History Film / FullMetalJacket

** Animal Mother, when his attempt to [[spoiler: rescue Eightball and Doc Jay leads to their deaths and a near-miss of his own with the sniper.]]

*** In ''The Short-Timers'', the senior drill instructor actually intimidates other recruits to keep quiet about Pyle. The platoon has already lost several other members, and losing Pyle as well will invite unwanted attention from higher-ups in the chain of command.

** In real life it would be practically impossible to smuggle a ''single live round'' out of the firing range, never mind enough of them to fill a magazine. When you go to the range, you are given a set number of rounds, and someone will be standing by you to make sure you load and fire all of them. If there's any discrepancy at the end of the session, you can expect to be searched from head to toe until those missing rounds turn up. Same with smuggling a rifle out of the Arms Room; there is strict accountability for every weapon on site, and they are only given out for operations, training, or maintenance. However, seeing as the most iconic scene in the whole film would never have happened, and the guy who did it [[ChekhovsSkill had also managed to smuggle in a jelly doughnut earlier on]] (which was no small feat, either), this is forgivable.

* {{Irony}}: Joker's rifle fails when he needs it most, failing to become the instrument of death he was instructed to be.

** Trainees, in a general sense, are encouraged to observe one another and report any and all suspicious behavior to the instructors as soon as possible, since the instructors can't observe everyone all the time. The instructors ''will'' act intimidating to ensure that the recruit isn't bullshitting them, but if the recruit stands their ground on the matter, the instructors are ''required'' to investigate the issue immediately. The film possibly lampshades this by having Joker inform Cowboy of Pyle's increasingly unstable behavior and suggesting that they report it to Hatman, but Cowboy brushes it off. Had they done so, Hartman would have had no choice but to accept that Pyle had cracked and sent him home.

* AgonizingStomachWound: A Vietnamese sniper intentionally shoots an American solider in the groin with the intention of drawing the other soldiers in the unit into the open as they want to prevent their wounded soldier from slowly dying.

** "I ''AM''...in a world... of shit."

* YouCalledMeXItMustBeSerious: Joker calls Pyle by his real name, Leonard, when he's trying to help him and steer him away from his DespairEventHorizon. [[spoiler:It doesn't work.]]

* CutHisHeartOutWithASpoon: Hartman makes threats like, "I will unscrew your head and shit down your neck!" "I will gouge out your eyeballs and skullfuck you!" and "I will PT you all so hard, your asses will be sucking buttermilk!"

* CoolGun: Animal Mother with his M60 and bandoliers. ''In spades''. T.H.E. Rock would also qualify with his grenade launcher.

** Yes, continue to [[spoiler:''taunt'' the broken and apparently psychotic recruit who is pointing a loaded weapon at you.]] May be justified since Hartman first tries a gentler approach and only resorts to screaming insults when it doesn't seem to work.

** Hey, [[spoiler:Crazy Earl, if you encounter a stuffed bunny in a battlefield, there are good chances it is a boobytrap. *BOOM*]] Oh, nevermind.
** Hey, [[spoiler:Cowboy, maybe you shouldn't hide behind the part of the wall with a big hole in it. *BAM*]] ...Never mind.

** Adding on to the above, trainees are encouraged to observe one another and report any and all suspicious behavior to the instructors as soon as possible, since the instructors can't observe everyone all the time. The instructors ''will'' act intimidating to ensure that the recruit isn't bullshitting them, but if the recruit stands their ground on the matter, the instructors are ''required'' to investigate the issue immediately. The film possibly lampshades this by having Joker inform Cowboy of Pyle's increasingly unstable behavior and suggesting that they report it to Hatman, but Cowboy brushes it off. Had they done so, Hartman would have had no choice but to accept that Pyle had cracked and sent him home.

* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: When Hartman catches Pyle with a stolen jelly donut, he institutes a new rule: Pyle's screw-ups will draw punishment for everyone in the platoon ''except'' him. First he has to stand there and eat the donut while the other recruits do push-ups. Later, he sits with his cover on backwards and his thumb in his mouth as the others do burpees. [[spoiler:They eventually respond by pinning him to his bunk and beating him with bars of soap).]]

* CurbstompBattle: The NVA's unsuccessful attempt at overrunning the Marines' Da Nang base.

* GenderedInsult: As explained in DubNameChange, the German version nicknames Leonard Lawrence as "Private Paula" on account of his ineptitude and weakness.

* GoneHorriblyRight: Hartman's goal is to turn the new recruits into remorseless killing machines. In Pyle's case, he succeeds [[AxeCrazy all too well]].

* {{Malaproper}}: Lee Harvey Oswald shot "from that book ''suppository'' building, sir!"

** Hartman changes his tone and sounds like a proud mentor when he asks Pyle what his rifle’s name is and then states that he is born again hard and that he may allow him to serve as a Rifleman in his beloved corp.

--> '''Joker:''' [[spoiler:"Are those ''live'' rounds?"]]

* PetTheDog: Hartman gives Pyle a genuine compliment as he observes him at the rifle range.
-->'''Hartman:''' Outstanding, Private Pyle. I think we've finally found something that you do well!

* SanitySlippage: Pvt. Pyleoes off the deep end due to Hartman's abuse, in combination with being the victim of a blanket party which gradually turns him into a deranged and alienated sociopath afterwards.

* TraineeFromHell Leonard "Gomer Pyle" Lawrence becomes this to [[DrillSergeantNasty Gunnery Sergeant Hartman]]. The Sergeant did not consider the dangers of teaching a mentally instable person how to shoot a gun. Lawrence kills first Hartman and them himself.

* NeverTrustATrailer: Not quite a trailer, but the film was promoted with an official StupidStatementDanceMix of the same title which was a big hit in the UK. Not only did it imply the film was more of a knockabout comedy, it was also entirely unrepresentative of the movie's actual soundtrack.