Stripes

Stripes was released in 1981 and directed by Ivan Reitman. Rather than simply retelling the plot, the film is worth revisiting for the characters, conflicts and ideas that give its story its identity.

Friendship emerge through what the characters face and the choices they make, giving the story more to explore beyond its immediate plot.

John Winger, Russell Ziskey and Sergeant Hulka, Winger and Ziskey's drill sergeant do not begin the film seeing one another clearly, and watching those first impressions break down is a big part of why Stripes still works.

That part of the story matters here for a different reason than it does elsewhere in the article.

They are assigned to a basic training platoon under drill sergeant Sergeant Hulka. From there, the film can concentrate less on explaining the setup and more on what happens between the people inside it.

After Hulka discovers that John and Russell have briefly gone AWOL, he orders Russell to scrub garbage cans for 24 hours and gives the rest of the platoon two weeks of KP duty.

Russell stops John from deserting for good, angrily reminding John that it was his idea that they enlist.

Louise and Stella find them fighting and return them to their barracks without reporting them.

Hulka is injured when Captain Stillman, the recruit company's commander, orders a mortar crew to fire without first setting target coordinates.

Absent a leader, the platoon sneaks off base to visit a mud wrestling bar.

When MPs and local police raid the club, Stella and Louise help John and Russell escape, and the four spend the night together.

Bill Murray plays John Winger. In the course of one day, Louisville, Kentucky cab driver John Winger loses his job, his apartment, his car, and his girlfriend Anita, who has grown tired of his immaturity.

That relationship helps define John Winger beyond the immediate plot mechanics.

John irritates Hulka with his slacker attitude, and he and Russell become romantically involved with MPs Louise Cooper and Stella Hansen. That attraction becomes an important part of what pulls John Winger deeper into the story.

Harold Ramis plays Russell Ziskey. Realizing his limited prospects, he persuades best friend Russell Ziskey to join the Army with him.

That relationship helps define Russell Ziskey beyond the immediate plot mechanics.

That attraction becomes an important part of what pulls Russell Ziskey deeper into the story.

Stripes has more on its mind than the basic setup suggests. friendship sits close to the centre of the film, but it is explored through the characters rather than treated like a lesson.

Stripes could hardly be separated from the decade that produced it. Released in 1981, it carries the attitudes, style and filmmaking rhythms of the 1980s without needing to announce them.

It also sits comfortably within the era's buddy, action comedy and war filmmaking, even if the movie itself is more interesting than any single genre label suggests.

That is part of why it still appears in conversations about 1980s movies and 1980s buddy movies. The film has become tied not only to its own story but to the wider memory of what 1980s movies felt like.

Watching Stripes now means seeing both what has lasted and what unmistakably belongs to 1981.

What still works best is the human material. Ideas around friendship have not stopped being relevant simply because the clothes, language and cultural references belong to another era.

Some moments inevitably land differently for a modern audience. Revisiting an older film properly means enjoying what still works without pretending every choice has aged equally well.

A large part of that staying power comes from the characters. John Winger, Russell Ziskey and Sergeant Hulka, Winger and Ziskey's drill sergeant are still useful shorthand for the personalities and pressures the film explores.

Stripes has lasted because people continue to recognise something in it. Nostalgia helps, but nostalgia alone does not keep a movie in the conversation for decades.