Film Series: Classical Music in War Movies: Platoon

Join us for the third in a 3-part series showcasing the use of classical music in war movies.  The movie we are screening is Platoon and live musical accompaniment for some scenes will be provided by members of the Cambridge Symphony Chamber Players.

Platoon, 1986, 120 minutes

Rated R

Starring Charlie Sheen, Forest Whitaker, Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe, and Johnny Depp

Directed by Oliver Stone

Amazon.com says, "Platoon

put writer-turned-director Oliver Stone on the Hollywood map; it is

still his most acclaimed and effective film, probably because it is

based on Stone's firsthand experience as an American soldier in

Vietnam.  Chris (Charlie Sheen) is an infantryman whose loyalty is

tested by two superior officers: Sergeant Elias (Willem Dafoe), a former

hippie humanist who really cares about his men (this was a few years

before he played Jesus in Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ),

and Sergeant Barnes (Tom Berenger), a moody, macho soldier who may have

gone over to the dark side.  The personalities of the two sergeants

correspond to their combat drugs of choice--pot for Elias and booze for

Barnes.  Stone has become known for his sledgehammer visual style, but

in this film it seems perfectly appropriate.  His violent and

disorienting images have a terrifying immediacy, a you-are-there quality

that gives you a sense of how things may have felt to an infantryman in

the jungles of Vietnam.  Platoon won Oscars for best picture and director."

The Cambridge Symphony Orchestra

has worked with organizations that honor American veterans over 2012. 

The CSO has chosen three war-themed films, and through an introduction

with live chamber music, will spotlight how familiar classical music

underscores the theme of war and its aftermath for veterans.