Full Metal Jacket is a 1987 British - American war drama movie directed by Stanley Kubrick . It is based on the Gustav Hasford book The Short-Timers . The name of the movie comes from the full-metal jacketed bullets used in the military . The movie follows soldiers who are drafted to fight in the Vietnam War . The story is set in the late 1960s and follows the characters from their time in recruit training and them fighting in the war .