---
title: "Stripes"
year: 1981
kind: "film"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/stripes"
fi1m_id: "stripes"
imdb_id: "tt0083131"
tmdb_id: 10890
wikidata_id: "Q174153"
fi1m_score: 70
critics_score: 63
critics_reviews: 6
published: "2026-10-04T17:18:31.124536+00:00"
updated: "2026-10-04T17:18:31.500804+00:00"
region: "FR"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Stripes (1981)

Directed by Ivan Reitman · 1h 46m · CNC U · Action, Comedy

## Identity

Stripes

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/stripes
- **Type:** Film
- **Fi1m ID:** stripes
- **IMDb ID:** tt0083131
- **TMDB ID:** 10890
- **Wikidata ID:** Q174153
- **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083131/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/10890, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q174153

**Fi1m score: 70** · Critics 63 from 6 reviews

*In a sentence:* Warren Oates bellows at Bill Murray for an hour and we would gladly have skipped the mission

> Reitman’s army comedy is at its best when it is just Bill Murray, Warren Oates and a parade ground, and for an hour that is mostly what it is. Then the platoon leaves the base, and the jokes thin out as the hardware arrives.

## Synopsis

John Winger (Bill Murray) loses his job driving a cab, his car, his flat and his girlfriend Anita (Roberta Leighton) in a single morning. He enlists in the United States Army and talks his friend Russell Ziskey (Harold Ramis), who teaches English to immigrants, into coming with him. At Fort Arnold they join a platoon of misfits, among them the eager, overweight Ox (John Candy) and the menacing Psycho (Conrad Dunn), under the stare of Sergeant Hulka (Warren Oates), a career soldier with no patience for Winger’s attitude. The cowardly Captain Stillman (John Larroquette) commands them from a distance. Winger wants to get through basic training doing as little as possible; two military policewomen, Stella (P. J. Soles) and Louise (Sean Young), give him and Russell a reason to stick around.

## Review

John Winger (Bill Murray) loses his job, his car, his flat and his girlfriend before lunch, and decides the sensible response is to join the Army. He takes his friend Russell Ziskey (Harold Ramis) along for company. *Stripes* is the film Ivan Reitman built around that idea, and for an hour it is one of the easiest comedies of its period to sit through: a slob, a drill sergeant and a parade ground. It is good, with one plain caveat. When the film leaves the base, most of what was funny about it stays behind.

Murray plays Winger as a man who has never once done what he was told and is mildly curious to find out what happens if he does. Warren Oates, as Sergeant Hulka, is the casting that makes it work. He plays the man entirely straight, a tired professional with no interest in being liked, and the comedy comes from Murray trying to get a rise out of him and failing, scene after scene. Nothing in the second half is as funny as their first exchange on the parade ground.

The platoon is well stocked. John Candy’s Ox announces that he has joined up to lose weight and is the film’s most generous presence. Conrad Dunn’s Psycho warns the barracks what he will do to anyone who touches his things, and Murray’s reply has outlived the film. John Larroquette’s Captain Stillman is a coward with a telescope and the only officer in sight. Ramis, who wrote the script with Len Blum and Daniel Goldberg, gives himself the sane one and underplays him so far he nearly vanishes, so the film has no second lead to speak of. P. J. Soles and Sean Young, as the military policewomen Stella and Louise, are quick and bright and asked to do almost nothing except take an interest in the recruits.

Bill Butler shoots it flat and bright, hard daylight on a great deal of khaki, and the barracks have the yellow cast of institutional lighting. James H. Spencer’s base is breeze block, chain link and painted stones, and Richard Bruno puts the recruits in fatigues that fit nobody. The best of the craft is Elmer Bernstein’s score, which plays the brass and snare drum of a recruiting film without a trace of a wink, so that every time the platoon shambles into frame the music insists they are heroes. A good deal of the laughter lives in that gap.

We laughed hardest at the graduation parade. The platoon, with no sleep and almost no training, marches onto the field to a routine that is half drill and half dance number, Murray calling the steps like a man leading a conga, while Reitman holds on the reviewing stand as the brass try to decide whether they are watching a disaster or a triumph. It is the high point, and it is also, more or less, the end of the film we had been enjoying. The last forty minutes take the platoon off the base on an errand we will not describe, and the comedy that had been coming from people now has to come from vehicles. Three editors are credited, Michael Luciano, Harry Keller and Eva Ruggiero, and the last act looks cut in a hurry: scenes start late, end early and are joined mostly by cutting to the next thing that moves. We found ourselves checking the time, and then slightly cross that a film which had made us laugh so freely had decided we would rather watch a chase.

The shape is the trouble, and it is the genre’s. Service comedies tend to run out of road once the recruits graduate. *Stripes* tries to become a caper instead, and Murray’s gift is that he visibly does not care about the plot, which is a fine quality in a recruit and a fatal one in an action hero. Reitman had already made a cheerful, shapeless comedy with Murray in *Meatballs* (1979); three years later, with Murray and Ramis again, he would make *Ghostbusters* (1984). This one sits between them.

It runs 106 minutes and carries a 15 certificate. Watch it with people who can quote it, or with someone who has never seen Murray this young and this unbothered. Stay for the parade. What follows is an acceptable way to fill the time, and the film plainly thinks it is the point, but we were still on the parade ground, and we were happy there.

*Fi1m score 70, published 4 October 2026.*

## Straight answers

**Is Stripes worth watching?**

*Stripes* is worth watching for its first hour, when it is Bill Murray needling Warren Oates on a parade ground, and we scored it 70. The last forty minutes take the platoon off the base and swap the comedy of people for the comedy of vehicles, and the jokes thin out. Stay for the graduation parade; what follows is filler.

**How long is Stripes, and what is it rated?**

*Stripes* runs 1h 46m and is rated U by the CNC in France. It is an action and comedy film.

**Where can I watch Stripes in France?**

*Stripes* is available to rent from Amazon Prime Video from €3.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service.

**How violent or frightening is Stripes, and is it suitable for children?**

*Stripes* carries a 15 certificate in the UK and an R in the US, so it is not for children. The review mentions nothing frightening; the certificate reflects adult language and sexual content rather than violence, and the last act is a caper with chases, not a bloody one. Older teenagers who like Bill Murray will be fine with it.

**How does Stripes compare to M*A*S*H?**

*Stripes* is the gentler and slighter of the two; [*M*A*S*H*](https://film.one/film/m-a-s-h) is crueller and funnier, and nobody in it salutes anything. Reitman's film is a slob versus a sergeant on a parade ground, while Altman's is a bloody war comedy whose surgeons bully people in ways that make some laughter hard to share. Choose *Stripes* for an easy evening, *M*A*S*H* for the better film.

**What should I watch after Stripes?**

After *Stripes*, try [*M*A*S*H*](https://film.one/film/m-a-s-h) (1970, Fi1m 72): Altman’s army is crueller and funnier, and nobody in it salutes anything. Then [*Private Benjamin*](https://film.one/film/private-benjamin) (1980, Fi1m 64): Goldie Hawn enlists for the wrong reasons too, and gets a sharper film about it; and [*Full Metal Jacket*](https://film.one/film/full-metal-jacket) (1987, Fi1m 81): The same parade ground with the jokes removed, and nobody laughing at the sergeant.

### Reviews we read (6)

- **Empire**, William Thomas (85/100, inferred): The review regards the film as an often hilarious, successful comedy and a classic early big-screen showcase for its cast. It especially praises Bill Murray’s transition from television and his laid-back screen persona. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/stripes-review/)
- **Variety**, Variety Staff (70/100, inferred): The review finds the comedy cheerful and amiable, with little artistic subtlety but an overall successful effect. It singles out Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, John Candy, and Warren Oates for their comic performances. [Read](https://variety.com/1980/film/reviews/stripes-1200424871/)
- **RogerEbert.com** (64/100, inferred): The page does not reveal the critic’s verdict because access is blocked. No praise or complaint from the review is available to identify. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/stripes-1981)
- **Time Out**, RM (64/100, inferred): The available page identifies this as a review but provides no critic verdict. Its description outlines Murray’s impulsive decision to join the Army, without a specific point of praise or complaint. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/stripes)
- **Radio Times**, John Ferguson (3/5): Ferguson says Murray’s charisma makes up for the comedy’s formulaic plotting, though the film falters in its finale. He singles out Murray’s sparring with Warren Oates as a constant delight. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-a9lyvb/stripes/)
- **Vulture**, Alden Ford (35/100, inferred): Ford finds Stripes amiable but not very funny, criticizing its uneven structure and wasted comic potential. He singles out the late Czech-rescue sequence as the film’s only imaginative stretch, though it arrives too late to make up for the long boot-camp section. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/2010/11/the-finally-screenings-i-just-saw-stripes-for-the-first-time.html)

## Details

- **Director:** Ivan Reitman
- **Director:** Ivan Reitman
- **Screenplay:** Len Blum, Harold Ramis, Daniel Goldberg
- **Cinematography:** Bill Butler
- **Editor:** Michael Luciano, Harry Keller, Eva Ruggiero
- **Music:** Elmer Bernstein
- **Production design:** James H. Spencer
- **Costume design:** Richard Bruno
- **Producer:** Ivan Reitman, Daniel Goldberg
- **Cast:** Bill Murray as John Winger; Harold Ramis as Russell Ziskey; Warren Oates as Sgt. Hulka; P. J. Soles as Stella Hansen; Sean Young as Louise Cooper; John Candy as Dewey "Ox" Oxberger; John Larroquette as Capt. Stillman; John Voldstad as Stillman's Aid
- **Runtime:** 1h 46m
- **Certificate (CNC):** U
- **Release (France):** 31 March 1982
- **Genres:** Action, Comedy
- **Budget:** $10 million
- **Box office:** $85 million
- **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKHwEoCIYqA

## Where to watch in France

- Amazon Prime Video: rent €3.99, hd
- Amazon Prime Video: buy €5.99, hd

*Checked 2026-10-04.*

Also available in: AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CL, DE, ES, FI, FR, GB, HR, IE, IN, IT, JP, LT, MX, NL, NZ, PL, PT, RS, SE, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country.

## If you liked this

- *M*A*S*H* (1970), Fi1m 72: Altman’s army is crueller and funnier, and nobody in it salutes anything. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/m-a-s-h.md)
- *Private Benjamin* (1980), Fi1m 64: Goldie Hawn enlists for the wrong reasons too, and gets a sharper film about it. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/private-benjamin.md)
- *Carry On Sergeant* (1958): The British version: a hopeless platoon, a despairing sergeant and a passing-out parade.
- *Full Metal Jacket* (1987), Fi1m 81: The same parade ground with the jokes removed, and nobody laughing at the sergeant. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/full-metal-jacket.md)
- *Ghostbusters* (1984), Fi1m 80: Reitman, Murray and Ramis again, this time with a script that knows where it is going. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/ghostbusters.md)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/stripes