Oliver Stone

[Kirkman1987]

Having only seen a few of his films (Platoon, JFK) in full before now, I got the ultimate Oliver Stone collection (only $25 ..) along with copies of his latest stuff that's not on the set. I will be watching most of these films for the first time in the next few weeks, and thought I'd ask for opinions on the man and his films, and maybe post my thoughts as I watch the films.

I'm excited. The Stone films I did see were great, and as a bonus, I think his commentary tracks are some of the best I've heard.

Two days ago I watched Salvador, which was much better than I expected. I knew Platoon was when Oliver Stone hit big as a director (He had already had screenwriting success though), so I wasn't expecting much until that point. I thought Salvador was great, and a great start to my viewing. James Woods was amazing in this movie, and I can see why he was nominated for best actor. I've never liked Jim Belushi, but he was really funny here.
Speaking of which, this was a funnier movie than I expected considering the serious subject matter. Especially towards the beginning, this film about a crazy journalist and his friend getting into crazy shit reminded me a lot of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.
The story was tense, and was fast paced. I like that the film has little exposition. Within fifteen minutes, we're into Salvador and the guys are being held at gunpoint.

A great start to my viewing of this material. Salvador exceeded my expectations. I've watched Wall Street and Talk Radio since, and will post my thoughts on those soon. I haven't hit anything bad yet, but I hear some of his later films aren't so hot.

 

[T'Baio]

Natural Born Killers and U-Turn are brilliant. U-Turn is one of only two movies Jennifer Lopez has ever been great in...the other being Out Of Sight.

 

[Mistral]

Natural Born Killers and U-Turn are brilliant. U-Turn is one of only two movies Jennifer Lopez has ever been great in...the other being Out Of Sight.

Anytime JLo is out of sight it's great.

 

[ToddPence]

Films like JFK are entertaining if one keeps in mind that it is almost 100% pure fiction bearing little resemblance to the facts of the Kennedy assassination.

"Natural Born Killers" is one of the most vile, hypocritical films it's ever been my displeasure to be subjected to.

 

[T'Baio]

"Natural Born Killers" is one of the most vile, hypocritical films it's ever been my displeasure to be subjected to.

See? Doesn't that sound brilliant!

 

[Harvey]

I'd say that the ten films he made starting with Salvador and ending with Nixon are all quite good. Some I would even call great. I haven't seen U-Turn, but most of his efforts after that haven't interested me, with the exception of W., which surprised me.

 

[JacksonArcher]

I haven't really enjoyed Stone's recent efforts. Yes, he's made some classics, like Wall Street and Natural Born Killers, which took the mentality of a David Lynch movie and then meshed it with the over-stylized violence of Quentin Tarantino, but besides W., which was pretty good but a little empty, his other recent endeavors like World Trade Center and Alexander have been vapid, overblown, emotionless efforts that make me believe Stone has lost some of the talent he showed early in his career.

I am looking forward to Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, mostly because of Michael Douglas' involvement (the fact that he's more of the protagonist this time around intrigues me), the fact that this is the first sequel Stone has ever done in his career, and the fact that the trailers look like a lot of fun. I'm hoping Stone has learned from his overindulgent films of late and can do something that's a little fun but also exhibit some depth and weight that doesn't seem artificially fabricated.

 

[byron lomax]

I remember one reviewer describing Oliver Stone as "amazing, but not good".

JFK is hugely entertaining and engrossing, and has some amazing performances (especially Donald Pleasance). But Natural Born Killers was a step too far, a satire that fails because you don't buy it for a second.

 

[Kirkman1987]

Natural Born Killers is one I'm looking forward to, as it seems to inspire the most debate over it's merits. I also can't wait for Nixon. I am a political science major, and I think the emphasis on political issues in Stone's films greatly appeals to me.

I wanted to note that the documentary on Salvador was interesting to say the least. I was rather surprised to learn that the movie was shot in El Salvador using the actual military, whom Stone had conned into believing the film was anti-communist and in support of them. One of advisors was executed during the film, and James Woods tried to flee to America at one point. Insane shoot.....

Continuing on....

Platoon - I don't want to review this one too much, because I've seen it several times before now, so these aren't really my first impressions. This movie won best picture in 1986, one of the greatest years ever for movies (we've had threads on this year), so that has to say something.

I've seen a lot of Vietnam movies, but this is my favorite. It really captures warfare well, and especially the men themselves. I have some small military experience, and I've ran into people who were exactly like some of these characters. Stone's own experiences obviously informed the movie, and it's gritty as hell. I used to consider this the most depressing film ever, and it's still up there. The best scene is the search and destruction of the Vietnamese village, which is just great. I like that while the US forces are clearly in the wrong here, you see the reasons for their frustration. The villagers are clearly helping the NVA, whether willingly or not, and all the frustration creates a perfect storm.

Wall Street - Micheal Douglas OWNS this movie. His performance commands every scene he is in. Even though he's the villain, you have to root for him, he's just such a charismatic asshole. Everyone else is acceptable. Charlie Sheen basically replays his young naive role from Platoon. I really like Holbrook as the wise old broker, and it was really funny to see John McGinley, who was a complete jerk in Platoon (He played Sgt O'Neil) , play Sheen's best friend . Has that guy aged one day? He looks exactly like he does on Scrubs.

I really liked seeing the 80's yuppie culture and computer tech, reminded me of when I was a kid and had an apple II. I don't think this movie was quite as tight as Platoon and Salvador, but I think that might just be because of the subject matter. It's easy to be tense and shocking when the stakes or life and death. For a story about Wall Street, the movie is fun. I think the characters are what make this one work. I think the movie did do a good job of explaining some of the technical stock stuff to those of us not very knowledgeable about this world.

Anyway, this one worked for me. I like stories About money and greed (Dawn of the dead for example) and Gordon Gekko was like the Frank Booth of Wall Street.

 

[Harvey]

Actually, Salvador was shot in Mexico. Stone almost convinced the government of El Salvador to let him film there. As I recall it, anyway.

 

[Kirkman1987]

Actually, Salvador was shot in Mexico. Stone almost convinced the government of El Salvador to let him film there. As I recall it, anyway.

I looked back and you are correct. After the killing of the advisor, which was in pre-production, the shoot was moved to Mexico.