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View Platoon film page

Poster artwork for Platoon — Original poster artwork · Great Cinema Master List

Spoiler-free premise

A young American volunteer in Vietnam enters a divided infantry unit and confronts the realities of combat.

Read expanded premiseLonger, still spoiler-free

Idealistic college student Chris Taylor volunteers for infantry duty in Vietnam and joins a platoon divided between compassionate Sergeant Elias and brutal Staff Sergeant Barnes. Jungle patrols, village encounters, exhaustion, and internal conflict erode his initial ideas of war.

Why it belongs

Platoon makes combat an ethical civil war inside one platoon, deploying jungle confusion, subjective voice, and Dafoe and Berenger's opposing authority.

Read expanded why it belongsThe fuller editorial case

Charlie Sheen's openness is shaped by the competing examples of Elias and Barnes. Night patrols, insects, mud, red smoke, foxholes, headphones, Samuel Barber's Adagio, and disorienting firefights place Chris inside sensory overload.

Major award record

Metadata only · zero points in 40/40/20

Academy Awards4 wins1987 · official ceremony record ↗

Best Picture1987 · Arnold Kopelson, Producerofficial ceremony record ↗Directing1987 · Oliver Stoneofficial ceremony record ↗

Plus 2 additional wins

Golden Globes3 wins1987 · official film record ↗

Best Motion Picture - Drama1987 · Platoonofficial film record ↗Best Director - Motion Picture1987 · Oliver Stoneofficial film record ↗Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture1987 · Tom Berengerofficial film record ↗

BAFTA2 wins1988 · official BAFTA 1988 Film Awards results ↗

Best Direction1988 · Oliver Stoneofficial BAFTA 1988 Film Awards results ↗

Plus 1 additional win

Berlin1 win1987 · official festival record ↗

Silver Bear for Best Director1987 · Oliver Stoneofficial festival record ↗

Totals include every recorded competitive win. Only Picture or top-film honors, Direction, Screenplay, and lead or supporting performances are named.

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Film Club

Descriptive guidance derived from rating, genre, runtime, mood, and GCML scores.

Institutional reference ranks

Sight & Sound—IMDb Top 250241AFI 10086

Reference metadata only · not part of the 40/40/20 score

Great Cinema Master List scores

Greatness8.7

Engagement8.0

Ease7.9

English · R
Narrative Feature
Mood: Serious & Intense