An intimately detailed letter signed from the reclusive master filmmaker Stanley Kubrick, providing a direct, insightful commentary on the making of his seminal 1987 war film, Full Metal Jacket. The letter is a full page, typed on plain paper, dated 30 October 1987, and addressed to German radio host Jurgen Jürgens at Sender Freies Berlin.
Written one month after the film's German premiere, this is an unsolicited artistic follow-up. Kubrick details his core intention to capture "war’s psychological transformation, not just its action." He reveals specific production secrets: that the Parris Island boot camp was shot at a converted London gasworks, crediting former drill instructor R. Lee Ermey for the scenes' "brutal authenticity," and that the ruined Hue City set was built from scratch in London’s Docklands as a "chaotic contrast" to the earlier sequences. He concludes by explaining the deliberate, anti-sentimental electronic score by Abigail Mead (Vivian Kubrick), designed to "heighten the tension."
This letter is a pristine example of Kubrick's rare, post-release reflections. It condenses his meticulous philosophy and technique into a powerful, personal statement about his final completed film.