EXCLUSIVE: A new feature-length documentary exploring the making of Stanley Kubrick’s seminal Vietnam War film Full Metal Jacket has completed filming in London, New York, and Los Angeles, with the film’s star, Matthew Modine, on board as a producer.
Written and directed by Stephen Rigg, A Modern Art Masterpiece: The Untold Story Of Full Metal Jacket is shaped around 30+ new interviews with Kubrick collaborators, including Modine, Vincent D’Onofrio, and Arliss Howard, as well as previously unheard audio interviews with Kubrick and never-before-released audio of the director rehearsing with the film’s actors at Pinewood Studios in 1986. You can see some of the rare onset images from the doc below.
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The documentary is being produced by Rigg (Kubrick’s Universe) and Hank Starrs (RoboDoc), in association with Modine and Adam Rackoff’s US-based production company Cinco Dedos Peliculas (Downwind) and SuperCloud Studios, a cloud-based media company specializing in content distribution, development, and financing (The Journey Within).
Executive producers are Rich Kane, James Hancock (Cheatin’, Geekin’ with James Hancock), four-time Emmy-winning producer Jarratt Carson (Profiles From The Frontline), Amer Hilal (Where to Land, The Life and Deaths of Christopher Lee), and Adrian Lord (The Terror of Our Ways).
Speaking about the project, Rigg said, “The making of Full Metal Jacket has been shrouded in myth and mystery.”
“Through the voices of those who were there, guided by Stanley Kubrick’s own words, our film finally tells the full story,” he added. “This isn’t just a retrospective; it’s an immersive journey back to the 1980s, recreating the atmosphere and intensity of life on set. Full Metal Jacket remains one of the most enduring war films of the 20th century, and this documentary offers a fresh perspective on Kubrick’s creative process and the remarkable people who helped bring his vision to life.”
Full Metal Jacket was the twelfth and penultimate film directed by Kubrick. He directed from a screenplay he co-wrote with Michael Herr and Gustav Hasford. The film explores the brutality of the Vietnam War through the experiences of a platoon of U.S. Marines from their initial boot camp training to the bloody front line in Vietnam. Modine stars in the film alongside Adam Baldwin, R. Lee Ermey, Vincent D’Onofrio, and Dorian Harewood.
“There has never been a documentary film quite like A Modern Art Masterpiece, and our unique access to archival materials, exclusive interviews, and commitment to a stunning visual ethos make this film a truly unique production and one that I am very proud to be a part of”, producer Hank Starrs added in a statement.
Scroll down to see rare behind-the-scenes stills from the making of Full Metal Jacket.
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