'Full Metal Jacket' actor Matthew Modine likens Trump to Hitler for using film as 'tool of propaganda'

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Matthew Modine, who played Private JT "Joker" Davis in Stanley Kubrick's iconic war film 'Full Metal Jacket', condemned Donald Trump after the former president used clips from the movie in a military-focused campaign ad.

The ad in question, shared on Trump's X (formerly Twitter) boldly declares, "WE WILL NOT HAVE A WOKE MILITARY!" It features jarring scenes from the 1987 film, showcasing R Lee Ermey's brutal portrayal of a Marine Sergeant berating Modine's Private Joker.

The clips are juxtaposed with footage of military officers supporting LGBTQ+ rights, labeled "Comrade Kamala," and contrasting TikTok clips of modern military members dancing in drag. The ad concludes with the provocative slogan, "Let's make our military great again."

Matthew Modine rips Donald Trump for distorting Stanley Kubrick's powerful anti-war film

In an email statement to Entertainment Weekly, Matthew Modine wrote, "In the 1930s, Leni Riefenstahl directed the Nazi propaganda films 'Triumph of the Will' and 'Olympia'. These two films are considered among the most effective propaganda ever made."

He added, "Riefenstahl denied any knowledge of the Holocaust, repeatedly invoking the 'How could we have known?' defense."

Following World War II, Riefenstahl attempted to distance herself from the crimes committed by the Nazis, suggesting her duty was to her craft and not necessarily to the authorities who commissioned her films. 

"Ironically, Trump has twisted and profoundly distorted Kubrick's powerful anti-war film into a perverse, homophobic, and manipulative tool of propaganda," further remarked Modine. 

Adapted from Marine Corps veteran Gustav Hasford's semi-autobiographical novel 'The Short-Timers', 'Full Metal Jacket' offers a grim portrayal of the Vietnam War, beginning at boot camp where the authoritarian Gunnery Sergeant Hartman (Ermey) bullies recruits into submission. 

A representative for Vincent D'Onofrio, who portrayed Private Leonard "Gomer Pyle" Lawrence in the film, asserted that "he did not provide any consent for this usage by the Trump Campaign."

Modine, however, firmly believes that Trump's usage of these clips is emblematic of a far darker reality.

"Shortly before Riefenstahl died, she acknowledged her connection to Adolf Hitler in a BBC interview. 'I was one of millions who thought Hitler had all the answers. We saw only the good things; we didn't know bad things were to come.' It is no exaggeration to see Trump's reflection in the terrible figure Hitler was," added the actor in his email. 

He warned, "Please listen to Riefenstahl's final warning: '...we didn't know how bad things were to become.' Trump has shown us who he is and made no secret of what he intends to do."

Stanley Kubrick's daughter claims he would have been a Donald Trump supporter

Despite the film's critique of militarism, Vivian Kubrick, Stanley Kubrick’s daughter, defended Donald Trump's appropriation of the footage in a statement on X (formerly Twitter).

She expressed, "I agree in principle that an anti-war movie is incongruous with promoting the idea of a tough non-woke US military and thus war itself - however - these are very dangerous and strange times and thus using this footage is doubtless pure expedience."

"Because I’m sure the irony of using FMJ footage is not lost on Trump or his team - Trump is always seeking to end wars and use peaceful methods. However, that’s primarily what FMJ is about, the shocking and complicated paradoxes of human nature," added Vivian. 

"And thus, on this tooth and claw planet, you need a very strong military - so I’m going to stick with the idea that FMJ footage was used primarily because of its powerful, realistic portrayal of boot camp, juxtaposed with the entirely demoralizing and inappropriate injection of WOKE ideology into the USA military. Which I agree with myself and which I’m certain my father would have agreed with," remarked the former film composer. 

She went on to argue, "Truthfully, I believe my father (who supported Reagan), would very much approve of saving America, indeed the world, from the highly destructive Globalist forces threatening to take over this planet."

"And if that footage from FMJ helps Trump make the point that the US military needs properly trained, super tough, focused, dedicated warriors, and not introduce the demoralizing effects of woke-ism, and attracting people to join up simply to have their sexual reassignments paid for, then Trump has my blessing," stressed Vivian. 

With a complex view of her father, she further wrote, "Finally, knowing my father very well, I can assure you he had a profound grasp of how paradoxical human nature is! Which accounts for how at the same time he made anti-war films, he had a great passion for guns (self-defense not hunting) and he had quite a few!"

"My father had a great respect for life – his movies being unimpeachable evidence of his love for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness! So on that basis, I feel very confident he would be a Trump supporter and would forgive using FMJ incongruously, if it helps the cause of freedom! Capisce?" concluded the 64-year-old.