Years & Movies: 1986

According to FilmGourmand, Oliver Stone's military drama "Platoon" was recognized as the best film of world cinema of 1986.

The film was directed by Oliver Stone according to his own script, based on his memories of his participation in the Vietnam War. Oliver Stone fought in Vietnam for over a year - from September 1967 to November 1968, and was wounded twice. The future director returned from the war with several military awards, including the very honorable "Bronze Star" and "Purple Heart".

Oliver Stone's movie "Platoon" was inspired by the propaganda film of the American ultra-patriot John Wayne "The Green Berets" (1968). John Wayne sat out at home during World War II, after which he considered it his duty to celebrate the heroism of American soldiers. His film "The Green Berets", which depicts the Vietnam War and the role of the United States as a distributor of democracy to all countries in an idyllically sentimental vein, terribly outraged the director-veteran of the Vietnam War. He planned to create a film in which, as opposed to "The Green Berets", would be shown a real war, without embellishment.

The first version of the script for the future film was written in 1971. This script was sent to Jim Morrison with an offer to play the main role in the film. The prototype of the main character of the picture - private Chris Taylor - was Oliver Stone himself. Almost all the actors in the film also had real prototypes.

It is difficult to say how the famous musician reacted to the proposal of the young director. It is not even known whether he has read this script. It's just that shortly after that, Morrison was found dead in his home in Paris. Stone's script was found in his belongings posthumously. 20 years later, Oliver Stone made the film "The Doors", dedicated to Jim Morrison.

The original version of the script was reworked many times, and somewhere by 1976, its final version was formed. And the walking through the torments began. In the sense of going to film studios in search of funding and readiness to shoot a film according to the proposed scenario. At first, American film studios refused Stone, citing his youth and inexperience as a film director (In fact, by the beginning of the 80s, Oliver Stone had only two full-length horror films on his account, and even those were not very successful). Then American film studios began to refuse Stone, on the grounds that the topic of the Vietnam War was allegedly "closed" in such movie masterpieces as "The Deer Hunter" by Michael Cimino (1978) and "Apocalypse Now" by Francis Ford Coppola (1979), and there is no point in stirring up the past. But it was clear to everyone, including Stone himself, that the main reason for rejections was too painful a topic. Moreover, its too reliable and truthful coverage makes it particularly painful.

In search of financing for the future film based on the written script, Oliver Stone even made a deal with producer Dino De Laurentiis, according to which Stone took part in the creation of scripts for the films "Conan the Barbarian" (1982) and "The Year of the Dragon" (1985) almost for free, and De Laurentiis had to finance the production of the film "Platoon". However, by the mid-80s, the financial situation of the producer was greatly shaken, and he could not fulfill his obligations.

The help came from the British film company Hemdale Film Corporation. The fact is that in 1985, Oliver Stone, together with this film company, created the film "Salvador", which was released in the United States in March 1986. The film "Salvador", which again touched on a very painful topic for the American establishment, did not bring any special profits. But it received very flattering reviews from film critics. The management of Hemdale Film Corporation, who highly appreciated the script of the film "Platoon", decided to take a chance in the hope that the success of the future film will increase the box office of the film "Salvador". Actually, that's what happened. But most importantly that although a very modest, but still sufficient budget of $ 6 million was allocated for the shooting of the film "Platoon".

Given the extremely tight financial conditions, it was decided to shoot the film in the Philippines. This was helped by Dino De Laurentiis, who was able to negotiate with the government of Ferdinand Marcos to assist Stone in carrying out the filming. And this turned out to be a very significant help, since the US Department of Defense refused to cooperate in the creation of the film. And the Armed Forces of the Philippines provided the necessary military equipment for filming on very favorable terms.

By the way, it should be noted that not only the US Department of Defense and not only American film companies refused to cooperate with Oliver Stone in the creation of the film "Platoon", but also some American "stars" refused to act in it. For example, Mickey Rourke, Kevin Costner, Keanu Reeves, John Cusack, Nick Nolte. And Chuck Norris even broke out into a condemning speech against Stone.

The cast and crew arrived in the Philippines in early 1986, just before the revolution that overthrew Ferdinand Marcos. Willem Defoe said that a day or two after arriving in Manila, he woke up and saw a column of tanks rolling through the streets. He was told that the film was probably canceled, and that, of course, no one can leave the country. According to some reports, Oliver Stone had to bribe the new government to allow them to start shooting.

The premiere of Oliver Stone's film "Platoon" took place in the United States on December 19, 1986. But the film was released for wide distribution in the United States only on February 6, 1987. At the same time, in February 1987, the film was presented at the Berlin International Film Festival, where the film was nominated for the main prize - the Golden Bear. However, the jury of the film festival, chaired by the wonderful Austrian actor Klaus Maria Brandauer, gave preference to the Soviet film "Theme" directed by Gleb Panfilov. But Oliver Stone was awarded the Silver Bear for Best Director at this festival.

In parallel with the successful performance at the Berlin Film Festival, the film "Platoon" gained a resounding success at home in the United States. First, the film received 4 nominations for the Golden Globe Award, of which it won three, including the most important: as the Best Motion Picture - Drama and for the Best Director - Motion Picture. Then the film received 8 Oscar nominations, of which it won 4, including again the most important ones: as the Best Picture and for the Best Director.

The following year, 1988, Oliver Stone's "Platoon" won the British BAFTA Award for Best Director and the Japanese Academy Award for Best Foreign Film.

As for the reviews of the film from professional film critics, it should be noted that, firstly, the vast majority of these reviews, although not absolutely all, were enthusiastic, and secondly, the common place for all reviews was a comparison, with one sign or another, of Oliver Stone's film with the above mentioned "Deer Hunter" and "Apocalypse Now". For example, the authoritative Russian film critic Sergey Kudryavtsev in his review from 2007 was perplexed: "It is difficult to understand the unprecedented success (a budget of only $6 million was surpassed 23 times, and the film is now on the 175th place in the entire history of the American rental) of “Platoon” in America, which has already learned the bitter truth about the “dirty war” in Vietnam through the epic films “Deer Hunter” and “Apocalypse Now”.

Kudryavtsev's perplexity can only indicate that critics read only themselves and do not read reviews of other film critics, since reviews of American film critics were published long before his review. For example, Vincent Canby in The New York Times from 19.12.1986 wrote: "Platoon," opening today at Loews New York Twin and Astor Plaza, is not like any other Vietnam film that's yet been made - certainly not like those revisionist comic strips "Rambo" and "Missing in Action." Nor does it have much in common with either Francis Coppola's epic "Apocalypse Now," which ultimately turns into a romantic meditation on a mythical war, or Michael Cimino's "Deer Hunter," which is more about the mind of the America that fought the war than the Vietnam War itself."

Or James Berardinelli, who rated the film "Platoon" 4 stars out of 4 possible, wrote in a review dated February 6, 2003: "Since the end of the Vietnam War in the early 1970s, numerous motion pictures have attempted, with varying degrees of success, to capture one or more aspects of the most contentious American conflict of the 20th century. From this crop, three stand out as defining films: Francis Ford Coppola's sometimes-brilliant, occasionally disjointed Apocalypse Now, Michael Cimino's blistering The Deer Hunter, and Oliver Stone's punishing, personal Platoon. Of this trio, Stone's is the most harrowing and, consequently, the most effective. If Apocalypse Now and The Deer Hunter are like slaps to the face, Platoon is a punch to the gut."

The guru of American film criticism, Roger Ebert, who rated Stone's film to the maximum-4 stars and included it in his list of "Great Movies", began his review of December 30, 1986 with the following words: «It was Francois Truffaut who said that it's not possible to make an anti-war movie, because all war movies, with their energy and sense of adventure, end up making combat look like fun. If Truffaut had lived to see "Platoon," the best film of 1986, he might have wanted to modify his opinion. Here is a movie that regards combat from ground level, from the infantryman's point of view, and it does not make war look like fun....Now here is the film that, in a curious way, should have been made before any of the others. A film that says - as the Vietnam Memorial in Washington says - that before you can make any vast, sweeping statements about Vietnam, you have to begin by understanding the bottom line, which is that a lot of people went over there and got killed, dead, and that is what the war meant for them."

The well-known Russian film critic Yevgeny Nefedov, continuing the line of comparing film masterpieces about the Vietnam War, in his review from 2014: "He (Oliver Stone-FG) questioned the efforts of Hollywood artisans of the period of "reaganomics", who resorted to inappropriate heroization of soldiers from overseas, who carried freedom and democracy to a distant Asian country, returning to the harsh, sometimes shocking truth of "Apocalypse Today" ...According to him, it is important not just to admit mistakes and expose the crimes of his native country, especially – do not sign the hopelessness of any attempts to correct human nature. The main thing is to learn from history and do everything that depends on you personally (as an artist and a citizen) to prevent the repetition of the negative experience of history. It doesn't matter where: in Asia, Latin America or on Wall Street."

As for the evaluation of Oliver Stone's film "Platoon" by ordinary moviegoers, the following information attracted my attention. According to a survey by the magazine "Soldier Of Fortune", only every fourth veteran of the Vietnam War liked the film. 60% of American veterans of the Vietnam War said that they did not like the film. Another 11% said that the film is not bad, but it has nothing to do with reality. However, the audience of this magazine is very specific - mercenaries, fighters of different PMCs and PSCs, etc. But from this survey, we can conclude that the majority of American veterans of the Vietnam War identify themselves with the hero of Tom Berenger. And only a fourth of the veterans associate themselves with the heroes of Willem Dafoe and Charlie Sheen.

But we are still more interested in the ratings of not any "wild geese", but normal, adequate viewers. And the assessment of the film by adequate viewers is characterized by the following figures. With a budget of $ 6 million, the film grossed $ 138.5 million in North America alone. 73% of IMDB and Kinopoisk users gave this film a rating from 8 to 10.

With that said, the rating of Oliver Stone's film "Platoon" according to FilmGourmand was 9.477, thanks to which it took 87th place in the Golden Thousand.

In addition to the film of Oliver Stone "Platoon", the following movies were included in the "top ten" of the best films of world cinema of 1986 according to FilmGourmand:

- Offret (The Sacrifice). Director Andrei Tarkovsky, Sweden. Movie's Rating - 9,293; 106th Rank in the Golden Thousand.
- Jean de Florette. Director Claude Berri, France. Movie's Rating - 9,187; 126th Rank in the Golden Thousand.
- Hannah and Her Sisters. Director Woody Allen, USA. Movie's Rating - 9,146; 134th Rank in the Golden Thousand.
- Down by Law. Director Jim Jarmusch, USA. Movie's Rating - 8,419; 352nd Rank in the Golden Thousand.
- Aliens. Director James Cameron, USA. Movie's Rating - 8,316; 396th Rank in the Golden Thousand.
- Stand by Me. Director Rob Reiner, USA. Movie's Rating - 8,173; 497th Rank in the Golden Thousand.
- Manon des sources (Manon of the Spring). Director Claude Berri, France. Movie's Rating - 8,166; 502nd Rank in the Golden Thousand.
- Курьер (Courier). Director Karen Shakhnazarov, USSR. Movie's Rating - 8,136; 542nd Rank in the Golden Thousand.
- Сошедшие с небес (Descended from heaven). Director Natalya Troshchenko, USSR. Movie's Rating - 8,023; 687th Rank in the Golden Thousand.

10 most "cinegenic"*, in our opinion, events of 1986:

- Chernobyl. In the USSR, an explosion occurred at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant (Ukraine), which was the result of errors during safety tests. Due to the silence of the Communist authorities of the Soviet Union about the true causes, scale and consequences of the accident, 31 people who took part in the liquidation of the consequences died in the first 3 months after the explosion. According to some reports, over the next 15 years, at least 4,056 more people died from radiation sickness. The damage from the accident amounted to almost $ 7 billion. At least 350,000 people were forcibly relocated from the areas adjacent to the accident site. After the accident, traces of radioactive deposits unique to Chernobyl were found in almost every country in the northern hemisphere.
- The Challenger disaster. In the United States, the Challenger shuttle exploded at the 73rd second of the flight. 7 astronauts were killed.
- The attempt on Pinochet. In Chile, the left-wing organization Patriotic Front named after Manuel Rodriguez organized an attempt on Augusto Pinochet. 5 of the dictator's bodyguards were killed and 11 were wounded. Pinochet himself and his 10-year-old grandson were not seriously injured.
- The murder of Olof Palme. Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme was killed on his way home from a cinema in Stockholm.
- The EDSA Revolution. In the Philippines, a long campaign of civil resistance to the regime's violence and electoral fraud led to the resignation of Ferdinand Marcos, the end of his 20-year dictatorship and the restoration of democracy.
- The disaster on Lake Nyos. A rare natural disaster occurred in the West African country of Cameroon, when a large cloud of carbon dioxide burst out of Lake Nyos and covered nearby villages, killing 1,746 people, 99% of the population of the villages. In addition, 3,500 cattle were killed.
- Operation "El Dorado Canyon." In response to a series of terrorist attacks allegedly organized by Libyan intelligence, as a result of which 6 Americans were killed, the US Air Force and Navy aircraft bombed Tripoli and Benghazi. In total, more than 100 aircraft participated in the operation. Up to 150 tons of aerial bombs were dropped. 40 Libyans were killed, including the daughter of Muammar Gaddafi.
- "Iran-Contra". The President of the United States R. Reagan announced the creation of a commission to investigate the circumstances of the Iran-Contra case, when the United States secretly sold weapons to Iran in circumvention of the embargo (which they themselves imposed) in order to finance the Nicaraguan rebels (which the US Congress forbade).
- The death of the "Admiral Nakhimov". In the area of Novorossiysk (USSR), the cruise liner "Admiral Nakhimov" sank. 423 people were killed.
- Hijacking of a Boeing 747 plane in Karachi. The Boeing 747-121 plane of the American airline Pan American, operating a passenger flight from Bombay (India) to New York (USA), was hijacked by a group of militants of the Abu Nidal Organization during an intermediate landing in Karachi (Pakistan). The purpose of the hijackers was to send an airliner to Israel and bring it down on one of the cities. However, the flight crew managed to leave the plane, thereby depriving the hijackers of the opportunity to fly out of the airport. The terrorists held the plane for 17 hours, finally opening fire on the passengers, after which the Pakistani special forces launched an assault. 43 people were killed (including 12 Hindus), 120 were injured.

Besides, Andrei Tarkovsky died.

*-By "cinegenic" in the present context, we mean events that either have already been reflected in world cinema, or deserve to be the basis of the plot of a future film.

Dear readers! If this and/or other publications of the FilmGourmand blog seemed interesting and / or useful to you, please like, subscribe, share these materials with those who, in your opinion, may also be interested in them. If the publications of the FilmGourmand blog have caused comments, objections, questions, please share them in the comments or in messages to my address.