10 More Insanely Accurate War Movie Details
8. Private Pyle's Hidden Rounds - Full Metal Jacket
"Seven. Six. Two. Millimetre. Full. Metal. Jacket."
Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket depicts the horrors of war and then some, exposing the dehumanization associated with armed conflict.
Chief amongst the 1997 Vietnam War film's fraught subject matter is the mental deterioration of Vincent D'Onofrio's Private Leonard Pyle during basic training. Hazed by fellow recruits and tormented by drill sergeant Hartman, Pyle suffers a mental breakdown.
The private's decline in sanity culminates in tragedy when the recruits graduate; Leonard murders Hartman before turning the gun on himself. Pyle's death is so disturbing that it's understandable that one of the key questions at the heart of his demise seemingly goes unanswered. How could a soldier smuggle live ammunition onto an army base?
A blink-and-you'll-miss-it instance from an earlier sequence reveals how this character conserved rounds for later use. Whilst on the firing range, Pyle doesn't cock his weapon after reloading, indicating that there are still rounds left in the magazine. Most viewers pay no heed to the apparently empty clip discarded by the soldier, but pausing the film at the correct moment reveals the glint of unused bullets.
You'd better believe those are live rounds, Joker.