Based on the novel The Short-Timers by Gustav Hasford, the film’s first half takes place at Marine Corps boot camp in Parris Island, South Carolina, where a squad of raw recruits endures the physical and psychological hell of basic training under their browbeating drill instructor, Gunnery Sgt. Hartman (R. Lee Ermey). Hartman uses all manner of intimidation tactics to transform the men into "killing machines," detach them from the values of their past, and instill loyalty to his beloved Corps above all else. Bearing the brunt of his abuse is the slow-witted, inept misfit Private Leonard "Gomer Pyle" Lawrence (Vincent D'Onofrio), who is taken under the wing of the film's narrator, Private Joker (Matthew Modine), and eventually becomes Hartman's most dedicated disciple, with shocking consequences. The second part of the film takes place in Vietnam during the Tet Offensive, as seen through the eyes of the now thoroughly indoctrinated marines. Stanley Kubrick’s powerful drama about the Vietnam War and the dehumanization process used to prepare half-formed young men for combat is widely regarded as one of the greatest war movies of all time.