Directed by: Stanley Kubrick
Starring: Vincent D'Onofrio, Matthew Modine, Adam Baldwin, R. Lee Ermey, Arliss Howard
Character mistake: When the Marines are navigating through the Paris Island obstacle course, Hartman is shouting "It should take you no less than 10 seconds to negotiate this obstacle!" In other words, the LONGER it takes someone to get across, the better? (00:13:27)
Character mistake: Hartman calls the "beds" bunks. Marines always refer to them as a rack.
Character mistake: When Sgt Hartman is giving the lesson about Charles Whitman, he says that he killed 12 people - in reality he killed 17.
Continuity mistake: In the opening scene, Gunnery Sgt. Hartman is making his speech and passes by Privates Cowboy and Joker on his way to the other side of the barracks. On his way he passes Private Pyle standing to the right of Private Joker. Later in the scene, when he rushes over to confront Private Joker and then moves on to Private Cowboy and then Private Pyle, Private Pyle is on the left of Private Joker. (00:02:00)
Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: How tall are you private?
Private: Sir, five foot nine, sir!
Gunnery Sergeant Hartman: Five foot nine, I didn't know they stacked shit that high!
Trivia: While R. Lee Ermey has received high praise for his role as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman, Ermey himself stated that Hartman is an inept drill instructor because Hartman not only physically abuses the recruits, which is never allowed, but also because any drill instructor would have noticed that Pyle was having a mental breakdown.
Question: Why was Gunnery Sergeant Hartman so mean to Leonard Lawrence AKA Private Pyle? Why was he always mad at him?
Chosen answer: A Drill Instructor is always mad at the recruits in order to forge discipline. Private Pyle was the biggest screwup in the unit, thus creating more work for him.
Answer: It also promotes unity and brotherhood against a common enemy, the drill instructor.
Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.
Suggested correction: They sure did punch you. Back in '69, I got punched just like that, and I wasn't the only one to get hit.
That does not address the point - Lee Ermey himself regards Hartman as an inept drill instructor. If he did assault cadets, it was strictly against the rules, and how could he not see that Pyle was having a breakdown?