Platoon is a
1986 war film written and directed by
Oliver Stone and starring
Charlie Sheen,
Tom Berenger,
Willem Dafoe,
Forest Whitaker,
Kevin Dillon,
Keith David,
John C. McGinley, and
Johnny Depp. It is the first of Stone's Vietnam War trilogy, followed by
Born on the Fourth of July (
1989) and
Heaven & Earth (
1993).
The story is drawn from Stone's experiences as a U.S. Infantryman in
Vietnam and was written by him upon his return as a counter to the vision of the war portrayed in
John Wayne's The Green Berets.
The film won the
Academy Award for
Best Picture of 1986. In 2007, the
American Film Institute placed
Platoon at #86 in their "100 Years...100 Movies" poll. British television channel
Channel 4 voted
Platoon as the 6th greatest war film ever made, behind
Full Metal Jacket and ahead of
A Bridge Too Far.