Released late last year as part of the Stanley Kubrick Director’s Series boxed set, the latest version of the Full Metal Jacket DVD boasts a commentary and interviews with various members of the film’s creative team, from actors Vincent D’Onofrio and Lee Ermey to executive producer Jan Harlan and steadicam operator John Ward. Several voices are conspicuously absent: I’m not sure what Matthew Modine’s excuse is, but Stanley Kubrick is dead, and so is Gustav Hasford.
If that last name doesn’t ring a bell, you’ve probably never stumbled upon Private Joker’s Homepage. Compiled and maintained by Hasford’s cousin, comic book writer Jason Aaron, this massive site is dedicated to the memory of the man who wrote The Short-Timers, the 1978 novel upon which Kubrick’s Vietnam epic was based.
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