About this product

Product Information

Swofford's 2003 book on his experiences in the first Gulf War, and enlists William Broyles Jr a former Lieutenant who fought in Vietnam to convert it into a screenplay. Mendes's film strays into FULL METAL JACKET territory as it opens, with young recruit Swofford (Jake Gyllenhaal) undertaking some rigorous basic training under the steely, watchful eye of Staff Sgt. Sykes (Jamie Foxx). Impressed, Sykes invites Swofford to join his team, and partners him with Troy (Peter Sarsgaard), ultimately taking them to Saudi Arabia to fight in the first Gulf War. But once they arrive in the punishing heat of the desert, the long wait for battle sends many of the Marines dangerously close to the brink of insanity. Drawing on the experience of acclaimed cinematographer Roger Deakins (THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION) to help viewers get a close-up taste of the Marines' punishing life in the desert, Mendes's film enters into deeply unsettling territory, the likes of which many cinemagoers won't have experienced since Martin Sheen lost his tenuous grip on reality in APOCALYPSE NOW. Indeed, Mendes deploys a few similar tactics to those that made Francis Ford Coppola's 1979 film so effective: a hip soundtrack that uses songs from artists as varied as Public Enemy and the Rolling Stones, and a feeling of disillusionment and futility among the troops that really digs in when the battle finally blackens the desert skies. Avoiding any overt antiwar sentiments, Mendes instead provides a thoughtful account of life as a modern day soldier, demonstrating how technology has made the average Marine's job all but redundant, and created disaffected troops who are as much a threat to each other as the enemies they wait to face in the trenches.

Product Identifiers

ProducerLucy Fisher, Douglas Wick

EAN5050582425437

eBay Product ID (ePID)52975967

Product Key Features

ActorMike Akrawi, Wade Williams, Jamie Foxx, Chris Cooper, Skyler Stone, Jake Gyllenhaal, Dennis Haysbert, Peter Sarsgaard, Katherine Randolph, Jacob Vargas, Matthew Atherton

Film/TV TitleJarhead

DirectorSam Mendes

LanguageEnglish

Run Time118 Mins

FormatDVD

Release Year2011

FeaturesCommentary By Director Sam Mendes\Commentary By Screenwriter William Broyles Jr And Author Anthony Swofford\Swoffs Fantasies\News Interviews In Full\Deleted Scenes, Closed Caption

GenreWar

Additional Product Features

Number of Discs1

Certificate15

Country/Region of ManufactureUnited States of America

Hearing ImpairedEnglish

ComposerThomas Newman

ReviewsUncut - An exceptionally smart war movie, the more so for the relative absence of any war, The Guardian - Stunning to look at and to listen to, with elegantly chosen pop songs unspooling on the soundtrack under each fresh new horror, Sight And Sound - Quizzical, visually striking... JARHEAD provides some kind of reportage of a war whose consequences we haven't yet begun to understand, Entertainment Weekly - An eye-opening experience....[Mendes] forges, perhaps, a new kind of drama: a portrait of war stripped of all glamour and design.... JARHEAD is an existential docudrama: cool and funny, vivid and remote at the same time, BBC - JARHEAD takes a perverse pleasure in confounding your expectations of what a war movie should be

ScreenwriterWilliam Broyles, Jr.

Sound sourceDolby Digital 5.1

Movie/TV TitleJarhead

Ratings and reviews

Learn more

4.8

9 product ratings

7 users rated this 5 out of 5 stars
2 users rated this 4 out of 5 stars
0 users rated this 3 out of 5 stars
0 users rated this 2 out of 5 stars
0 users rated this 1 out of 5 stars

Good value

Entertaining

Engaging characters

Most relevant reviews

by lyncdavi
20 Dec, 2018
Worth watching
It’s good worth watching but not as good As the best movies on war ie full metal jacket etc
Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-owned
by m123-724
16 Sep, 2023
Excellent
I enjoyed this modern war film. It has some funny moments also.
Verified purchase: YesCondition: New
by wilmcca-4858
02 Oct, 2024
Fantastic film
Really enjoyed watching this film so very much, so I shall keep on dealing with ebay from now on.
Verified purchase: YesCondition: New
by misstaylo-4
30 May, 2018
Jarhead
A great film with serious and comedy all in one
Verified purchase: YesCondition: New
by caiced8
20 Apr, 2021
Good for the value!
Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-owned
by douglasc7554
04 Jun, 2024
Good to deal with. Recommended
Good to deal with. Recommended
Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-owned
by 200919dm59
27 Jun, 2017
Good
Good film.
Verified purchase: YesCondition: Pre-owned
by crowride
29 May, 2024
Great value
Great value
Verified purchase: YesCondition: New