Watch - Full Metal Jacket

Sgt. Hartman: Holy Jesus. What is that? What the fuck is that? Narrator: You wanna get your talent to give you an honest performance? Give them an honest environment. War is hell. Why not make the set something like it? Watch "Full Metal Jacket". Seemingly endless takes to get the right performance, dangerous sets to keep the actors anxious, Stanley Kubrick even wanted to set off dynamite during a take to surprise the cast. Sgt. Hartmann: Here's my rifle, this is my gun Soldiers: This is what fighting is for fun. Narrator: Originally hiring former Marine drill instructor R. Lee Ermey as a consultant, Kubrick ended up rewriting the script to recast the role of Gunnery Sergeant Hartmann to him. Stanley kept him apart from the rest of the cast until just before recording to keep the actors from getting too comfortable. Sgt. Hartmann: Are you shook up? Are you nervous? Joker: Sir I am, sir. Sgt. Hartmann: Do I make you nervous? Narrator: According to Matthew Modine, Kubrick encouraged him to keep a diary on set and take lots of photos, presumably because he wanted Modine to feel what it was like to be an observer, as his war correspondent character would. His collection of writings and photos can now be in the app, "Full Metal Jacket Diary". And then there's Pyle. Kubrick asked Vincent D'Onofrio to gain weight for the role. 80 lbs to be exact. Stanley ran D'Onofrio through take after take, breaking him down just as Sergeant Hartmann was, and to this day Vincent attributes the success of his acting career to Stanley Kubrick without any hesitation. D'Onofrio: I've done over 50 films because of him. Because of that part. Because Stanley cast me. There is no other reason why I'm working. Narrator: Kubrick told Arliss Howard, "on every film you do going forward, you are going to miss me." He knew just how far he could push his actors and how much manipulation it would take for them to feel their characters. While very few directors can get away with Kubrick's brand of masterminding onset and off, it is worth noting that his technique was not just about tricky camera angles and moody lighting. He was, as they say, an actor's director, and that, more than any other tool, produced the powerful "war is hell" mood of the film.