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The personal experiences that influenced oliver stone’s vietnam war trilogy.

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Oliver Stone is arguably one of the best directors and screenwriters in Hollywood, known for his ability to bring blockbuster and award-winning stories to the big screen, including an epic Vietnam War trilogy. Prior to making his directorial debut, he served in the conflict, volunteering for combat duty. It was his experiences during this time that went on to influence the events depicted in Platoon (1986), Born on the Fourth of July (1989) and Heaven & Earth (1993).

Oliver Stone requested combat duty in Vietnam

Oliver Stone enlisted in the US Army in April 1967, and requested a combat tour in Vietnam . He was deployed to South Vietnam that September and assigned to the 2nd Platoon, Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division along the Cambodian border. During this time, he was wounded twice – in the neck and legs/buttocks – and awarded the Bronze Star.

Once he’d recovered from his injuries, Stone was transferred to the 1st Cavalry Division, with whom he conducted long-range reconnaissance. During one patrol, he and his platoon fell victim to an attack by the North Vietnamese. Despite being greatly outnumbered, they survived the fight with just 175 casualties – the enemy force had lost around 400 soldiers .

Stone was later transferred to a motorized infantry unit, before being discharged in November 1968. For his service, he received a number of decorations. On top of his Bronze Start with “V” Device for valor, he was awarded the Air Medal, the Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Cluster and the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with Unit Citation with Palm, among many other honors.

Speaking about why he’d volunteered for service in Vietnam, Stone later said , “I thought war was it; it was the most difficult thing a young man could go through… It was a rite of passage. And I knew it would be the only war of my generation, so I said, ‘I’ve gotta get over there fast, because it’s going to be over.’ There was also a heavy streak of rebelliousness in the face of my father, and I think I was trying to prove to him that I was a man, not a boy.”

Oliver Stone’s decades-spanning Hollywood career

Following his honorable discharge from the US Army, Oliver Stone used the Vietnam GI Bill to pay for his education at New York University, during which time he studied under Martin Scorsese . Among his first original works was a 12-minute short-film titled Last Year in Viet Nam .

Stone’s big break came with the release of Midnight Express (1978), for which he won an Academy Award. He continued to see success into the 1980s, with his top films being his remake of Scarface (1983), Year of the Dragon (1985), Wall Street (1987) and the first two movies in his Vietnam War trilogy. He’s continued to release top-performing features over the subsequent decades, albeit with a few flops here and there.

In 1991, Stone released his most successful – and controversial – film, JFK , about the assassination of John F. Kennedy . His second presidential-themed release, the Oscar-nominated Nixon , premiered in 1995, while the third, a biopic about George W. Bush, debuted in theaters in 2008.

In 2020, Stone released his memoir, Chasing the Light: Writing, Directing, and Surviving Platoon, Midnight Express, Scarface, Salvador, and the Movie Game . Along with covering his service in Vietnam, the book details the trials, triumphs and tribulations of the entertainment industry.

Platoon (1986)

The first film in Oliver Stone’s Vietnam War trilogy was Platoon , starring Willem Dafoe, Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger, Forest Whitaker and Johnny Depp . Stone wrote the movie around his experiences as an infantryman during the conflict, in a sort-of rebuttal to John Wayne ‘s The Green Berets (1968).

Platoon follows Chris Taylor, who volunteers to serve in Vietnam and finds himself in the middle of two head-butting superiors, Sgt. Elias and Staff Sgt. Bob Barnes, following the massacre of innocent villagers by the platoon. As the movie progresses, viewers are given a no-holds-barred view of what the conflict entailed and just how brutal the jungle warfare was. On top of this, it presents the moral dilemmas faced by those who served, and how war, in general, can change a person.

Arguably one of the best Vietnam-era films ever released, Platoon has received critical acclaim, with veterans, in particular, able to identify with its characters and what they faced. Earning an impressive $138 million at the domestic box office, it went on to receive a number of accolades, including the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Director.

In 2019, the Library of Congress added Platoon to the US National Film Registry for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”

Born on the Fourth of July (1989)

The second film in Oliver Stone’s Vietnam War trilogy, Born on the Fourth of July , came at a time when Tom Cruise was on a career high. Still relatively new to Hollywood, the actor already had a number of big-name movies under his belt, including Top Gun (1986), Rain Man (1988) and The Outsiders (1983).

Born on the Fourth of July is based on the autobiography by US Marine Corps veteran Ron Kovic, who was injured and paralyzed while serving in Vietnam. The film was years in the making, with producer Martin Bregman acquiring the rights to book in 1976, and follows Kovic’s journey from naïve recruit to an outspoken critic of the war. All the while, he battles with personal demons that resulted from his life-altering injuries.

Willem Dafoe and Kyra Sedgwick star alongside Cruise in the movie, with Stone and veteran Dale Dye making cameos. Earning over $162 million at the worldwide box office, Born on the Fourth of July became the 10th highest-grossing film of 1989 – and its accolades reflect this success. Stone, again, won the Academy Award for Best Director, and the movie overall was the recipient of many Golden Globes.

Heaven & Earth (1993)

The third and final film in Oliver Stone’s Vietnam War trilogy is also the one that received the least attention. Heaven & Earth , starring Tommy Lee Jones and newcomer Hiep Thi Le, garnered mixed reviews, and, compared to its predecessors, was a major box office flop.

Based on Le Ly Hayslip’s books, Child of War, Woman of Peace and When Heaven and Earth Changed Places: A Vietnamese Woman’s Journey from War to Peace , the film follows Le Ly as she struggles to survive during the Vietnam War.

Accused on being a spy by the South and a traitor by the Viet Cong , she and her family are forced to flee their village for Saigon, only to return when Le Ly falls pregnant by a married man. She subsequently meets US Marine Corps Gunnery Sgt. Steve Butler. The two move to the United States, where their relationship dissolves.

More from us: Stanley Kubrick Was the Mastermind Behind These War Movie Classics

Earning just $5.9 million at the box office, Heaven & Earth fell short of making back its $33 million budget. While many praised Stone for depicting a side of the Vietnam War not many Americans likely considered, this wasn’t enough to bring the film more than an average rating, with its only accolade being a Golden Globe for Best Original Score.

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Film Director Oliver Stone Was a Soldier in Vietnam

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Acclaimed screenwriter and director Oliver Stone, whose work includes "Wall Street" (1987), "The Doors" (1991), "JFK" (1991) and "Nixon" (1995), served in the Army and deployed to Vietnam from 1967 to 1968. His wartime experiences would shape some of his later films.

Stone enlisted in April 1967. He requested combat duty and that's exactly what he got. He arrived in South Vietnam Sept. 16, 1967, assigned to 2nd Platoon, Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion, 25th Infantry, stationed near the Cambodian border. 

Spotlight: Commemorating the Vietnam War

He was wounded twice in combat and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for valor. His wounds were either a bullet or shrapnel to the neck and the other was shrapnel to the legs and buttocks.

Regarding the Bronze Star, Stone wrote about it in his rather long-titled book: "Chasing the Light: Writing, Directing, and Surviving Platoon, Midnight Express, Scarface, Salvador, and the Movie Game."

"We had run into a mean little ambush which had cost us a lieutenant and a sergeant, as well as our scout dog, a German shepherd I'd taken a liking to. It was one of those strange firefights that grew from a few random shots into a disorganized raging storm of bullets," he wrote.

"Maybe I was just cold and angry about the dog's death or the futility of it all. Or maybe I just had a headache, and the sun was burning too hot in my eyes. ... All I knew was that this was my moment to act," he said.

"Exposing myself to the enemy, I moved up quickly on a one-man spider hole between our two platoons — from which I sensed someone had just fired. On instinct, from 15 yards out, I pulled the pin on my grenade and hurled it. It was a crazy risk. If I'd overthrown the grenade, it probably would've wounded or killed some of our own men crouched beyond the hole." 

"But it was a perfect pitch, and the grenade sailed into the tiny hole like a long throw from an outfielder into a catcher's mitt, followed quickly by the concussed thump of the explosion. Wow. I'd done it!" he said.

After recovering from his wounds, he transferred to the 1st Cavalry Division and was assigned to a long-range reconnaissance platoon. 

On Jan. 1, 1968, Stone's platoon, part of two battalions, was patrolling along the Cambodian border. That night, they came under a massive attack from a North Vietnamese regiment which outnumbered them.

The battle would last 'till nearly dawn. "The sound of small-arms fire, heavy artillery and bombs hardly let up all night, bigger than any fireworks I'd ever seen. Stunningly beautiful, in its way," he wrote.

"And now there was an enormous roar, like I suppose the end of the world sounds. Like a shark cutting through water, an F-4 Phantom jet fighter was coming in very low over our perimeter out of the night sky. So low, that doomsday sound. They were going to drop their payload on us and we were all going to die."

"I jumped into the closest foxhole and buried myself as deep as I could in the earth, which trembled and shook as a 500-pound bomb dropped somewhere close," he recalled.

"Full daylight revealed charred bodies, dusty napalm and gray trees. Men who died grimacing, in frozen positions, some of them still standing or kneeling in rigor mortis, white chemical death on their faces. Dead, so dead. Some covered in white ash, some burned black. Their expressions, if they could be seen, were overtaken with anguish and horror."

"In the next hours I grasped the extent of what had happened. Most of the dead were fully uniformed, well-armed North Vietnamese regulars. Those who were relatively intact we brought in on stretchers, walking out to find them, or pieces of them. A bulldozer had been airlifted in to dig burial pits. I helped throw the bloating bodies into the giant pits late into that day."

"There were maybe 400 of their dead. We'd lost some 25 men, with more than 150 wounded, yet I hadn’t fired a single shot or even seen one enemy soldier. It was bizarre," he wrote.

"We worked in rotating shifts, two men, three men, swinging the corpses like a haul of fish from the sea. Later we poured fuel on them, and then the bulldozers rolled mounds of dirt over them, so they'd be forever extinct. I was too young to understand. No person should ever have to witness so much death," he said.

Stone was honorably discharged in November 1968, the same month he arrived stateside from Vietnam.

The Vietnam GI Bill helped pay for his enrollment in New York University, where he studied filmmaking under Martin Scorsese. 

He broke into Hollywood as a screenwriting notable, with his Oscar-winning screenplay for "Midnight Express" (1978). A string of other screenplays he wrote followed, including "Conan the Barbarian" (1982), "Scarface" (1983), and "Year of the Dragon" (1985). 

Stone's Vietnam experience can be seen in three films he wrote and directed: "Platoon" (1986), "Born on the Fourth of July" (1989), and "Heaven and Earth" (1993).

"Platoon" was always Stone's story and he worked 10 years to get it on screen, said retired Marine Capt. Dale Dye, who played Army Capt. Harris, the commander of Company B. Dye, who was also the film's technical advisor, was the only Vietnam combat veteran on the set beside Stone. He shared some of his thoughts on the filming.

"Oliver and I often had intimate and unspoken moments sparked by something we were staging or filming. I recall both of us having to walk away for a few minutes while we were filming the scene that involved interrogating some villagers. We had employed actual Vietnamese refugees that we'd found in the Philippines and being surrounded by extras shrieking and conversing in Vietnamese brought us both right back to Nam," he said in a Dec. 29, 2021, interview with this journalist.

"Most people don't know it, but the patrol scene that runs during the opening credits was actually the last day of my training for the cast. Oliver observed the patrol I was leading along a riverbed and loved the look of it, so he changed what he originally had planned and filmed the patrol instead," Dye recalled. 

"He was always doing things like that, shooting targets of opportunity, whenever he saw something that jogged his memories of his own experiences. And, it was really valuable to me personally as an aspiring filmmaker. I learned a ton just watching Oliver and Bob Richardson work," he said. Richardson was the film's cinematographer.

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Oliver Stone (I)

IMDbPro Starmeter Top 5,000 14

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• 67 wins & 60 nominations total

• Pre-production

• 12 episodes

• executive producer

• 10 episodes
• producer (uncredited)

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• short film "Michael & Marie"

• In-development projects at IMDbPro

Personal details

• Oliver W. Stone
• 6′ (1.83 m)
• September 15 , 1946
• New York City, New York, USA
• Spouses Sun-jung Jung January 16, 1996 - present (1 child)
• Children Sean Stone
• Parents Louis Stone
• Other works Novel: "A Child's Night Dream"
• 2 Biographical Movies
• 9 Print Biographies
• 1 Portrayal
• 29 Interviews
• 31 Articles
• 2 Pictorials
• 1 Magazine Cover Photo

Did you know

• Trivia Was taught by Martin Scorsese at New York University Film School.
• Quotes I consider my films first and foremost to be dramas about individuals in personal struggles and I consider myself to be a dramatist before I am a political filmmaker. I'm interested in alternative points of view. I think ultimately the problems of the planet are universal and that nationalism is a very destructive force. I also like anarchy in films. My heroes were Luis Buñuel and Jean-Luc Godard . Breathless (1960) was one of the first pictures I really remember being marked by, because of the speed and energy. They say I'm unsubtle. But we need above all, a theatre that wakes us up: nerves and heart.
• Trademarks Staccato change of camera types, lenses and film stocks used.
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Oliver Stone's 'Untold' U.S. History

Oliver Stone’s Untold History of the United States is the hyped-up title of a new, ten-part documentary series that begins tonight, Monday, November 12, on Showtime. In it, Stone—the often hyperbolic Hollywood director and screen writer who served as an infantryman in the Vietnam War—trains his penetrating lens on big historical events beginning with World War II.

The series is based on the just-published door stopper (784 page) of a  book of the same  name Stone wrote with Peter Kuznick, an American University history professor. In the book and TV series Kuznick and Stone ( Platoon, Born on the Fourth of July, JFK, et al .) concern themselves primarily with what they firmly believe the United States has done wrong on the world and domestic stages, rather than noting what America has done right.

In her mixed  review of the series in The New York Times , Alessandra Stanley calls Stone “a dramatist of truth who tramples facts to spin alternative histories that may be grandiose and grotesque but can sometimes have a hint of grandeur.”

On the other hand, she says, “it’s too easy to focus on what Mr. Stone does wrong; it’s also useful to focus a spotlight on what he gets right. ” Still, Stanley notes, “in all the overblown rhetoric and self-righteous hyperbole (Mr. Stone is his own narrator) accuracy is sometimes hard to find.”

Mary McNamara, the Los Angeles Times TV critic, had a similar assessment. The series, she wrote , “is a hodgepodge of terrific if often disturbing historical footage and bizarre theatrical asides.

“It seems, more than anything, a response to the notion of ‘American exceptionalism, ‘ though it’s difficult to imagine that those Americans who do believe, as Stone puts it, that America is the center of the universe and always the good guy, will be swayed by him.”

The series “narrative, ” she says, “is too often just as one-note as the versions Stone seeks to replace.” Stone, McNamara concludes, “presents his case with little recognition of the social, political and psychological complexities that dominate much of human development, turning it, intentionally or not, into an alternative mythology that relies far more on broad-stroke storytelling than rigorous analysis.”

The French writer, photographer, film director, multimedia artist and documentary maker Chris Marke r (born Christian François Bouche-Villeneuve…

You can get a good preview of the inspirational documentary, The Road Home, on line at the director…

The pretty darn good documentary, William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe, written and produced by the two daughters of…

Ron Osgood, a Vietnam veteran (and VVA member) who is a professor in the Telecommunications Department at Indiana…

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Famous Veteran: Oliver Stone

It may not come as a surprise that Oliver Stone, the rabble-rousing film director and writer behind Oscar-winning war movies such as "Platoon" (1986) and "Born on the Fourth of July" (1989) was once a grunt in the  U.S. Army . What may surprise you is that he received the Bronze Star and  Purple Heart for his services in the  Vietnam War .

Born in New York City to a conservative family, Stone spent one year at Yale University before dropping out in 1965 and living the rootless life many of the "Easy Rider" generation lived during that era. He taught English in Vietnam and lived briefly in Mexico while wrestling with a novel that would go unpublished until 1997 ("A Child's Night's Dream").

Unable to find a publisher, and without direction in life, Stone joined the U.S. Army in April 1967, specifically requesting combat duty. Of his decision to join the military, he said: "I thought war was it; it was the most difficult thing a young man could go through. ... It was a rite of passage. And I knew it would be the only war of my generation, so I said, 'I've gotta get over there fast, because it's going to be over.'

"There was also a heavy streak of rebelliousness in the face of my father, and I think I was trying to prove to him that I was a man, not a boy."

After  basic training , Stone landed in Vietnam on Sept. 16, 1967, and was assigned to the 2nd Platoon of Bravo Company,  3rd Battalion, 25th infantry , stationed near the Cambodian border. He was wounded twice in action and later transferred to  1st Cavalry and assigned to a Long Range Reconnaissance Platoon in April 1968.

It was during this time that Stone met Juan Angel Elias, who would become the inspiration for Sgt. Elias (Willem Dafoe) in "Platoon," which drew heavily on Stone's Vietnam experiences. Stone was discharged in November 1968 after 15 months of duty and received two personal awards: the Bronze Star with "V" device, which he received after conducting "extraordinary acts of courage under fire," and a Purple Heart with one Oak Leaf Cluster.

Related: To create a personalized transition plan for yourself, and for transition guides and checklists, visit the Military.com Transition Center.

Emotionally scarred by his experiences in Vietnam, Stone returned to the U.S. "very mixed up, very paranoid and very alienated," in his words. Fortunately, the GI Bill helped him enroll in New York University, where he studied under master filmmaker Martin Scorcese and gained a new focus in life.

Stone broke into Hollywood as a screenwriter, with his Oscar-winning screenplay for "Midnight Express" (1978) establishing him as a tough-minded scribe who pulled no punches. He brought this same intensity to his scripts for "Conan the Barbarian" (1982) and "Scarface" (1983) and his career-changing directorial job on "Platoon," which earned him an Academy Award for best director.

Always opinionated (he has been celebrated and criticized for his liberal views) and willing to push boundaries, Stone followed "Platoon" with acclaimed films such as "Wall Street" (1987) and "Born on the Fourth of July," as well as controversial ones such as "JFK" (1991) and "Natural Born Killers" (1994).

Comparing his films to his life, Stone said: "'Platoon' would be more of the character I was, just shaken up. 'Born on the Fourth of July' would be the character I was a few years later. I became more radical because I learned more and my perception of what we were doing in the world was changing."

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Oliver stone’s experience in vietnam influenced his film career.

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Oliver Stone is among the most critically-acclaimed filmmakers, with his resume boasting the likes of Conan the Barbarian (1982), Scarface (1983), Platoon (1986) and Wall Street (1987). He’s also a veteran of the Vietnam War, and his experience overseas greatly influenced his most popular films.

Combat during the Vietnam War

Oliver Stone enlisted in the US Army in 1967 and requested to be put on combat duty. He felt it was his responsibility as an American to serve in Vietnam , and saw it as a rite of passage. Speaking about his decision, he said:

“I thought war was it; it was the most difficult thing a young man could go through… It was a rite of passage. And I knew it would be the only war of my generation, so I said, ‘I’ve gotta get over there fast, because it’s going to be over.’ There was also a heavy streak of rebelliousness in the face of my father, and I think I was trying to prove to him that I was a man, not a boy.”

Stone, assigned to 2nd Platoon, Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion, 25th Infantry, arrived in South Vietnam on September 16, 1967. He was stationed near the Cambodian border, and during his year of service was injured twice. For his efforts, he received numerous honors, including the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star for valor.

Two instances have stuck with him. The first was during an ambush, during which a lieutenant, sergeant and his platoon’s scout dog were killed. In his memoir, Chasing the Light , he wrote about how he took “a crazy risk” that ended up working in his favor:

“On instinct, from 15 yards out, I pulled the pin on my grenade and hurled it. It was a crazy risk. If I’d overthrown the grenade, it probably would have wounded or killed some of our own men crouched beyond the hole. But it was a perfect pitch, and the grenade sailed into the tiny hole like a long throw from an outfielder into a catcher’s mitt, followed quickly by the concussed thump of the explosion. Wow. I’d done it!”

After recovering from his wounds, Stone was transferred to the long-range reconnaissance platoon of the 21st Cavalry Division. On June 1, 1968, he was patrolling the Cambodian border when he and his fellow servicemen came under attack by a large North Vietnamese regiment.

According to Stone, the battle – featuring heavy artillery, small-arms fire and bombs – lasted until dawn and almost ended in his death. When an F-4 Phantom began flying low overhead, he knew his life was at risk and jumped into the nearest foxhole and covered himself with dirt. He then felt the ground shake as the jet dropped its 500-pound bomb nearby. As he emerged from the ground, he found the area covered in napalm and charred bodies.

In November 1968, Stone was honorably discharged from the Army. With the help of the Vietnam GI Bill , he enrolled in New York University, where he studied filmmaking under Martin Scorsese. In 1971, he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in film.

Stone’s Vietnam trilogy

Following his return from Vietnam, Oliver Stone said he felt “very mixed up, very paranoid and very alienated.” Filmmaking afforded him a new focus in life, and it didn’t take long for Hollywood to recognize his talent. At the 1979 Academy Awards, he won the Oscar for Best Screenplay for his film, Midnight Express (1978).

Among his most notable movies include what’s become known as the Vietnam trilogy. Comprised of Platoon , Born on the Fourth of July (1989), and Heaven & Earth (1993), each shows a different perspective of the Vietnam War, from the naïve worldview of a young adult forced to grow up in the face of armed conflict, to how it impacted the civilians living through it.

Platoon , starring Charlie Sheen, is a semi-autobiographical film about Stone’s own experience in Vietnam. It follows a young man who enlists because he’s upset over the notion that only the poor should be fighting. Once in Vietnam, he’s forced to undergo a quick transition into adulthood and change his overall mentality into one of survival.

According to Stone, he wanted to depict the lasting legacy of the war as one of “brutality and distress,” and wrote the movie as a way of showing future generations and those who didn’t serve the realities of the conflict. To achieve this, he used a mixture of historical information and his own experience.

Born on the Fourth of July is based on the autobiography of Ron Kovic , a US Marine who became a paraplegic after being injured in Vietnam, which spurred him to become an anti-war activist. It stars Tom Cruise , and details Kovic’s life over a 20-year period, from childhood and his entry into the US Military , to his service in Vietnam and his shift to activism.

The final film in the trilogy, Heaven & Earth , performed poorly at the box office. It tells the story of Vietnam from the point of view of a young Vietnamese girl who lived in a village invaded by insurgents fighting against the French and American forces. Based on the memoir of Le Ly Hayslip, it portrays the harrowing events of her life, including her abduction and rape by the Viet Cong  and moving to the US with a Marine gunnery sergeant

“ Platoon would be more of the character I was, just shaken up,” Stone said of the films. “ Born on the Fourth of July would be the character I was a few years later. I became more radical because I learned more and my perception of what we were doing in the world was changing.”

He added that what he experienced in Vietnam will always stay with him:

“No matter how much I deny it, Vietnam will stay with me until the day I die. It was the central event of my adolescence; I was nineteen to twenty-one then, I came of age in Vietnam, so I will always feel associated with that generation of young men, and if it were forgotten, then those men would have died for nothing.”

More from us:   Martin Luther King Jr. was Awarded a Grammy for His Speech Denouncing the Vietnam War

He definitely succeeded in ensuring the conflict will never be forgotten.

What Happened to Oliver Stone's Unmade Fourth Vietnam War Movie?

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The Big Picture

• The My Lai massacre during the Vietnam War was one of the most horrific war crimes in history, resulting in the deaths of approximately 500 Vietnamese civilians.
• Filmmaker Oliver Stone planned to depict the massacre in his film Pinkville , which would have starred Bruce Willis, Woody Harrelson, and Channing Tatum, but the project was abandoned due to the 2007 writer's strike.
• It is uncertain whether Pinkville will ever be made, as securing financing for challenging material can be difficult, but Stone's commitment to depicting inhumane acts in his films highlights the importance of remembering and addressing such events.

On March 16, 1968, as the Vietnam War raged, U.S. troops entered the village of My Lai or, as they referred to it, "Pinkville." What followed was one of the most horrific series of war crimes in documented military history, generating further outrage and disapproval among an already polarized United States public over the nation's involvement in the Southeast Asian conflict. Nearly 40 years later, having directed three films about the Vietnam War, filmmaker and veteran Oliver Ston e geared up yet again to explore the conflict with a cinematic depiction of the massacre and its aftermath. Having courted stars Bruce Willis , Woody Harrelson , and Channing Tatum , Stone was nearing production on what would be titled Pinkville. At the 11th hour, however, Pinkville was abandoned. What happened to what likely would've been one of the most horrifying war films ever made?

'All Quiet on the Western Front': 13 Most Unflinching Anti-War Movies of All Time

"Fight war, not wars."

What Happened in My Lai?

Two months after the North Vietnamese launched its devastating Tet Offensive on the South Vietnamese and American military, the latter's Charlie Company was determined to destroy the enemy's 48th Battalion. Zeroing in on the area surrounding My Lai, U.S. forces dispatched with orders to engage enemy fighters alleged to be in the vicinity. But when they arrived in the early hours of March 16, they encountered hundreds of civilians seeking safety from artillery attacks. Over the next several hours, U.S. troops indiscriminately slaughtered Vietnamese men, women, and children . Despite the heroic efforts of helicopter crew members Hugh Thompson , Lawrence Colburn , and Glenn Andreotta to protect civilians, an estimated 500 civilians were killed by 11:00 A.M.

Initially reported by Charlie Company officers as a successful operation, the truth regarding what happened at My Lai wouldn't be fully known until November 1969, when reporter Seymour Hersh wrote about the massacre. The event shook the American public to its core and catalyzed the anti-war movement. Several military officers were charged with war crimes, including Lt. William Calley , whose orders reportedly led to the deaths of roughly 150 civilians. Aside from Calley, however, all the officers charged were either acquitted or had their charges dismissed, while Calley was court-martialed and sentenced to life in prison, only to be paroled in 1974. After further investigation by Lt. Gen. William Peers , which exposed attempts by the military to cover up what had happened, 14 officers were charged. But because of a lack of evidence, all but one of the cases were dismissed. Eight years after the massacre, a memorial for the victims of My Lai was built, and three decades later, filmmaker Oliver Stone sought to bring the tragic story to the screen .

What Happened to Oliver Stone's 'Pinkville'?

Having directed Platoon , Born on the Fourth of July , and Heaven & Earth , Oliver Stone delivered an unofficial trilogy of Vietnam War films exploring multiple perspectives. In 2007, he was eyeing a return to the subject with Pinkville , a planned film about the My Lai massacre and, presumably, its aftermath. Set to star A-listers Bruce Willis, Woody Harrelson, and Channing Tatum in undisclosed roles, Pinkville was written by Mikko Alanne and set to begin production with the backing of United Artists. But as principal photography approached, the 2007 writers' strike put a halt to Stone's film .

Three years later, after working with Shia LaBeouf on Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps , news broke regarding Pinkville 's possible revival and the actor's involvement. According to Indiewire , Stone remained enthusiastic about the project. " Pinkville is not dead," he acknowledged. "I own it. I could activate it again. I don’t know if the time is right now with the Iraq War still going on, but I love that project and it’s an important one. My Lai is a forgotten piece of history that’s crucial to remember. You never know, these things come alive." As of 2023, however, there are no updates on whether Pinkville will ever re-enter development .

Will 'Pinkville' Ever Get Made?

Though he's produced and directed documentaries in recent years, Oliver Stone hasn't helmed a feature film since 2016's Snowden , and the filmmaker has been on record regarding the increasing difficulties inherent to securing financing for challenging material not tied to existing IP or franchise filmmaking. Given the terrifying and gut-wrenching nature of the My Lai massacre , the notion of a major studio hesitating or outright balking over tackling such a story as a commercial endeavor seems likely . Additionally, there's no getting around the fact that an honest, faithful cinematic recreation of what happened in My Lai would make for uncomfortable and challenging viewing that audiences may similarly balk at.

Regardless of whether Stone revisits Pinkville and gets it off the ground, however, he managed to commit some semblance of the planned film's shocking subject matter to the screen on a microcosmic level. One of the most harrowing sequences in his Oscar-winning and semi-autobiographical Platoon sees American soldiers take their rage and exhaustion out on civilians in the countryside, killing, capturing, and razing an entire village. Having served as an infantryman in the Vietnam War, Stone has undoubtedly witnessed his share of inhumane acts, and the importance of cementing the memories of such events in the public's mind has never been lost on the filmmaker.

You can rent Snowden via Amazon Prime Video in the U.S.

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Oliver Stone movies: All 20 films as director, ranked worst to best

• Zach Laws , Chris Beachum
• September 8, 2023 12:04PM

Three-time Oscar winner Oliver Stone has courted controversy with a series of technically ambitious, rabble rousing political dramas, chronicling the highs and lows of American history. But how many of his titles remain classics? In honor of his birthday, let’s take a look back at all 20 of his films, ranked worst to best.

Born in 1946, Stone served in the Vietnam War before enrolling in NYU film school. He first came to prominence as a screenwriter, winning an Oscar for penning “Midnight Express” (Best Original Screenplay in 1978) before writing “Conan the Barbarian” (1982), “Scarface” (1983) and “Year of the Dragon” (1985). During this same period, he directed the low-budget horror films “Seizure” (1974) and “The Hand” (1981).

He emerged as a an A-list director when he was 40 years old with a pair of acclaimed war dramas released in 1986: “Salvador” and “Platoon.” Both earned him Best Original Screenplay nominations, while “Platoon,” which was based on his own experiences as a soldier in Vietnam, earned him his first Best Director prize (it won three additional awards, including Best Picture). He took home his second directing award just three years later for another Vietnam War drama, “Born on the Fourth of July” (1989), for which he also reaped bids in Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Stone returned to the Oscar race with “JFK” (1991), an ambitious and controversial examination of the conspiracy theories surrounding the Kennedy assassination. Despite receiving criticism for its dubious handling of facts, the film still reaped Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay bids for Stone. He earned his last nomination in Best Original Screenplay for “Nixon” (1995), a biographical drama of disgraced former President Richard Nixon ( Anthony Hopkins ).

In addition to his Oscar success, Stone won Golden Globes for directing “Platoon,” “Born on the Fourth of July” and “JFK” and for writing “Midnight Express” and “Born on the Fourth of July,” earning additional bids for penning “Platoon” and “JFK” and for directing “Natural Born Killers” (1994). He took home DGA Awards for “Platoon” and “Born on the Fourth of July,” reaping a third nomination for “JFK.” He won a BAFTA for directing “Platoon” and competed for writing “Born on the Fourth of July,” “JFK” and “Evita” (1996), directed by “Midnight Express” helmer Alan Parker . On the TV side, he received an Emmy for producing “Indictment: The McMartin Trial” (1995).

Stone has also worked on a number of expansive and controversial documentaries, most notably the multi-part series “The Untold History of the United States.” He made three nonfiction films about Fidel Castro (2003’s “Comandante,” 2004’s “Looking for Fidel” and 2012’s “Castro in Winter) and one series on Vladimir Putin (2017’s “The Putin Interviews”).

Tour our photo gallery of Stone’s 20 films as a director, including the titles listed above, as well as “Wall Street” (1987), “The Doors” (1991), “W.” (2008) and more.

20. SEIZURE (1974)

Directed by Oliver Stone. Written by Oliver Stone and Edward Mann. Starring Jonathan Frid, Martine Beswick, Herve Villechaize, Henry Judd Baker, Christina Pickles, Troy Donahue, Mary Woronov, Richard Cox, Alexis Kirk.

Not all directors start off with a bang, and Stone’s debut was something of a whimper. “Seizure” centers on a horror writer (Jonathan Frid) suffering from recurring nightmares about three of his most sinister characters: the Queen of Evil (Martine Beswick), the dwarf Spider (Herve Villechaize) and the giant strongman Jackal (Henry Judd Baker). His dreams become reality during a weekend when the three come to life and start knocking off his friends and family. A cheapie thriller that does nothing to hint at the talent Stone would display in his later works. Luckily for him, a successful screenwriting career awaited.

19. THE HAND (1981)

Written and directed by Oliver Stone. Starring Michael Caine, Andrea Marcovicci, Annie McEnroe, Bruce McGill, Viveca Lindfors, Rosemary Murphy, Mara Hobel, Pat Corley, Charles Fleischer.

After winning an Oscar for writing “Midnight Express,” Stone got another crack at directing by returning to the horror genre, proving once again that his filmmaking strengths lay elsewhere. Michael Caine stars as a comic book artist who loses his drawing hand in a gruesome auto accident. As he painfully adjusts to his new life, the severed limb takes on a life of its own, killing anyone who angers its former owner. Though produced on a slightly bigger budget than his feature debut, “The Hand” suffers from the same schlocky storytelling flaws that marred his early work. Thankfully, his best work was still ahead.

18. WORLD TRADE CENTER (2006)

Directed by Oliver Stone. Written by Andrea Berloff. Starring Nicolas Cage, Michael Pena, Maria Bello, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Stephen Dorff, Jon Bernthal, Jay Hernandez, Michael Shannon.

Stone tamps down his usual filmmaking excesses for this reverential 9/11 drama, and his restraint is admirable if not entirely exciting. “World Trade Center” tells the true story of two New York City Port Authority officers (Nicolas Cage and Michael Pena) trapped beneath the rubble of the Twin Towers. As their fellow officers search for survivors, the two do their best to keep each other alive. Considering Stone’s reputation as a liberal firebrand, it’s surprising how right wing this effort feels, with the rah rah patriotism cranked all the way up to 11. Ultimately, it feels like little more than a Disaster Movie of the Week with a powerful subject matter, and pales in comparison to the more immediate “United 93” released the same year.

17. SAVAGES (2012)

Directed by Oliver Stone. Screenplay by Shane Salerno, Oliver Stone and Don Winslow, based on the novel by Winslow. Starring Taylor Kitsch, Blake Lively, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, John Travolta, Benicio del Toro, Salma Hayek, Demian Bichir, Emile Hirsch.

“Savages” finds Stone returning to a more visceral mode of filmmaking, though the results are all flash and little substance. Part of the problem comes from the performances by Taylor Kitsch and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, who sleepwalk their way through the film as a pair of L.A. pot dealers trying to rescue their shared girlfriend (Blake Lively) from a violent Mexican drug cartel. There’s a lot of fun from the supporting players, though, including Salma Hayek as the cartel leader, Benicio del Toro as her henchman and John Travolta as a shady DEA agent. It’s all very violent, ugly and nihilistic, which fans of Stone’s darker side may appreciate. Others, however, might be turned off by the unrelenting gore and excess.

16. WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS (2010)

Directed by Oliver Stone. Screenplay by Allan Loeb and Stephen Schiff, based on characters created by Stanley Weiser and Oliver Stone. Starring Michael Douglas, Shia LaBeouf, Josh Brolin, Carey Mulligan, Eli Wallach, Susan Sarandon, Frank Langella.

Made in the wake of the 2008 financial collapse, “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps” finds Stone trying to make another prescient statement about American greed. But whereas the first film was made with outrage, this sequel takes a more gentle tone, right up to its cringe-inducing finale. Michael Douglas returns to his Oscar-winning role as Gordon Gecko (and earned a supporting Golden Globe bid), fresh out of prison and trying to reconnect with his daughter (Carey Mulligan). He links up with her boyfriend (Shia LaBeouf), an ambitious young stock broker, to take down one of his Wall Street enemies (Josh Brolin) and make a comeback. Though it lacks the bite of its predecessor, it’s still entertaining enough in its own right.

15. ALEXANDER (2004)

Directed by Oliver Stone. Screenplay by Oliver Stone, Christopher Kyle and Laeta Kalogridis, based on the book ‘Alexander the Great’ by Robin Lane Fox. Starring Colin Farrell, Angelina Jolie, Val Kilmer, Jared Leto, Rosario Dawson, Anthony Hopkins, Christopher Plummer.

An ambitious yet misguided biopic about the Greek general and king Alexander the Great (a frost-tipped Colin Farrell), Stone’s lumbering historical epic alternates between viscerally-thrilling battle sequences and snore-inducing character drama. There’s also a great amount of camp value here too, especially whenever Angelina Jolie is onscreen as Alexander’s slithering, sinister mother. Rosario Dawson and Jared Leto also ham it up as the ruler’s wife and secret lover, respectively. Stone has spent years trying to shape this movie into something resembling a masterpiece (there’s at least four different cuts floating around on home video), and while it’ll never be that, it’s still a lot more entertaining than it’s reputation would have you believe.

14. SNOWDEN (2016)

Directed by Oliver Stone. Screenplay by Kieran Fitzgerald and Oliver Stone, based on ‘The Snowden Files’ by Luke Harding and ‘Time of the Octopus’ by Anatoly Kucherena. Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Shailene Woodley, Melissa Leo, Zachary Quinto, Tom Wilkinson, Scott Eastwood, Logan Marshall-Green, Timothy Olyphant, Ben Schnetzer, Lakeith Stanfield, Rhys Ifans, Nicolas Cage.

“Snowden” finds Stone returning to one of his favorite narrative tropes: the rabble rouser fighting against a corrupt system to uncover governmental deception. The result is one of his strongest efforts this century, albeit a surprisingly subdued and conventional one. Joseph Gordon-Levitt gives a commanding performance as Edward Snowden, who blew the whistle on the NSA’s illegal surveillance techniques by leaking thousands of classified documents to the press. There’s not much here that wasn’t already covered in Laura Poitras’s Oscar-winning documentary “Citizenfour” (Poitras is played here by Melissa Leo), but it’s nevertheless an engaging effort from a filmmaker who proves he’s still got a lot left to say.

13. U-TURN (1997)

Directed by Oliver Stone. Screenplay by John Ridley and Oliver Stone, based on the book ‘Stray Dogs’ by Ridley. Starring Sean Penn, Jennifer Lopez, Nick Nolte, Powers Boothe, Claire Danes, Joaquin Phoenix, Billy Bob Thornton, Jon Voight.

After nearly a decade of crafting technically ambitious, Oscar-winning efforts, Stone decided to have some fun with this violent noir thriller. Maligned by critics who had heaped praise on his previous efforts, “U-Turn” holds up a lot better than you’d expect, thanks in large part to the director’s trademark energy and zeal. Sean Penn stars as a hapless drifter en route to Las Vegas so he can repay a debt to the Russian mafia. His car breaks down in the sleepy town of Superior, AZ, where he meets a grizzled local (Nick Nolte) and his beautiful wife (Jennifer Lopez). Both want to pay him to murder the other, although he’s not sure which one he should trust, since pretty much everybody in town seems to be rotten to the core.

12. HEAVEN & EARTH (1993)

Directed by Oliver Stone. Screenplay by Oliver stone, based on the books ‘When Heaven and Earth Changed Places’ and ‘Child of War, Women of Peace’ by Le Ly Hayslip and Jay Wurts. Starring Tommy Lee Jones, Joan Chen, Haing S. Ngor, Hiep Thi Le, Debbie Reynolds.

The third film in Stone’s unofficial Vietnam War trilogy, “Heaven & Earth” is unique in that it views the conflict from the perspective of a young Vietnamese woman instead of American soldiers, as he did in “Platoon” and “Born on the Fourth of July.” Adapted from two memoirs by Le Ly Hayslip (played here by Hiep Thi Le), it shows in shattering detail how the war disrupted her life, displacing her from her village home and forcing her into a life of hustling and prostitution on the streets. Into her life comes an American G.I. (Tommy Lee Jones) who marries her and takes her to the US, but the psychological scars of battle take a toll on their union. An uncharacteristically sensitive film from Stone, and one of his most powerful.

11. TALK RADIO (1988)

Directed by Oliver Stone. Screenplay by Eric Bogosian and Oliver Stone, based on the play by Bogosian and Ted Savinar and the book ‘Talked to Death: The Life and Murder of Alan Berg’ by Stephen Singular. Starring Eric Bogosian, Alec Baldwin, Ellen Greene, Leslie Hope, John C. McGinley, John Pankow, Michael Wincott.

In adapting Eric Bogosian’s Pulitzer Prize-nominated play, Stone tied in elements from the 1984 assassination of radio host Alan Berg, creating a still-prescient look at the perils of free speech. Bogosian recreates his stage role as Barry Chaplain, a Dallas radio personality who alienates his listeners with his caustic delivery and radical politics. On the eve of his show going nationwide, his personal demons come to bear, exposing a level of self-hatred that far exceeds the animosity shown towards his audience. As Chaplain is targeted with multiple death threats from unstable right-wing callers, Stone and Bogosian expose a disturbing truth about society’s need to quash anyone who goes against the grain, to sometimes tragic results.

10. THE DOORS (1991)

Directed by Oliver Stone. Written by J. Randal Johnson and Oliver Stone. Starring Val Kilmer, Meg Ryan, Kevin Dillon, Kyle MacLachlan, Frank Whaley, Michael Madsen, Billy Idol, Kathleen Quinlan.

“The Doors” succeeds thanks to Val Kilmer’s mesmerizing performance as Jim Morrison, the rock legend whose career was cut tragically short by his untimely death in 1971 at the age of 27. The film itself is a depressing dirge into the realities of addiction and excess, with Morrison indulging in drugs and alcohol to the detriment of his bandmates and fans who watch him stumble incoherently during his later performances. Yet Stone also offers brief glimpses of the musician’s talent in exhilarating concert scenes that lift the audience out of the doom and gloom of his life. While it might not be a lot of fun to watch, it’s an always engaging portrait of a self-destructive man whose star burned brightly and briefly, leaving behind some great music.

9. ANY GIVEN SUNDAY (1999)

Directed by Oliver Stone. Screenplay by John Logan and Oliver Stone, story by Daniel Pyne and Logan, based on the book “On Any Given Sunday” by Pat Toomay. Starring Al Pacino Cameron Diaz, Dennis Quaid, James Woods, Jamie Foxx, LL Cool J, Matthew Modine, Lauren Holly, Charlton Heston, Ann-Margret, Aaron Eckhart, John C. McGinley.

In mounting a behind-the-scenes expose of professional football, Stone creates an epic saga of modern day gladiators whose life-and-death struggles are played out on the field every Sunday. Al Pacino gives one of his best performances as the head coach of the Miami Sharks, who loves his players like a father and butts heads with the new team owner (Cameron Diaz) after she takes over from her father. Stone uses an all-star cast to fill out the supporting players, including Dennis Quaid as an aging quarterback, James Woods as the shady team doctor and Jamie Foxx as a superstar new player whose arrogance creates friction. The results, like the game itself, are overlong, overblown and utterly mesmerizing.

8. W. (2008)

Directed by Oliver Stone. Written by Stanley Weiser. Starring John Brolin, Elizabeth Banks, James Cromwell, Ellen Burstyn, Richard Dreyfuss, Toby Jones, Thandie Newton, Jeffrey Wright, Scott Glenn, Bruce McGill, Jennifer Sipes, Noah Wyle, Ioan Gruffudd.

As he did with “Nixon,” Stone creates a sympathetic portrait of a man with whom he had significant political disagreements. “W.” burrows deep into the life of George W. Bush (Josh Brolin), examining how the drunken black sheep of a prominent family could rise to the presidency, much to our country’s detriment. According to Stone, the specter of W.’s father, former President George H.W. Bush (James Cromwell), looms large throughout his life, instilling an inferiority complex that leads him to politics and the disastrous Iraq War. What could’ve been an extended “Saturday Night Live” sketch is instead an enthralling, Shakespearean tragedy about an unremarkable man’s misguided reach for the stars, one we’re all worse off for.

7. SALVADOR (1986)

Directed by Oliver Stone. Written by Oliver Stone and Richard Boyle. Starring James Woods, Jim Belushi, Michael Murphy, John Savage, Elpidia Carrillo, Cindy Gibb, Tony Plana.

The third time was the charm for Stone, who finally hit one out of the park after two unsuccessful attempts behind the camera. What sets “Salvador” apart from those earlier efforts is its focus on politics, a subject that would animate the director’s greatest works. James Woods stars as Richard Boyle (who cowrote the script with Stone), an American photojournalist covering the Salvadorian Civil War who becomes ensnared in the warring factions while trying to get his girlfriend (Elpidia Carrillo) and her children out of the country. The film earned Oscar nominations for Woods and for Stone and Boyle’s screenplay (Stone, in fact, competed against himself in that category for “Platoon,” for which he won Best Director).

6. WALL STREET (1987)

Directed by Oliver Stone. Written by Oliver Stone and Stanley Weiser. Starring Michael Douglas, Charlie Sheen, Daryl Hannah, Martin Sheen, Hal Holbrook, Terence Stamp, John C. McGinley, James Karen, Sean Young, James Spader.

Michael Douglas’s Oscar-winning performance dominates “Wall Street,” Stone’s fist-shaking indictment of financial misdeeds. As Gordon Gekko, a ruthless corporate raider with slicked-back hair, expensive suits and a slithering voice, Douglas makes greed look really good, especially to an ambitious young stockbroker (Charlie Sheen) he takes under his wing. Torn between Gekko and his union leader father (played by Sheen’s real life dad, Martin Sheen), he continues rising to the top before a setback forces him to reevaluate his choices. Now, more than ever, the film’s rallying cry against American avarice feels prescient and important. Stone and Douglas returned for a 2010 sequel, “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.”

5. NATURAL BORN KILLERS (1994)

Directed by Oliver Stone. Screenplay by Richard Rutowski, Oliver Stone and David Veloz, story by Quentin Tarantino. Starring Woody Harrelson, Juliette Lewis, Robert Downey, Jr., Tommy Lee Jones, Tom Sizemore.

Perhaps the most controversial title in Stone’s oeuvre (and that’s saying a lot), “Natural Born Killers” is an aggressive satire of the media’s — and by extension our own — fascination with carnage. Loosely based on an original script by Quentin Tarantino, it follows Mickey (Woody Harrelson) and Mallory Knox (Juliette Lewis), two deeply damaged people who fall in love and paint the country red in a countrywide killing spree. Shot in Stone’s characteristically jagged style and featuring extreme, almost cartoonish violence, this isn’t for everybody. Still, it remains a powerful indictment of our national bloodlust, especially in the age of mass shootings. Though the Academy overlooked the film, it did earn Stone a Golden Globe bid for directing.

4. BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY (1989)

Directed by Oliver Stone. Screenplay by Oliver Stone and Ron Kovic, based on the book by Ron Kovic. Starring Tom Cruise, Kyra Sedgwick, Raymond J. Barry, Jerry Levine, Frank Whaley, Willem Dafoe.

Three years after striking Oscar gold with “Platoon,” Stone returned to the trenches of Vietnam to create another stirring anti-war epic. “Born on the Fourth of July” tells the true story of Ron Kovic (Tom Cruise), a young man who eagerly signed up for combat and returned paralyzed from the chest down. Bound to a wheelchair, he turns his rage against the country that betrayed him into activism. Cruise anchors this sweeping drama with a towering performance filled with a rage, passion and power that matches the filmmaking. The movie brought Stone his second Oscar for Best Director and earned him nominations in Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay (shared with Kovic), plus Golden Globe wins in all three categories.

3. NIXON (1995)

Directed by Oliver Stone. Written by Stephen J. Rivele, Christopher Wilkinson, Stone. Starring Anthony Hopkins, Joan Allen, Powers Boothe, Ed Harris, Bob Hoskins, E.G. Marshall, David Paymer, David Hyde Pierce, Paul Sorvino, Mary Steenburgen, J.T. Walsh, James Woods.

Though he may not exactly look like Tricky Dick, Anthony Hopkins is eerily uncanny as the disgraced former President in this massive biopic. The film follows Richard Nixon’s life from childhood to his scandal-ridden Presidency, which ended in resignation during the Watergate investigation. Given Stone’s reputation as a liberal rabble-rouser, it’s surprising how much empathy he engenders for this deeply flawed, controversial figure, thanks in no small part to Hopkins’s towering performance as a man driven to power and ultimately undone by his envy, paranoia and rage. The film brought him a Best Actor Oscar bid, while Joan Allen contended in supporting for playing his long-suffering wife. Stone also competed for his original screenplay.

2. PLATOON (1986)

Written and directed by Oliver Stone. Starring Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe, Charlie Sheen, Keith David, Forest Whitaker, Francesco Quinn, Kevin Dillon, John C. McGinley, Johnny Depp.

Stone tapped into his own memories of serving as a private in Vietnam for “Platoon,” creating perhaps the most personal vision of warfare yet seen. Charlie Sheen stars as a young soldier who finds himself pushed and pulled between two domineering forces: the scarred and cynical Sergeant Barnes (Tom Berenger) and the idealistic Sergeant Elias (Willem Dafoe). Rather than indulge in anti-war speechifying, Stone conveys his message with harrowing combat sequences seen from the grunt’s eye view, portraying war as the hell it truly is. The powerful film hit the Oscar jackpot, winning four prizes including Best Picture and Best Director for Stone, who also competed for his original screenplay (against himself for “Salvador,” no less).

1. JFK (1991)

Directed by Oliver Stone. Screenplay by Oliver Stone and Zachary Sklar, based on the books ‘On the Trail of the Assassins’ by Jim Garrison and ‘Crossfire: The Plot That Killed Kennedy’ by Jim Marrs. Starring Kevin Costner, Kevin Bacon, Tommy Lee Jones, Laurie Metcalf, Gary Oldman, Michael Rooker, Jay O. Sanders, Sissy Spacek, Edward Asner, Donald Sutherland, Joe Pesci, Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Vincent D’Onofrio, John Candy, Wayne Knight, Sally Kirkland.

Though its facts are dubious at best, the filmmaking in Stone’s paranoia-laced political thriller is ambitious, enthralling and exciting. “JFK” brilliantly taps into our suspicions surrounding the Kennedy assassination, and while you won’t be any closer to an answer by the end, you’ll be thoroughly entertained nevertheless. At its center is Kevin Costner as New Orleans DA Jim Garrison, who sifts through tons of evidence and people to uncover a vast conspiracy and coverup. Stone utilizes an A-list cast, a variety of film stocks and fast-paced editing to help us assemble all the puzzle pieces ourselves. It’s a feat of filmmaking that brought him a Golden Globe win for directing and Oscar nominations in Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay.

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Watch the Rolling Stones Wrap Up 2024 Tour at a Remote Amphitheater in the Ozarks

The Rolling Stones spent the last three months hitting football stadiums in major cities all across North America on their Hackney Diamonds tour. But it all wrapped up Sunday night at the New Thunder Ridge Nature Arena at Big Cedar Lodge in Ridgedale, Missouri. That's a 20,000-seat outdoor amphitheater in the Ozarks that more typically hosts shows by the likes of Luke Bryan and Pitbull.

"This happens to be the last show of our U.S. tour," Jagger told the crowd midway through the night. "It's so great to be spending it with you guys in the Ozarks. We've never played here before. I've never been to this particular place. But last night, me and some of the crew went to Branson. We saw some great shows. I saw the Dolly Parton Horses Stampede. I saw Adele. I saw Michael Jackson. And then I ended up in Area71. And I saw Mick Jagger. He was really good. It's not the same person that's up here tonight, but he's very similar."

There were no huge surprises in the setlist, but it was a rare show that featured both "Whole Wide World" and "Mess It Up" from Hackney Diamonds . (The Stones usually picked one or the other.) "Let It Bleed" won the fan vote over "Dead Flowers," "Far Away Eyes," and "Sweet Virginia." And Richards had some brief guitar issues before "Paint It Black," forcing him to swap in a new instrument while Ron Wood and Steve Jordan killed time with a quick jam.

"It's a long time since we first played in Missouri," Jagger told the crowd. "We played in 1966 at the Kiel Convention, which doesn't exist anymore. Thank you so much Missouri for coming back to see us tonight. This is the last show of the tour. I want to thank so much the crew of this show for helping us put this show together, every show. Thank you so much, guys. Thank you so much ladies for helping us out. We really appreciate it."

For the first time since 2005, the Stones were touring behind a new record. "Angry" was the only song from Hackney Diamonds they broke out all 20 nights of the tour. But they played "Sweet Sounds of Heaven" 17 times, "Mess It Up" 13 times, "Tell Me Straight" 11 times, "Whole Wide World" eight times, and "Bite My Head Off" a single time.

Another 10 songs were played at every show: "Satisfaction," "Gimme Shelter," "Honky Tonk Women," "Jumpin' Jack Flash," "Little T&A," Paint It Black," "Start Me Up," "Sympathy for the Devil," "Tumbling Dice," and "You Can't Always Get What You Want." When the tour kicked off, Richards sang lead on only a single song. By the fourth show, he moved up to his standard two. And before long, he was handling an unprecedented three per night.

The only new addition to the band from the group's last run in 2022 was background singer Chanel Haynes. She entered their orbit June 21, 2022, when vocalist Sasha Allen had to miss a show at the last minute. Hynes had the lead role in the London production of Tina: The Tina Turner Musical at the time, and she jetted in last minute to join the group for "Gimme Shelter." It was an extraordinary performance that won her worldwide accolades, though it ultimately cost her the role in Tina for going AWOL. In hindsight, it was a very wise choice. She had spotlight moments for "Gimme Shelter" and "Sweet Sounds of Heaven" nearly every night, and always delivered.

As of now, there's now official word on future Stones activity. Rumors are swirling about summer 2025 dates in Europe. Jagger has also talked about the possibility of completing a second studio album comprised of songs they cut during the Hackney Diamonds sessions. It's hard to imagine a second Stones record in quick succession following a two-decade album drought, but it's also hard to imagine a rock group playing close to this well into their 80s.

More from Rolling Stone

• The Rolling Stones Rehearsed 60 to 70 Songs for 'Hackney Diamonds' Tour
• Watch the Rolling Stones Play 'Time Is on My Side' With Irma Thomas at Jazz Fest
• Rolling Stones Unveil 'Hackney Diamonds' Edition of Band's Crossfire Hurricane Rum

NEWS... BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT

James Corden gives huge update on Gavin and Stacey’s final episode

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James Corden has issued a massive update on the final episode of Gavin & Stacey just before filming is scheduled to begin.

The beloved sitcom, which originally ran between 2007 and 2010, followed the titular characters – played by Mathew Horne and Joanna Page – as they maintained a long-distance relationship between Essex and South Wales.

And it came back for a bombshell Christmas episode in 2019 , with fans gasping and screaming at their TVs when it ended on the mother of all cliffhangers.

And now we’re just five months way from finding out Smithy’s answer to Ness’ proposal, with the Christmas special and last ever episode coming in December 2024.

The wonderful news was announced earlier this year, and James – who writes the show with Ness’ actress Ruth Jones – says it’ll be all systems go ‘in the next few days’.

Speaking on Virgin Radio, he told host Chris Evans that the final touches have been made to the script that everyone in British comedy wants to get their hands on.

‘We finished [the script] on Thursday. It was my niece’s18th birthday yesterday so my mum and dad, my sisters, their partners, my nephew, they all went to see Ruth in Sister Act.’

He continued: ‘So I then went to meet them in Ruth’s dressing room and we all had a glass of champagne and then they had to get the train, and Ruth and I walked back to her place, and we just sat and we had a drink.’

After a short writing session ensued, James and Ruth sent the cast a picture to let them know that work on the Christmas special would be beginning very soon.

‘We actually sent the cast a photo on our little chat group saying, “We’ve finished – we finished the rewrites and a script will be winding its way to you guys. It’ll be going – I guess they’ll get the script in the next few days.’

It’s been five years since the last Christmas episode, which saw Ness finally let her guard down in front of Smithy, proposing to him in front of the West house in Barry.

Before Smithy could answer, the episode cut to black, with fans having to wait five years to find out whether he said yes – and that wait is almost over.

Long-time fans of the series will be delighted to know that Larry Lamb and Alison Steadman will be reprising their roles as Gavin’s parents Pam and Mick.

Alison said: ‘I know it’s going to happen. I just haven’t seen the script – none of us have seen the script.’

When asked by  The Mirror  if her on-screen husband Larry would be joining her she added: ‘As far as I know, yes. We only found out [it was happening] for definite the other day.’

One person who won’t be making an appearance is Lewis Merchant, who played Neil the Baby, son of Smithy and Ness – Lewis has confirmed his acting days are very much behind him.

Despite being a part of an acting company, Lewis stopped acting a few years ago, explaining: ‘I was in an acting company but I don’t do that anymore, I just lost interest mainly, because I found I loved football and I preferred that.’

He told Metro.co.uk : ‘A few years ago I did audition for the newest Gavin and Stacey role, that’s probably the closest contact I’ve had to any cast members from back then.’

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Gavin and Stacey returns to BBC One later this year.

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