When did you see it? I'm guessing you weren't even born when it was released in 1971
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When it was released, graphic violence was not part of main-stream cinema. People hadn't seen the Godfather yet, the Exorcist, or anything that was that far out there like a Clockwork Orange. and compared to todays standards for violence in movies....it is pretty tame.....but coming just a year or 2 removed from the Summer of Love.......it blew some minds. It was actually banned in England when it was released.
Once something is Ground-breaking.......it starts to lose that status as time goes by.
Did you read the book? Kubrick did a great job capturing the book on film. The only thing that didn't translate well to the screen was their age....in the book they were all 14.
1st half of Full Metal Jacket is awesome....second half, not so much