This film was based on Oliver Stone’s personal experiences as an Army combat infantryman in Vietnam. To capture the sheer shitshow that was the Vietnam war, he opted to shoot in chronological order to get as much emotion out of each actor as he could. When a character died in battle, they were sent home for good.

The gruelling filming process meant that when Charlie Sheen filmed his euphoric helicopter scene at the end, it was all raw and real because he knew it meant he’d get to finally leave the Philippines and go home.