Jane Fonda as the veteran\u2019s wife.\u00a0I thought it was pretty accurate,\u00a0but that was not my experience.\u00a0\u201cApocalypse\u00a0Now\u201d I\u00a0admired\u00a0as a movie.\u00a0But\u00a0the story seemed\u00a0mythological,\u00a0and I\u00a0couldn\u2019t\u00a0square\u00a0that at\u00a0all with\u00a0what I saw\u00a0as a soldier.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0all\u00a0secret ops\u00a0and a strange mission on a riverboat. And the same\u00a0with\u00a0Michael Cimino\u2019s movie\u00a0[\u201cThe Deer Hunter\u201d].\u00a0It\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0reflect what I had been through.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\tHow did you land on Charlie Sheen for the lead\u00a0in \u201cPlatoon\u201d?\u00a0\u00a0\t<\/p>\n

\n\tInitially,\u00a0we set up the movie in 1984, and Charlie\u2019s brother Emilio\u00a0Estevez\u00a0was going to play the\u00a0main role. But\u00a0it fell\u00a0apart.\u00a0And\u00a0when it came back around\u00a0in 1986,\u00a0Emilio was older.\u00a0He\u00a0no longer had quite\u00a0the\u00a0look. Charlie was 19 or 20, and he has a lot of the same\u00a0mannerisms\u00a0as Emilio.\u00a0And I liked him a lot. He\u00a0hadn\u2019t\u00a0done much work. But\u00a0he had a\u00a0naive\u00a0quality, like I had\u00a0when I was\u00a0back in Vietnam.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\tDid Charlie Sheen have a reputation as a partyer back\u00a0then,\u00a0or did he\u00a0acquire\u00a0that later?\u00a0\t<\/p>\n

\n\tIn a young man\u2019s way, he did. Nothing serious. I sent the whole cast to boot camp. I wanted them to look like infantry when we started filming. Of course, I got much criticism for it, because it was a 24\/7\u00a0deal, and that\u2019s not allowable in SAG contracts, but we did it.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\tDid anyone drop out of boot camp?\u00a0\t<\/p>\n

\n\tThey dropped out before it started when they were asked about it.\u00a0I think four or five people\u00a0quit, but we just replaced them and forged ahead.\u00a0We started shooting the day the camp ended, and they came out looking\u00a0pretty tired, which was great for the film. And we shot 48 straight days.\u00a0It was\u00a0really rough\u00a0conditions\u00a0in the Philippines.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\tWhat\u00a0was\u00a0your directing style?\u00a0Based on stories\u00a0from the cast, it sounds like you were\u00a0pretty\u00a0rough.\u00a0\t<\/p>\n

\n\tThat\u2019s\u00a0a bit of a war story. It sounds good\u00a0\u2014\u00a0you know,\u00a0the veteran who\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0forget the past.\u00a0Like\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0Charles Laughton in \u201cMutiny on the Bounty\u201d or something.\u00a0I\u00a0had a vision, I knew what I wanted, and was only disappointed with myself in that sometimes I\u00a0couldn\u2019t\u00a0achieve it.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\tWas it surreal to reenact your war experiences decades later?\u00a0\t<\/p>\n

\n\tThere were times\u00a0when I had the\u00a0feeling\u00a0of\u00a0living this again.\u00a0Of course, you\u00a0have to work inside the limitations of the camera.\u00a0In\u00a0movies, when you hear\u00a0gunfire, you expect to see the result. In real life\u00a0and\u00a0in real battle, you hardly ever see who you kill. But\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0unfilmable.\u00a0Audiences would reject that, so you\u00a0have to\u00a0use some conventions.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\tDid\u00a0your depiction of war\u00a0influence\u00a0how\u00a0subsequent\u00a0films staged it?\u00a0\u00a0\t<\/p>\n

\n\tNo. Most of the films that came after\u00a0are ridiculous and stupid.\u00a0I mean\u00a0how many Iraqis does Mark Wahlberg kill\u00a0in \u201cLone Survivor\u201d? And\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0supposed to be a true story, right? If\u00a0you\u00a0look at\u00a0the\u00a0recent\u00a0movies,\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0so militaristic. And\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0because\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0made with the\u00a0cooperation of the\u00a0Pentagon; you need\u00a0access to their\u00a0equipment.\u00a0To\u00a0get one of those choppers on\u00a0\u201cBlack Hawk Down,\u201d\u00a0you\u2019ve\u00a0got to make a deal with them, and they\u00a0will\u00a0pay\u00a0for\u00a0everything. And for that matter, the CIA is involved\u00a0too.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\tIt\u2019s\u00a0been 10 years since your last narrative feature, \u201cSnowden.\u201d Will you make another film?\u00a0\u00a0\t<\/p>\n

\n\tI\u2019ve\u00a0been\u00a0pretty busy setting up this lower-budget feature called\u00a0\u201cWhite Lies,\u201d\u00a0which I\u2019ve tried to do for many years.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0off and on.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0a script I keep working on.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0a\u00a0personal\u00a0story about\u00a0people and relationships\u00a0\u2014\u00a0husbands, wives, children,\u00a0grandparents.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0about three generations\u00a0of a family,\u00a0and hopefully\u00a0I\u2019ll\u00a0pull it off.\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0very close.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\t\tWhat\u2019s\u00a0your most indelible memory of making \u201cPlatoon\u201d?\u00a0\t<\/p>\n

\n\tEvery day was memorable. But on the last day of the shoot, I had this feeling that\u00a0we\u2019d\u00a0done something\u00a0important. I\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0know\u00a0whether anybody would\u00a0see\u00a0the film. I\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0know that\u00a0it\u2019d\u00a0be a success.\u00a0But my conscience was clear. I felt\u00a0I had achieved something in my life that could withstand the test of time. I\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0expect\u00a0everything that came after it. That was\u00a0beautiful, but I\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0want to make that the peak of my life.\u00a0I think the peak\u00a0is coming.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There\u00a0has\u00a0never been a war film quite like \u201cPlatoon.\u201d\u00a0 Hollywood\u00a0delivered\u00a0powerful combat stories\u00a0about\u00a0the brutality of battle, but\u00a0nothing came close to…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":648485,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[171,53,132020,275553,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-648484","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-movies","10":"tag-oliver-stone","11":"tag-platoon","12":"tag-united-states","13":"tag-unitedstates","14":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116211760920810937","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/648484","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=648484"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/648484\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/648485"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=648484"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=648484"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=648484"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}