Ever notice that every blockbuster movie has the same fundamental pieces? A hero, a journey, some conflicts to muck it all up, a reward, and the hero returning home and everybody applauding his or...

The Jungles of Vietnam and the Vietnam War Most of Platoon takes place in the jungles of Vietnam. Okay, technically it's the Philippines where the film was shot, but it's supposed to be Vietnam. Th...

Linear with Narrator Voice OversWhen you've got a story as morally complex and tricky to navigate as Platoon, you want to get back to the basics. Which is just what this movie does. Platoon is a pr...

War FilmWhile war films are often also action films, they don't have to be. Lots of great war films are about the psychological effects of war, or about the effects of war on the population back ho...

Platoon wasn't always called Platoon. The very first version of what became Platoon was called Break, and it was a whole different type of story (much more mystical, more confusing, etc.). When Sto...

RPlatoon is rated "R," and with good reason. The biggest shocker in this film is the violence. A lot of people die in this film (some meet their end in a very disturbing fashion, such as the Vietna...