Where to watch Platoon (1986)

Trivia & production notes

• Oliver Stone's original screenplay Break, written shortly after his Vietnam service, was intended for Jim Morrison to star in, but Morrison died in Paris before responding to Stone's pitch.
• The Pentagon refused to support Platoon's production, claiming the script contained unrealistic portrayals of American soldiers and depicted war crimes including the murder and rape of South Vietnamese civilians.
• Studios initially rejected Platoon because they believed The Deer Hunter and Apocalypse Now had already defined the pinnacle of Vietnam War cinema.
• Oliver Stone secured financing for Platoon by agreeing to co-write Year of the Dragon for a reduced fee of $200,000, with producer Dino De Laurentiis promising to finance Platoon as his next project.
• Kevin Costner turned down the role of Barnes reportedly because his brother had served in Vietnam.
• Keanu Reeves declined the role of Taylor due to concerns about the film's violence.
• Oliver Stone appears in the film's final battle as a battalion commander, recreating his actual participation in the New Year's Day Battle of 1968.
• Production began in the Philippines in February 1986 but almost didn't proceed because of political turmoil surrounding Ferdinand Marcos; filming commenced two days after Marcos fled the country.
• The principal actors underwent an intensive 30-day military training course led by Vietnam veteran Dale Dye, which included restricted food and water rations, forced marches, and sleep deprivation using blanks fired to keep them awake.
• The film was shot chronologically over 54 days in the Philippines for $6.5 million, using military equipment from the Armed Forces of the Philippines after the U.S. Department of Defense refused to provide historically accurate supplies.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article Platoon (film), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Rewritten for StreamShack; errors are ours — tell us about them.