| Director | Oliver Stone |
|---|---|
| Budget | $6 million |
| Box office | $138.5 million |
In 1967, U.S. Army volunteer Chris Taylor arrives in South Vietnam and is assigned to an infantry platoon of the 25th Infantry Division near the Cambodian border. The platoon is commanded by the young and inexperienced Lieutenant Wolfe, who relies on two experienced non-commissioned officers: the ruthless Staff Sergeant Barnes, and the more compassionate Sergeant Elias.
Taylor participates in a night ambush of an invading North Vietnamese Army force and a rebelling Viet Cong force. Taylor is wounded during the firefight while Gardner, another new replacement, is killed. Taylor returns to base from the aid station and bonds with Elias and his circle of marijuana users ("heads"), a clique distinct from Barnes and his hard-edged followers.
During another patrol, two soldiers are killed by a booby trap while Manny is captured and slain by unseen assailants. The platoon finds Manny's body and search a nearby village, finding a supply cache. Barnes aggressively interrogates the village chief and murders his wife in view of the villagers. When he also threatens to murder the chief's granddaughter, Elias intervenes and assaults Barnes. Wolfe breaks up the ensuing fight, orders the supplies destroyed and the village razed. Wolfe feigns ignorance when Elias accuses him of not stopping Barnes. Taylor prevents two girls from being gang-raped by some of Barnes' men, but is remorsefully unable to prevent Bunny from murdering a villager.
Back at base, company commander Captain Harris warns he will pursue an investigation and court martial anyone found to have killed any civilians, leaving Barnes worried Elias will testify against him. On their next patrol, the platoon is ambushed and pinned down, taking casualties. Wolfe accidentally directs artillery fire onto his own unit, causing more casualties, before Barnes calls it off. Elias asks for three men to intercept flanking enemy troops, a plan Barnes agrees to but only after telling Elias “out here you belong to me”. Elias takes Taylor, Rhah and Crawford to intercept flanking enemy troops. Barnes pulls the rest of the platoon back, and goes out to retrieve Elias. Elias is separated from the others and finds Barnes alone, who then takes the opportunity to shoot him. Heading towards the helicopter extraction, he tells Taylor that Elias is dead, but as they fly out they see the wounded Elias chased from the jungle by NVA soldiers and VC guerillas before getting killed.
Realizing Barnes was responsible for Elias' death, Taylor attempts to talk the heads into fragging Barnes in retaliation, not realizing Barnes has overheard them. He enters the abandoned bunker they use for gathering and taunts them. Barnes fights off an attack by Taylor, cutting his face with a push dagger before departing.
The platoon is sent back out to a defensive position. Taylor shares a foxhole with Francis. When a major NVA and VC night assault occurs, much of the platoon is killed, including Wolfe and most of Barnes' followers. An NVA or VC sapper destroys the battalion headquarters in a suicide attack, forcing Captain Harris to call an air strike on their shrinking perimeter. In the chaos, Taylor encounters a wounded Barnes, who attempts to kill Taylor before both are knocked unconscious by the air strike.
Regaining consciousness after sunrise, an injured but walking Taylor picks up a rifle and finds Barnes who is injured and crawling away. Barnes orders Taylor to get him a medic, to which Taylor doesn’t respond. Barnes sees Taylor isn’t acting on the order, and then dares Taylor to shoot him. Taylor shoots him dead. Francis survives the battle unharmed but stabs himself in the leg, reminding Taylor that twice wounded men are returned home. As a helicopter carries the two men away, Taylor sobs as he flies away from the battlefield, reflecting on how his experiences in the war will remain with him.