Full Metal Jacket (1987) is a film produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, based upon the novel The Short-Timers by Gustav Hasford. The title derives from the type of ammunition used by infantry riflemen.
The film portrays the Vietnam War as fought by the U.S. Marines. The story's themes are the contradictions of war, the constant feeling of being in too deep, personally and professionally, and that combat and Vietnam are worlds with their own rules and customs. The confusion and angst of a new world begins in boot camp, and degenerates to bloodshed before going to Vietnam.
The film was photographed in England, at Bassingbourn Barracks, Cambridgeshire and Beckton, in Newham, East London. The disused Beckton Gasworks portrayed the ruined city of Huế. The open country is Cliffe marshes, also on the Thames, with imported Spanish palm trees. Despite director Kubrick's aversion to leaving England, these set dressings are a dramatically-acceptable facsimile of Vietnam, especially the ruined city.