Platoon (1986)

Platoon is a 1986 American war film written and directed by Oliver Stone, based on his own experiences as an infantryman in the Vietnam War. Charlie Sheen stars as Chris Taylor, a young, college-educated volunteer who arrives in Vietnam in 1967 and is thrown into the brutal reality of jungle warfare, caught between two conflicting father figures within his platoon: Sergeant Barnes, played by Tom Berenger, a scarred, ruthless combat veteran who has abandoned all morality in pursuit of survival and victory, and Sergeant Elias, played by Willem Dafoe, an experienced soldier who retains his humanity and moral compass despite the horrors surrounding him. Oliver Stone drew directly from his own combat experiences, and the result was the most viscerally authentic Vietnam War film audiences had ever seen.

Platoon won four Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director, and earned $138 million worldwide on a $6 million budget. Willem Dafoe's death scene — arms raised in a Christ-like pose as he is gunned down — became one of the most iconic images in war cinema.