Platoon

This Oscar-winning war drama based on director Oliver Stone's memories of the Vietnam War portrays the conflict as chaotic, disorienting, and disillusioning. Chris Taylor drops out of college to enlist and quickly finds himself out of place in Vietnam. The enemy seems unclear to him, crystalized in a scene where arguments among members of his platoon lead them to burn a village of non-combatants. Such disagreements stem from two non-commissioned officers who have adopted two distinct strategies to survive. The young volunteer faces a moral crisis when confronted with the horrors of war and the duality of men. This is the first installment of Oliver Stone's Vietnam Trilogy, which includes Born on the Fourth of July (1989) and Heaven & Earth (1993).