Gardens of Stone (1987)

Director:

Francis Ford Coppola

Writers:

Ronald Bass (screenplay)
Nicholas Proffitt (novel)

Release Date:

8 May 1987 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War | Romance

Tagline:

It was a dangerous time to be young. An impossible time to be a hero.

Plot:

A touching, insightful look at stateside military life during the Vietnam War at Ft. Meyer and Arlington National Cemetery (the Garden)...

Plot Keywords:

Soldier | Sergeant | Vietnam | Vietnam War | Military

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

James Caan	...	Sgt. Clell Hazard
Anjelica Huston	...	Samantha Davis
James Earl Jones	...	Sgt. Maj.'Goody' Nelson
D.B. Sweeney	...	Jackie Willow
Dean Stockwell	...	Capt. Homer Thomas
Mary Stuart Masterson	...	Rachel Feld
Dick Anthony Williams	...	Slasher Williams
Lonette McKee	...	Betty Rae
Sam Bottoms	...	Lt. Webber
Elias Koteas	...	Pete Deveber
Laurence Fishburne	...	Sgt. Flanagan (as Larry Fishburne)
Casey Siemaszko	...	Wildman
Peter Masterson	...	Col. Feld
Carlin Glynn	...	Mrs. Feld
Erik Holland	...	Col. Godwin
Bill Graham	...	Don Brubaker
Terrence Currier	...	Editor
Terry Hinz	...	Navy Captain
Lisa-Marie Felter	...	Daughter
William Williamson	...	Lieutenant Colonel
Joseph A. Ross Jr.	...	General
Robert Frerichs	...	Private
Grant Lee Douglass	...	Blue Lieutenant
Mark Frazer	...	Soldier #1
Terry Foster	...	Soldier #2
Marshall Sizemore	...	Soldier #6
Steve Barcanic	...	Soldier #7
Hajna O. Moss	...	Wedding Friend
Penny B. Ernst	...	Arlington Woman
Arthur V. Gorman Jr.	...	Chaplain
Louis Rangel	...	A.N.C. Driver
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Patricia Neff	...	Mary Stuart Masterson - Cousin of Rachel Feld (uncredited)
Daniel R. Suhart	...	French Waiter (uncredited)
Byron Trackwell	...	Soldier (uncredited)

Directed by
Francis Ford Coppola		(as Francis Coppola)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Ronald Bass		screenplay
Nicholas Proffitt		novel

Produced by
Francis Ford Coppola	....	producer (as Francis Coppola)
Jay Emmett	....	executive producer
Michael I. Levy	....	producer
Fred Roos	....	executive producer
David Valdes	....	co-executive producer
Stan Weston	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Carmine Coppola

Cinematography by
Jordan Cronenweth

Film Editing by
Barry Malkin

Production Design by
Dean Tavoularis

Art Direction by
Alex Tavoularis

Set Decoration by
Gary Fettis

Costume Design by
Willa Kim
Judianna Makovsky

Makeup Department
Anthony Cortino	....	hair stylist
Philip Leto	....	hair stylist (as Phil Leto)
Bernadette Mazur	....	makeup artist
Monty Westmore	....	makeup artist
Brad Wilder	....	makeup artist

Production Management
David V. Lester	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Daniel R. Suhart	....	second second assistant director (as Dan Suhart)
David Valdes	....	first assistant director
Tena Psyche Yatroussis	....	second assistant director (as Tena Yatroussis)

Art Department
Robert Angus	....	set dresser
David F. Bornstein	....	construction foreman (as David Bornstein)
Donald Krafft	....	lead man
Douglas E. Madison	....	property master (as Douglas Madison)
Doug Madison Jr.	....	assistant property master (as Douglas Madison Jr.)
James Michael Mullen	....	set dresser
John J. Rutchland III	....	construction foreman
George Stuart Jr.	....	paint foreman (as George Stuart)
Samuel Verts	....	assistant to production designer (as Sam Verts)

Sound Department
Andy Aaron	....	additional sound recordist
Kim Aubry	....	adr mixer
Richard Beggs	....	sound designer
Richard Beggs	....	supervising re-recording mixer
Tom Bellfort	....	adr editor
David Franklin Bergad	....	assistant sound editor (as David Bergad)
Gloria S. Borders	....	supervising sound editor
Joseph F. Brennan	....	boom operator (as Joe Brennan)
Thomas Causey	....	sound mixer
Carlyn Montes De Oca	....	assistant sound editor
Melissa Dietz	....	assistant sound editor
Tim Holland	....	sound effects editor
Richard Hymns	....	sound effects editor
Mildred Iatrou	....	assistant to sound designer (as Milly Iatrou)
Ronald Jacobs	....	dialogue editor
Jenny Oz	....	apprentice sound editor
Michele Perrone	....	assistant sound editor
Louise Rubacky	....	adr editor
Paige Sartorius	....	assistant sound editor
Robert Shoup	....	foley editor
Randy Thom	....	sound re-recording mixer
Dennie Thorpe	....	foley artist
Marian Wilde	....	foley editor
Stephen Sutter	....	sound re-recording mixer (uncredited)

Special Effects by
John Frazier	....	special effects supervisor
Robin Hauser	....	special effects

Stunts
Brad Bovee	....	stunts
David Burton	....	stunts
Jeffrey J. Dashnaw	....	stunts (as Jeffrey Dashnaw)
George Fisher	....	stunts
Phil H. Fravel	....	stunts (as Phil Fravel)
Buddy Joe Hooker	....	stunt coordinator
Chad Randall	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Tom Barone	....	best boy electric
Billy Beaird	....	key grip
Bobby Brown	....	first assistant camera (as Robert Brown)
Jeff Cronenweth	....	second assistant camera
Sheldon Ehrlich	....	best boy
Gary Holt	....	gaffer (as Gary H. Holt)
Dan Lerner	....	camera operator
Bing Sokolsky	....	first assistant camera
Monte Swann	....	video playback operator
Rodney Veto	....	dolly grip
George Voellmer	....	photographer: snow sequence
Jürgen Vollmer	....	still photographer
Ira Brenner	....	camera operator: second camera (uncredited)
Tom Fox	....	video assist operator (uncredited)
Bob E. Krattiger	....	lighting technician (uncredited)
Ron Veto	....	dolly grip (uncredited)

Casting Department
Aleta Chappelle	....	local casting (as Aleta Wood-Chappelle)
Janet Hirshenson	....	casting: west coast
Jane Jenkins	....	casting: west coast
Davia Nelson	....	casting assistant
Bonnie Timmermann	....	casting: east coast

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Marilyn Matthews	....	costume supervisor
John Napolitano	....	costume supervisor
Jennifer L. Parsons	....	costumer (as Jennifer Parsons)
Michael Voght	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Debra Bard	....	first assistant film editor
John Gilroy	....	second assistant film editor

Music Department
Jim Weidman	....	music editor

Transportation Department
Randy White	....	transportation coordinator

Other crew
Mike Calloway	....	advisor: army band (as Sgt. Mike Calloway)
Gus Carpenter	....	electronic cinema
John Coley	....	advisor: Ft. Belvoir (as Lt. Col. John Coley)
Gian-Carlo Coppola	....	electronic cinema captain
Roman Coppola	....	electronic cinema
Jeffrey Dienno	....	advisor: Old Guard (as Maj. Jeffrey Dienno)
Tony Dingman	....	defensive coordinator
Teri Fettis-D'Ovidio	....	production coordinator (as Teri Fettis)
Wilma Garscadden-Gahret	....	script supervisor
Karen Gordon	....	production accountant
L.W. Green	....	advisor: Old Guard (as Staff Sgt. L.W. Green)
Lynne Hale	....	unit publicist
Marvin O. Herbaugh Jr.	....	advisor: Ft. Belvoir (as Maj. Marvin O. Herbaugh Jr.)
John Horton	....	military liaison
Nancy Hult	....	unit publicist
Jim Kessler	....	advisor: army band (as Sgt.Maj. Jim Kessler)
Murdo Laird	....	electronic cinema
Chris Lockhart	....	advisor: Old Guard (as Lt. Chris Lockhart)
Thomas MacHamer	....	advisor: Old Guard (as Maj. Thomas MacHamer)
Doe Mayer	....	video researcher
Alex Metcalf	....	production assistant
Candice Miller	....	assistant: Mr. Levy
John Myers	....	army public affairs (as Lt.Col. John Myers)
Anahid Nazarian	....	librarian
Peggy Pridemore	....	production assistant
Mayda Renizzi-Holt	....	assistant accountant
Kristen Ross	....	production assistant
Catherine Schellhorn	....	production secretary
David Shack	....	first aid
Raymond G. Smith	....	military liaison
Amy Lynette Speiser	....	assistant production coordinator
Sara Ström	....	assistant: Mr. Coppola (as Sara Strom)
John Taylor	....	advisor: army band (as Sgt. Maj John Taylor)
Marilu Trainor	....	advisor: Ft. Belvoir
Ricardo Whitson	....	craft service
Lynne Wilkes	....	assistant: Mr. Caan
Eric Neal Young	....	location manager (as Eric Young)
Fern Baum	....	development assistant (uncredited)
Gary Gutierrez	....	title designer (uncredited)
Tom Trigo	....	assistant location manager (uncredited)

Production Companies

• ML Delphi Premier Productions
• TriStar Pictures
• Zoetrope Studios

Distributors

• TriStar Pictures (1987) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (1999) (USA) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment (2002) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Warner-Columbia Film (1987) (Sweden) (theatrical)

Other Companies

• Cinema Research  opticals
• Colossal Pictures  title design
• For Stars Catering  catering
• Video Image Associates  video playback

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Australia:M | Finland:K-12/9 | Spain:T | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Washington, District of Columbia, USA

Company:

ML Delphi Premier Productions

Trivia:

The repartee between Nelson and Willow regarding asexual reproduction (see the "Memorable Quotes" section) is almost identical to that between David Lightman and his science teacher in WarGames (1983).

Goofs:

Continuity: The name tags on uniforms are white US Army changed to subdued (black letters on olive drab tabs) in 1967, but in 1969 all soldiers are still wearing the old style.

Quotes:

"Goody" Nelson: Well, here's to us and those like us.
Clell Hazard: Damn few left.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Hollywood Vietnam (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Georgy Girl

A forgotten gem

This movie is little-watched compared to Coppola's other Viet Nam movie, "Apocalypse Now", which is unfortunate, because it's a gem. Taking a device straight out of Aeschylus' masterpiece "The Persians", the war itself is almost entirely an off-screen presence (except for a few atmospheric news-reel clips, which serve to separate acts, as it were). Instead, like "The Persians", it considers the war through its effects on those at home, and does a generally excellent job.

It is particularly good at showing the view from inside the military "family", both of that life in general, and the effects of Viet Nam in particular. James Caan and James Earl Jones (the latter especially) turn in fine performances as veteran non-coms (the backbone of any army). One reviewer condemned D.B. Sweeney's portrayal of the young gung-ho recruit Willow because he sounded as if he were reading his line from cue cards - which rather misses the point, which is that because the green Willow doesn't know what it's really like, the slogans he repeats inevitably sound tinny and false.

Despite a few flaws (e.g. Mary Stuart Masterton's character is rather under-developed, and a few scenes are clangers), overall this is one of the greatest of all Viet Nam movies.