Matthew Modine is raging Amazon Prime stripped the tongue-in-cheek ‘BORN TO KILL’ message from the ‘Full Metal Jacket’ poster.
Matthew Modine is raging Amazon Prime stripped the tongue-in-cheek ‘BORN TO KILL’ message from the ‘Full Metal Jacket’ poster
The 65-year-old actor played jaded marine James T ‘Joker’ Davis in late director Stanley Kubrick’s searing 1987 anti-war Vietnam movie – which was famously advertised with the stark image of a battered and graffitied army helmet emblazoned with the phrase, along with a peace sign and a string of live rifle cartridges held in place by a leather strap.
In the midst of outrage from fans who spotted Amazon had removed the now-iconic ‘BORN TO KILL’ white writing from the helmet, Matthew ranted on X about the censorship: “Who decided to remove ‘BORN TO KILL?’
“Not only did they alter a piece of iconic art by (poster designer) Philip Castle, but they completely misunderstood the point of it being there.”
“(My character) wears the helmet with ‘BORN TO KILL’ and the peace button as a statement about ‘the duality of man’.”
Matthew accompanied his statement with a picture of the poster without the words and a shot of the original poster containing them.
Fans have speculated Amazon removed them as part of so-called “woke” culture over fears it may offend users of the site – or due to worries it could be seen as an incitement to violence by people clueless about the film’s content or meaning.
The film sees Private Joker put through brutal training for the Vietnam war, alongside fellow rookie marines played by stars including Vincent D’Onofrio.
In one scene, one of the private’s commanding officers asks Private Joker why he ‘BORN TO KILL’ on the helmet – prompting Matthew’s character to reply:
“(It’s) the duality of man. The Jungian thing, sir.”
It is still unclear why Amazon made the change, but after a backlash from movie fans it has since reverted the poster back to its original form.
Tagged in Stanley Kubrick