title: Warsaw

text: Some of the best examples of palatial Baroque architecture are Krasiński Palace (1677–1683), Wilanów Palace (1677–1696) and St Kazimierz Church (1688–1692). The most impressive examples of rococo architecture are Czapski Palace (1712–1721), Palace of the Four Winds (1730s) and Visitationist Church (façade 1728–1761). The neoclassical architecture in Warsaw can be described by the simplicity of the geometrical forms teamed with a great inspiration from the Roman period. Some of the best examples of the neoclassical style are the Palace on the Isle (1775–1795), Królikarnia (1782–1786), Carmelite Church (façade 1761–1783) and the Holy Trinity Church (1777–1782). The neoclassical revival affected all aspects of architecture; the most notable examples are the Great Theater (1825–1833) and buildings located at Bank Square (1825–1828).


title: Warsaw

text: Exceptional examples of the bourgeois architecture of the later periods were not restored by the communist authorities after the war or were remodelled into a socialist realist style (like Warsaw Philharmonic edifice originally inspired by Palais Garnier in Paris). Despite that, the Warsaw University of Technology (Polytechnic) building (1899–1902) is the most interesting of the late 19th-century architecture. Some 19th-century industrial and brick workhouse buildings in the Praga district were restored, though many have been poorly maintained or demolished. Some of the important landmarks lost are the Saxon Palace and the Brühl Palace, the most distinctive buildings in prewar Warsaw.


title: Warsaw

text: Notable examples of post-war architecture include the Palace of Culture and Science (1952–1955), a soc-realist and art deco skyscraper based on the Empire State Building in New York. The Constitution Square with its monumental socialist realism architecture (MDM estate) was modelled on the grand squares of Paris, London, Moscow and Rome. Italianate tuscan-styled colonnades based on those at Piazza della Repubblica in Rome were also erected on Saviour Square.


title: Warsaw

text: Contemporary architecture in Warsaw is represented by the Metropolitan Office Building at Pilsudski Square by Norman Foster, Warsaw University Library (BUW) by Marek Budzyński and Zbigniew Badowski, featuring a garden on its roof and view of the Vistula River, Rondo 1 office building by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Złota 44 residential skyscraper by Daniel Libeskind, Museum of the History of Polish Jews by Rainer Mahlamäki and Golden Terraces, consisting of seven overlapping domes retail and business centre. Jointly with Frankfurt, London, Paris and Rotterdam, Warsaw is one of the cities with the highest number of skyscrapers in Europe.


title: Warsaw

text: Although contemporary Warsaw is a fairly young city compared to other European capitals, it has numerous tourist attractions and architectural monuments dating back centuries. Apart from the Warsaw Old Town area, reconstructed after World War II, each borough has something to offer. Among the most notable landmarks of the Old Town are the Royal Castle, Sigismund's Column, Market Square, and the Barbican.


title: Warsaw

text: Further south is the so-called Royal Route, with many historical churches, Baroque and Classicist palaces, most notably the Presidential Palace, and the University of Warsaw campus. The former royal residence of King John III Sobieski at Wilanów is notable for its Baroque architecture and eloquent palatial garden.


title: Warsaw

text: Powązki Cemetery is one of the oldest cemeteries in Europe, featuring of sculptures, some of them by the most renowned Polish artists of the 19th and 20th centuries. Since it serves the religious communities of Warsaw such as Catholics, Jews, Orthodox Christians, Muslims or Protestants, it is often called a necropolis. Nearby is the Okopowa Street Jewish Cemetery, one of the largest Jewish cemeteries in Europe.


title: Warsaw

text: In many places in the city the Jewish culture and history resonates down through time. Among them the most notable are the Jewish theater, the Nożyk Synagogue, Janusz Korczak's Orphanage and the picturesque Próżna Street. The tragic pages of Warsaw's history are commemorated in places such as the Monument to the Ghetto Heroes, the Umschlagplatz, fragments of the Ghetto wall on Sienna Street and a mound in memory of the Jewish Combat Organization.


title: Warsaw

text: Many places commemorate the heroic history of Warsaw such as Pawiak, a German Gestapo prison now occupied by a Mausoleum of Memory of Martyrdom and a museum. The Warsaw Citadel, a 19th-century fortification built after the defeat of the November Uprising, was a place of martyrdom for the Poles. Another important monument, the statue of Little Insurrectionist located at the ramparts of the Old Town, commemorates the children who served as messengers and frontline troops in the Warsaw Uprising, while the Warsaw Uprising Monument by Wincenty Kućma was erected in memory of the largest insurrection of World War II.


title: Warsaw

text: In Warsaw there are many places connected with the life and work of Frédéric Chopin who was born near the city in Żelazowa Wola. The heart of the Polish composer is sealed inside Warsaw's Holy Cross Church. During the summer time the Chopin Statue in Łazienki Park is a place where pianists give concerts to the park audience.


title: Warsaw

text: Also many references to Marie Curie, her work and her family can be found in Warsaw; Curie's birthplace at the Warsaw New Town, the working places where she did her first scientific works and the Radium Institute at Wawelska Street for the research and the treatment of which she founded in 1925.


title: Warsaw

text: Green space covers almost a quarter of Warsaw's total area. These range from small neighborhood parks and green spaces along streets or in courtyards, to tree-lined avenues, large historic parks, nature conservation areas and urban forests at the fringe of the city. There are as many as 82 parks in the city; the oldest ones were once part of representative palaces and include the Saxon and Krasiński Gardens, Łazienki Park (Royal Baths Park) and Wilanów Palace Parkland.


title: Warsaw

text: The Saxon Garden, covering an area of 15.5 ha, formally served as a royal garden to the now nonexistent Saxon Palace. In 1727, it was made into one of the world's first public parks and later remodelled in the forest-like English style. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is situated at the east end of the park near the central fountain, on Piłsudski Square. With its benches, flower carpets and a central pond, the Krasiński Palace Garden was once a notable strolling destination for most Varsovians. The Łazienki Park covers an area of 76 ha and its unique character and history is reflected in the landscape architecture (pavilions, sculptures, bridges, water cascades) and vegetation (domestic and foreign species of trees and shrubs). The presence of peacocks, pheasants and squirrels at Łazienki attracts tourists and locals. The Wilanów Palace Parkland on the outskirts of Warsaw traces it history to the second half of the 17th century and covers an area of 43 ha. Its French-styled alleys corresponds to the ancient, Baroque forms of the palace.


title: Warsaw

text: The Botanical Garden and the University Library rooftop garden host an extensive collection of rare domestic and foreign plants, while a palm house in the New Orangery displays plants of subtropics from all over the world. Mokotów Field (once a racetrack), Ujazdów Park and Skaryszewski Park are also located within the city borders. The oldest park in the Praga borough was established between 1865 and 1871.


title: Warsaw

text: The flora of Warsaw may be considered very rich in species on city standards. This is mainly due to the location of Warsaw within the border region of several big floral regions comprising substantial proportions of close-to-wilderness areas (natural forests, wetlands along the Vistula) as well as arable land, meadows and forests. The nearby Kampinos Nature Reserve is the last remaining part of the Masovian Primeval Forest and is protected by law. The Kabaty Woods are by the southern city border and are visited by the residents of southern boroughs such as Ursynów. There are 13 natural reserves in the vicinity and just from Warsaw, the environment features a perfectly preserved ecosystem with a habitat of animals like the otter, beavers and hundreds of bird species. There are also several lakes in Warsaw – mainly the oxbow lakes at Czerniaków and Kamionek.


title: Warsaw

text: The Warsaw Zoo covers an area of . There are about 5,000 animals representing nearly 500 species. Although officially created in 1928, it traces back its roots to 17th century private menageries, often open to the public.


title: Warsaw

text: Demographically, Warsaw was the most diverse city in Poland, with significant numbers of foreign-born residents. In addition to the Polish majority, there was a large and thriving Jewish minority. According to the Imperial Census of 1897, out of the total population of 638,000, Jews constituted 219,000 (equivalent to 34%). Prior to the Second World War, Warsaw hosted the world's second largest Jewish population after New York – approximately 30 percent of the city's total population in the late 1930s. In 1933, 833,500 out of 1,178,914 people declared Polish as their mother tongue. There was also a notable German community. The ethnic composition of contemporary Warsaw is incomparable to the diversity that existed for nearly 300 years. Most of the modern-day population growth is based on internal migration and urbanisation.


title: Warsaw

text: In 1939, approximately 1,300,000 people resided in Warsaw; by 1945 the population had dropped to 420,000. During the first years after the war, the population growth rate was high and the city soon began to suffer from the lack of flats and dwellings to house new incomers. The first remedial measure was the enlargement of Warsaw's total area (1951) – however the city authorities were still forced to introduce limitations; only the spouses and children of permanent residents as well as some persons of public importance (renowned specialists, artists, engineers) were permitted to stay. This negatively affected the image of an average Warsaw citizen, who was perceived as more privileged than those migrating from rural areas, towns or other cities. While all restrictions on residency registration were scrapped in 1990, the negative opinion of Varsovians in some form continues to this day.


title: Warsaw

text: Much like most capital cities in Europe, Warsaw boasts a foreign-born population that is significantly larger than in other cities, although not coming close to the figures representing the likes of Madrid or Rome. In 2019, it was estimated that 40,000 people living in Warsaw were foreign-born. Of those, Ukrainians, Vietnamese, Belarusians, and Russians were the most prominent groups.


title: Warsaw

text: Throughout its existence, Warsaw had been a multi-cultural and multi-religious city. According to the 1901 census, out of 711,988 inhabitants 56.2% were Catholics, 35.7% Jews, 5% Greek Orthodox Christians and 2.8% Protestants. Eight years later, in 1909, there were 281,754 Jews (36.9%), 18,189 Protestants (2.4%) and 2,818 Mariavites (0.4%). This led to construction of hundreds of places of religious worship in all parts of the town. Most of them were destroyed in the aftermath of the Warsaw Uprising in 1944. After the war, the new communist authorities of Poland discouraged church construction and only a small number were rebuilt.


title: Warsaw

text: The archdiocese of Warsaw and the Diocese of Warsaw-Praga are the two ecclesiastical districts active in the city which serve the large Roman Catholic population of 1.4 million. The Lutheran Diocese of Warsaw is one of six in Poland; its main house of worship is the Holy Trinity Church from 1782, one of Warsaw's most important and historic landmarks. The Evangelical Reformed Parish (Calvinist) is leading the Polish Reformed Church. The main tserkva of the Orthodox Christians is Praga's Cathedral of St. Mary Magdalene from 1869. The Jewish Commune of Warsaw ("Gmina Wyznaniowa Żydowska") is one of eight in the country; Chief Rabbi of Poland Michael Schudrich resides in the city. There are also 3 active synagogues, one of which is the pre-war Nożyk Synagogue designated for Orthodox Jews. An Islamic Cultural Centre in Ochota and a small mosque in Wilanów serve the Muslims.


title: Warsaw

text: As the capital of Poland, Warsaw is the political centre of the country. Almost all central government institutions are located there, including the Chancellery of the President, both houses of the Polish Parliament (the lower house called Sejm and the upper house called Senate), the Chancellery of the Prime Minister, the Constitutional Tribunal, the Supreme Court, and the Supreme Administrative Court. The city is represented in the parliament by 20 members of Sejm (out of 460) and 4 senators (out of 100). In addition, Warsaw elects together with its metropolitan area two MEPs (Members of the European Parliament).


title: Warsaw

text: The first city mayor of Warsaw was Jan Andrzej Menich (1695–1696). The municipal self-government existed in Warsaw until World War II and was restored in 1990 (during the communist times, the National City Council – "Miejska Rada Narodowa" – governed in Warsaw). Since 1990, the structure of city government has been modified several times. Between 1975 and 1990 the Warsaw city mayors simultaneously led the Warsaw Voivodeship. In the years 1990–1994, the city mayor of Warsaw was elected by the city council. Subsequently, a controversial reform was introduced, transforming the city in the years of 1994–1999 into a loose municipal union of several gminas, dominated by one of them, the gmina Centrum encompassing the entire inner city. During this period, the mayor of gmina Centrum who was elected by its council was automatically designated as the city mayor of Warsaw, in spite of representing only a fraction of the population of the city. The city was becoming increasingly unmanageable, especially after the administrative reform of Poland in 1999 which further complicated the local government structure of Warsaw. In 2002, the new "Warsaw Act" of the Polish parliament restored Warsaw as a single urban gmina with the status of a city with powiat rights, led by a unified local government. At the same time, a significant reform was implemented in all Polish municipal governments, introducing direct elections of the wójt/town mayor/city mayor in all Polish gminas. The first city mayor of Warsaw elected according to these rules was Lech Kaczyński, who however resigned ahead of term when he was elected President of Polish Republic in 2005.


title: Warsaw

text: Warsaw has thereafter remained an urban gmina with the status of a city with powiat rights. Legislative power in Warsaw is vested in a unicameral Warsaw City Council ("Rada Miasta"), which comprises 60 members. Council members are elected directly every five years (since 2018 election). Like most legislative bodies, the city council divides itself into committees which have the oversight of various functions of the city government. The city mayor exercises the executive power in the city, being the superior of all unelected municipal- or county-level officials and other employees and supervising all subsidiary entities of the city. The incumbent city mayor of Warsaw is Rafał Trzaskowski.


title: Warsaw

text: The "Warsaw Act" imposes a mandatory division into 18 auxiliary units called "dzielnica" (district) on the city. In spite of remaining an integral part of the city as an entity, the districts have a degree of autonomy legally guaranteed through a form of an own local self-government exercising some powers devolved by law from the city. They have the duty to assist the city mayor and the City Council in their tasks, such as supervising some municipal companies, city-owned property or schools. Each of the 18 city districts has an own council ("rada dzielnicy") which elects an executive board ("zarząd dzielnicy") headed by a district mayor ("burmistrz dzielnicy"), the latter elected by the council among several candidates nominated by the city mayor of Warsaw among the council's members.


title: Warsaw

text: As a result, Warsaw has thereafter continued as an urban gmina holding status of a city with powiat rights, divided into 18 districts ("dzielnica"), auxiliary municipal units established within the city as an entity as its integral parts, though with some limited powers devolved from the city to their own local self-governments. Each of the districts is customarily subdivided into several neighbourhoods lacking any meaningful legal or administrative powers. The central district of Śródmieście includes the two founding neighbourhoods of the city, called the Old Town ("Stare Miasto") and the New Town ("Nowe Miasto").


title: Warsaw

text: Warsaw is the leading economic and financial hub of Central Europe, the Visegrád Group and the Three Seas Initiative. In 2019, the city's gross domestic product (GDP) was estimated at €94 billion (US$ billion), which places Warsaw among the wealthiest regions in the European Union; it generates approximately 1/6 of the total GDP of Poland and the country's national income. In 2020, Warsaw was classified as an alpha world city (also known as a "major global city that links economic regions into the world economy") by the Globalization and World Cities study group from Loughborough University, placing it on a par with cities such as Sydney, Istanbul, Amsterdam or Seoul.


title: Warsaw

text: Warsaw's city centre (Śródmieście) and commercial Wola district are home not only to many national institutions and government agencies, but also to many domestic and international companies. In 2017, 423,000 enterprises were registered in the city. Warsaw's ever-growing business community has been noticed globally, regionally, and nationally; in 2019 Warsaw was one of the top destinations for foreign investors in Europe. In October 2019, Warsaw's unemployment rate was 1.3%, the lowest in the country.


title: Warsaw

text: Shopping and consumerism is an important component of Warsaw's economy – the high street of retail is New World ("Nowy Świat") and the Royal Route. However, most retailers choose to operate in central shopping centres and malls such as Złote Tarasy-Golden Terraces, Galeria Mokotów and Westfield Arkadia – one of the biggest shopping complexes in Europe. Luxury or upmarket goods as well as designer labels can be found in the Vitkac Department Store and around Frascati.


title: Warsaw

text: Warsaw's first stock exchange was established in 1817 and continued trading until World War II. It was re-established in April 1991, following the end of a communist planned economy and the reintroduction of a free-market economy. Today, the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WSE) is, according to many indicators, the largest market in the region, with 433 companies listed and total capitalisation of 1 trillion PLN as of 26 November 2020. From 1991 until 2000, the stock exchange was, ironically, located in the building previously used as the headquarters of the communist Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR).


title: Warsaw

text: The most prominent industries and industrial sectors include high-tech, electrotechnical, chemical, cosmetic, construction, food processing, printing, metallurgy, machinery and clothing. The majority of production plants and facilities are concentrated within the WOP Warsaw Industrial Precinct ("Warszawski Okręg Przemysłowy") which is situated around the city's peripheral localities such as Praga, Pruszków, Sochaczew, Piaseczno, Marki and Żyrardów. Warsaw has developed a particularly strong retail market/sector, representing around 13% of the total retail stock in the country.


title: Warsaw

text: Following World War II, the authorities decided that the city will be transformed into a major industrial (heavy industry) and manufacturing centre. As a result, numerous large factories and production facilities were built in and around the city. Among the largest were "Huta Warszawa" steel works (now arcelor), the FSO Car Factory and Ursus SA. The now-defunct FSO, established in 1951, was once Warsaw's most successful corporation. Notable vehicles assembled there over the decades include the Warszawa, Syrena, Fiat 125p and the Polonez. In 1995, the factory was purchased by the South Korean car manufacturer Daewoo, which assembled its models in Warsaw for the European market.


title: Warsaw

text: Warsaw is the media centre of Poland, and the location of the main headquarters of TVP and other numerous local and national TV and radio stations, such as Polskie Radio (Polish Radio), TVN, Polsat, TV4, TV Puls, Canal+ Poland, Cyfra+ and MTV Poland.


title: Warsaw

text: Since May 1661 the first Polish newspaper, the "Polish Ordinary Mercury", was printed in Warsaw. The city is also the printing capital of Poland with a wide variety of domestic and foreign periodicals expressing diverse views, and domestic newspapers are extremely competitive. "Rzeczpospolita", "Gazeta Wyborcza" and "Dziennik Polska-Europa-Świat", Poland's large nationwide daily newspapers, have their headquarters in Warsaw.


title: Warsaw

text: Warsaw also has a sizable movie and television industry. The city houses several movie companies and studios. Among the movie companies are TOR, Czołówka, Zebra and Kadr which is behind several international movie productions.


title: Warsaw

text: Since World War II, Warsaw has been the most important centre of film production in Poland. It has also been featured in numerous movies, both Polish and foreign, for example: "Kanał" and "Korczak" by Andrzej Wajda and "The Decalogue" by Krzysztof Kieślowski, also including Oscar winner "The Pianist" by Roman Polański.


title: Warsaw

text: It is also home to the National Film Archive, which, since 1955, has been collecting and preserving Polish film culture.


title: Warsaw

text: Warsaw holds some of the finest institutions of higher education in Poland. It is home to four major universities and over 62 smaller schools of higher education. The overall number of students of all grades of education in Warsaw is almost 500,000 (29.2% of the city population; 2002). The number of university students is over 280,000. Most of the reputable universities are public, but in recent years there has also been an upsurge in the number of private universities.


title: Warsaw

text: The University of Warsaw was established in 1816, when the partitions of Poland separated Warsaw from the oldest and most influential Polish academic center, in Kraków. Warsaw University of Technology is the second academic school of technology in the country, and one of the largest in East-Central Europe, employing 2,000 professors. Other institutions for higher education include the Medical University of Warsaw, the largest medical school in Poland and one of the most prestigious; the National Defence University, highest military academic institution in Poland; the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music, the oldest and largest music school in Poland and one of the largest in Europe; the Warsaw School of Economics, the oldest and most renowned economic university in the country; the Warsaw University of Life Sciences, the largest agricultural university, founded in 1818; and the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, the first private secular university in the country.


title: Warsaw

text: Warsaw has numerous libraries, many of which contain vast collections of historic documents. The most important library in terms of historic document collections is the National Library of Poland. The library holds 8.2 million volumes in its collection. Formed in 1928, it sees itself as a successor to the Załuski Library, the biggest in Poland and one of the first and biggest libraries in the world.


title: Warsaw

text: Another important library – the University Library, founded in 1816, is home to over two million items. The building was designed by architects Marek Budzyński and Zbigniew Badowski and opened on 15 December 1999. It is surrounded by green. The University Library garden, designed by Irena Bajerska, was opened on 12 June 2002. It is one of the largest roof gardens in Europe with an area of more than , and plants covering . As the university garden it is open to the public every day.


title: Warsaw

text: Warsaw is a considerable transport hub linking Western, Central and Eastern Europe. The city has a good network of buses and a continuously expanding perpendicular metro running north to south and east to west. The tram system is one of the biggest in Europe, with a total length of . As a result of increased foreign investment, economic growth and EU funding, the city has undertaken the construction of new roads, flyovers and bridges. The supervising body is the City Roads Authority (ZDM – "Zarząd Dróg Miejskich").


title: Warsaw

text: Warsaw lacks a complete ring road system and most traffic goes directly through the city centre, leading to the eleventh highest level of congestion in Europe. The Warsaw ring road has been planned to consist of three express roads: S2 (south), S8 (north-west) and S17 (east). S8 and S2 are open.


title: Warsaw

text: The A2 motorway opened in June 2012, stretches west from Warsaw and is a direct motorway connection with Łódź, Poznań and ultimately with Berlin.


title: Warsaw

text: The city has two international airports: Warsaw Chopin Airport, located just from the city centre, and Warsaw-Modlin Airport, located to the north, opened in July 2012. With around 100 international and domestic flights a day and with 15,500,000 passengers served in 2017, Warsaw Frédéric Chopin Airport is by far the biggest airport in Poland and in Central-Eastern Europe. and it has also been called "the most important and largest airport in Central Europe".


title: Warsaw

text: Public transport also extends to light rail Warszawska Kolej Dojazdowa line, urban railway Szybka Kolej Miejska, regional rail Koleje Mazowieckie (Mazovian Railways), and bicycle sharing systems (Veturilo). The buses, trams, urban railway and Metro are managed by Warszawski Transport Publiczny (WTP, Warsaw Public Transpoert).


title: Warsaw

text: The regional rail and light rail is operated by Polish State Railways (PKP). There are also some suburban bus lines run by private operators. Bus service covers the entire city, with approximately 170 routes totalling about , and with some 1,600 vehicles.


title: Warsaw

text: The first section of the Warsaw Metro was opened in 1995 initially with a total of 11 stations. As of 2020, it has 34 stations running a distance of approximately .


title: Warsaw

text: The main railway station is Warszawa Centralna serving both domestic traffic to almost every major city in Poland, and international connections. There are also five other major railway stations and a number of smaller suburban stations.


title: Warsaw

text: Thanks to numerous musical venues, including the "Teatr Wielki", the Polish National Opera, the Chamber Opera, the National Philharmonic Hall and the National Theatre, as well as the Roma and Buffo music theatres and the Congress Hall in the Palace of Culture and Science, Warsaw hosts many events and festivals. Among the events worth particular attention are: the International Frédéric Chopin Piano Competition, the International Contemporary Music Festival Warsaw Autumn, the Jazz Jamboree, Warsaw Summer Jazz Days, the International Stanisław Moniuszko Vocal Competition, the Mozart Festival, and the Festival of Old Music.


title: Warsaw

text: Warsaw is also considered one of the European hubs of underground electronic music with a very attractive house and techno music scene.


title: Warsaw

text: Warsaw is home to over 30 major theatres spread throughout the city, including the National Theatre (founded in 1765) and the Grand Theatre (established 1778).


title: Warsaw

text: Warsaw also attracts many young and off-stream directors and performers who add to the city's theatrical culture. Their productions may be viewed mostly in smaller theatres and "Houses of Culture" ("Domy Kultury"), mostly outside "Śródmieście" (Central Warsaw). Warsaw hosts the International Theatrical Meetings.


title: Warsaw

text: From 1833 to the outbreak of World War II, Plac Teatralny "(Theatre Square)" was the country's cultural hub and home to the various theatres. Plac Teatralny and its environs was the venue for numerous parades, celebrations of state holidays, carnival balls and concerts.


title: Warsaw

text: The main building housed the Great Theatre from 1833 to 1834, the Rozmaitości Theatre from 1836 to 1924 and then the National Theatre, the Reduta Theatre from 1919 to 1924, and from 1928 to 1939the Nowy Theatre, which staged productions of contemporary poetical drama, including those directed by Leon Schiller.


title: Warsaw

text: Nearby, in Ogród Saski (the Saxon Garden), the Summer Theatre was in operation from 1870 to 1939, and in the inter-war period, the theatre complex also included Momus, Warsaw's first literary cabaret, and Leon Schiller's musical theatre Melodram. The Wojciech Bogusławski Theatre (1922–26) was the best example of "Polish monumental theatre". From the mid-1930s, the Great Theatre building housed the Upati Institute of Dramatic Artsthe first state-run academy of dramatic art, with an acting department and a stage directing department.


title: Warsaw

text: There are over 60 museums and galleries in Warsaw which are accessible to the public. As interesting examples of expositions the most notable are: the world's first Museum of Posters boasting one of the largest collections of art posters in the world, and the Museum of the History of Polish Jews. Among the most prestigious ones are the National Museum with a collection of works whose origin ranges in time from antiquity until the present epoch as well as one of the best collections of paintings in the country including some paintings from Adolf Hitler's private collection, and the Museum of the Polish Army whose set portrays the history of arms.


title: Warsaw

text: The collections of Łazienki and Wilanów palaces focus on the paintings of the "old masters", as do those of the Royal Castle which displays the Lanckoroński Collection including two paintings by Rembrandt. The Palace in Natolin, a former rural residence of Duke Czartoryski, is another venue with its interiors and park accessible to tourists.


title: Warsaw

text: Holding Poland's largest private collection of art, the Carroll Porczyński Collection Museum displays works from such varied artists as Paris Bordone, Cornelis van Haarlem, José de Ribera, William-Adolphe Bouguereau, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Vincent van Gogh along with some copies of masterpieces of European painting.


title: Warsaw

text: A fine tribute to the fall of Warsaw and history of Poland can be found in the Warsaw Uprising Museum and in the Katyń Museum which preserves the memory of that crime. The Warsaw Uprising Museum also operates a rare preserved and operating historic stereoscopic theatre, the Warsaw Fotoplastikon. The Museum of Independence preserves patriotic and political objects connected with Poland's struggles for independence. Dating back to 1936 the Warsaw Historical Museum contains 60 rooms which host a permanent exhibition of the history of Warsaw from its origins until today.


title: Warsaw

text: The 17th century Royal Ujazdów Castle houses the Centre for Contemporary Art, with some permanent and temporary exhibitions, concerts, shows and creative workshops. The Centre realizes about 500 projects a year. The Zachęta National Gallery of Art, the oldest exhibition site in Warsaw, with a tradition stretching back to the mid-19th century organises exhibitions of modern art by Polish and International Artists and promotes art in many other ways. Since 2011, Warsaw Gallery Weekend is held on the last weekend of September.


title: Warsaw

text: The city also possesses some oddities such as the Neon Museum, the Museum of Caricature, the Museum of John Paul II and Primate Wyszyński, the Legia Warsaw Museum, and a Motorisation Museum in Otrębusy.


title: Warsaw

text: Warsaw's culinary tradition was shaped by its once multicultural population; its cuisine is distinct from that of other cities and towns in Poland. Strong Jewish and French influences were cultivated over the years, in particular herring, consommé, bagels, aspic and French meringue-based pastries or cakes. Traditional Varsovian food is hearty and includes a tripe soup for entrée, a pyza dumpling for main and the iconic wuzetka (voo-zetka) chocolate cream pie for dessert. Crayfish and fish in gelatin were the classical dishes in Warsaw's restaurants throughout the 1920s and the 1930s.


title: Warsaw

text: Much like Paris or Vienna, Warsaw once possessed a prominent café culture which dated back to the early 18th century, and the city's cafeterias were a place for socializing. The historic Wedel Chocolate Lounge on Szpitalna Street remains one of the most renowned spots for social gatherings. Cafeterias, confectioneries and patisseries such as Caffè Nero, Costa Coffee and Starbucks are predominantly found along the Royal Route on New World Street. Thousands of Warsaw's residents also flock annually to the pastry workshops ("pączkarnia") to buy pączki doughnuts on Fat Thursday.


title: Warsaw

text: Restaurants offering authentic Polish cuisine are concentrated around the Old Town district. Various spit cakes of Czech or Hungarian origin (kürtőskalács and trdelník) are also sold primarily in the Old Town. Hala Koszyki is a popular meeting place in Warsaw noted for its food hall.


title: Warsaw

text: In the 20th century, Warsaw was famed for its state-owned milk bars ("bar mleczny") which offered cheap fast food in the form of home dinners. Examples of dishes popularized by these canteens include tomato soup, schnitzels, frikadeller, mizeria salad and many others. Contemporary fast food giants like McDonald's, KFC, Subway and Burger King are the successors to milk bars, though some reemerged in recent years due to widespread nostalgia.


title: Warsaw

text: Gourmet and haute cuisine establishments are situated in the vicinity of the downtown area or in the Frascati neighbourhood. Thirteen Varsovian restaurants were appreciated by the Michelin Guide, with two receiving a michelin star in 2019.


title: Warsaw

text: In 2021, National Geographic named Warsaw one of the top cities for vegans in Europe. Śródmieście Południowe (Southern Downtown) and its "hipster food culture" was singled out as the epicenter.


title: Warsaw

text: Several commemorative events take place every year, notably the Orange Warsaw Festival featuring music concerts. One of the more popular events is the procession of the Three Wise Men (in Polish known as the Three Kings) on Epiphany, shortly after the New Year. Paper crowns are usually worn by spectators throughout the day. The event, which runs along the Royal Route, is attended by Warsaw's highest officials and by the Polish president who resides nearby.


title: Warsaw

text: Gatherings of thousands of people on the banks of the Vistula on Midsummer's Night for a festival called Wianki (Polish for "Wreaths") have also become a tradition and a yearly event in the programme of cultural events in Warsaw. The festival traces its roots to a peaceful pagan ritual where maidens would float their wreaths of herbs on the water to predict when they would be married, and to whom. By the 19th century this tradition had become a festive event, and it continues today. The city council organize concerts and other events. Each Midsummer's Eve, apart from the official floating of wreaths, jumping over fires, and looking for the fern flower, there are musical performances, dignitaries' speeches, fairs and fireworks by the river bank.


title: Warsaw

text: Warsaw Multimedia Fountain Park is located in an enchanting place, near the Old Town and the Vistula. The ‘Water – Light – Sound’ multimedia shows take place each Friday and Saturday from May until September at 9.30 pm (May and – 9 October pm). On other weekdays, the shows do not include lasers and sound.


title: Warsaw

text: The Warsaw Film festival, an annual festival that takes place every October. Films are usually screened in their original language with Polish subtitles and participating cinemas include Kinoteka (Palace of Science and Culture), Multikino at Golden Terraces and Kultura. Over 100 films are shown throughout the festival, and awards are given to the best and most popular films.


title: Warsaw

text: The mermaid ("syrenka") is Warsaw's symbol and can be found on statues throughout the city and on the city's coat of arms. This imagery has been in use since at least the mid-14th century. The oldest existing armed seal of Warsaw is from the year 1390, consisting of a round seal bordered with the Latin inscription "Sigilium Civitatis Varsoviensis" (Seal of the city of Warsaw). City records as far back as 1609 document the use of a crude form of a sea monster with a female upper body and holding a sword in its claws. In 1653 the poet Zygmunt Laukowski asks the question:


title: Warsaw

text: The Mermaid Statue stands in the very centre of Old Town Square, surrounded by a fountain. Due to vandalism, the original statue had been moved to the grounds of the Museum of Warsaw – the statue in the square is a copy.


title: Warsaw

text: This is not the only mermaid in Warsaw. Another is located on the bank of the Vistula River near Świętokrzyski Bridge and another on Karowa Street.


title: Warsaw

text: The origin of the legendary figure is not fully known. The best-known legend, by Artur Oppman, is that long ago two of Triton's daughters set out on a journey through the depths of the oceans and seas. One of them decided to stay on the coast of Denmark and can be seen sitting at the entrance to the port of Copenhagen. The second mermaid reached the mouth of the Vistula River and plunged into its waters. She stopped to rest on a sandy beach by the village of Warszowa, where fishermen came to admire her beauty and listen to her beautiful voice. A greedy merchant also heard her songs; he followed the fishermen and captured the mermaid.


title: Warsaw

text: Another legend says that a mermaid once swam to Warsaw from the Baltic Sea for the love of the Griffin, the ancient defender of the city, who was killed in a struggle against the Swedish invasions of the 17th century. The mermaid, wishing to avenge his death, took the position of defender of Warsaw, becoming the symbol of the city.


title: Warsaw

text: Every member of the Queen's Royal Hussars of the UK's light cavalry wears the "Maid of Warsaw", the crest of the City of Warsaw, on the left sleeve of his No. 2 (Service) Dress. Members of 651 Squadron Army Air Corps of the United Kingdom also wear the "Maid of Warsaw" on the left sleeve of their No. 2 (Service) Dress.


title: Warsaw

text: On 9 April 2008 the President of Warsaw, Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, obtained from the mayor of Stuttgart Wolfgang Schuster a challenge award – a commemorative plaque awarded to Warsaw as the European capital of Sport in 2008.


title: Warsaw

text: The National Stadium, a 58,580-seat-capacity football (soccer) stadium, replaced Warsaw's recently demolished 10th-Anniversary Stadium. The Stadion Narodowy hosted the opening match, two group matches, a quarter-final, and a semi-final of UEFA Euro 2012.


title: Warsaw

text: There are many sports centres in the city as well. Most of these facilities are swimming pools and sports halls, many of them built by the municipality in the past several years. The main indoor venue is Hala Torwar, used for a variety of indoor sports (it was a venue for the 2009 EuroBasket but it is also used as an indoor skating rink). There is also an open-air skating rink (Stegny) and a horse racetrack (Służewiec).


title: Warsaw

text: The best of the city's swimming centres is at Wodny Park Warszawianka, south of the centre at Merliniego Street, where there's an Olympic-sized pool as well as water slides and children's areas.


title: Warsaw

text: From the Warsovian football teams, the most famous is Legia Warsaw – the army club with a nationwide following play at Stadion Wojska Polskiego, just southeast of the centre at Łazienkowska Street. Established in 1916, they have won the country's championship fifteen times (most recently in 2021) and won the Polish Cup nineteen times. In the 1995–96 UEFA Champions League season, they reached the quarter-finals, where they lost to Greek club Panathinaikos.


title: Warsaw

text: Their local rivals, Polonia Warsaw, have significantly fewer supporters, yet they managed to win the country's championship two times (in 1946 and 2000) and won the cup twice as well. Polonia's home venue is located at Konwiktorska Street, a ten-minute walk north from the Old Town. Polonia was relegated from the country's top flight in 2013 because of their disastrous financial situation. They are now playing in the second league (3rd tier in Poland).


title: Warsaw

text: Legia Warsaw's basketball team was one of the country's best teams in 50s and 60s. They are now participating in PLK, the highest-tier level of the Polish basketball.


title: Warsaw

text: One of the most famous people born in Warsaw was Maria Skłodowska-Curie, who achieved international recognition for her research on radioactivity and was the first female recipient of the Nobel Prize. Famous musicians include Władysław Szpilman and Frédéric Chopin. Though Chopin was born in the village of Żelazowa Wola, about from Warsaw, he moved to the city with his family when he was seven months old. Casimir Pulaski, a Polish general and hero of the American Revolutionary War, was born here in 1745.


title: Warsaw

text: Tamara de Lempicka was a famous artist born in Warsaw. She was born Maria Górska in Warsaw to wealthy parents and in 1916 married a Polish lawyer Tadeusz Łempicki. Better than anyone else she represented the art deco style in painting and art.


title: Warsaw

text: Nathan Alterman, the Israeli poet, was born in Warsaw, as was Moshe Vilenski, the Israeli composer, lyricist, and pianist, who studied music at the Warsaw Conservatory. Russian Jewish poet and essayist Osip Mandelstam, one of the foremost members of the Acmeist school of poetry was born in Warsaw while it was part of the Russian Empire. Other notables include Samuel Goldwyn, the founder of Goldwyn Pictures, mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot, physicist Joseph Rotblat, biochemist Casimir Funk, and Moshe Prywes, an Israeli physician who was the first President of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev. Warsaw was the beloved city of Isaac Bashevis Singer, which he described in many of his novels: "Warsaw has just now been destroyed. No one will ever see the Warsaw I knew. Let me just write about it. Let this Warsaw not disappear forever", he wrote. Notable sportspeople born in Warsaw include footballer Robert Lewandowski and tennis player Iga Świątek.


title: Missionary position

text: The missionary position or man-on-top position is a sex position in which, generally, a woman lies on her back and a man lies on top of her while they face each other and engage in vaginal intercourse. The position may also be used for other sexual activity, such as anal sex. It is commonly associated with heterosexual sexual activity, but is also used by same-sex couples.


title: Missionary position

text: The missionary position is the most common sex position, but is not universally regarded as the most favoured one. It may involve sexual penetration or non-penetrative sex (for example, intercrural sex), and its penile-vaginal aspect is an example of ventro-ventral (front-to-front) reproductive activity. Variations of the position allow varying degrees of clitoral stimulation, depth of penetration, participation on the part of the woman, and the likelihood and speed of orgasm.


title: Missionary position

text: The missionary position is often preferred by couples who enjoy the romantic aspects of ample skin-to-skin contact and opportunities to look into each other's eyes and kiss and caress each other. The position is also believed to be a good position for reproduction. During sexual activity, the missionary position allows the man to control the rhythm and depth of pelvic thrusting. It is also possible for the woman to thrust against him by moving her hips or pushing her feet against the bed, or squeeze him closer with her arms or legs. The position is less suitable for late stages of pregnancy, or when it is desired for the woman to have greater control over rhythm and depth of penetration.


title: Missionary position

text: It is commonly believed that the term 'missionary position' arose in connection with English-speaking Christian missionaries, who supposedly encouraged the sexual position in new converts in the colonial era. However, the term probably originated from Alfred Kinsey's "Sexual Behavior in the Human Male" through a confluence of misunderstandings and misinterpretations of historical documents. The French refer to it as the 'classical' position. Tuscans refer to the position as 'the Angelic position', while some Arabic-speaking groups call it 'the manner of serpents.'


title: Missionary position

text: Before the release of Kinsey's work, the missionary position was known by several names, including 'the matrimonial', 'the Mama-Papa position', 'the English-American position', and 'the male superior position'. In 1948, Kinsey published the male volume of the Kinsey Reports, "Sexual Behavior in the Human Male". He described the American preference for the position and called it "the English-American position". Discussing Malinowski's "The Sexual Life of Savages in North-Western Melanesia", Kinsey wrote, "It will be recalled that Malinowski (1929) records the nearly universal use of a totally different position among the Trobrianders ... [and] ... that caricatures of the English-American position are performed around ... campfires, to the great amusement of the natives who refer to the position as the 'missionary position.'" , lexicographers and sexologists have not found use of the term 'missionary position' before Kinsey.


title: Missionary position

text: In 2001, Robert Priest examined the origins of the term and concluded that Kinsey had confused several factors in accidentally coining the term. First, according to Malinowski, Trobrianders played and sang mocking songs under the full moon, and not around a campfire. In "Sexual Behaviors", Kinsey wrote that the Trobrianders mocked face-to-face man-on-top woman-below intercourse, but does not give context. He mentioned that the position was learned from "white traders, planters, or officials", but does not discuss missionaries. Kinsey also recalled that the medieval Catholic Church taught the position, and upon seeing the natives mocking it, assumed that missionaries had taught it to them. Finally, Malinowski wrote that he saw an engaged Trobriand couple holding hands and leaning against each other, which the natives described as  — the 'missionary fashion'. Upon accidentally combining these similar facts, Kinsey invented a new phrase despite believing that he was reporting an old one.


title: Missionary position

text: From then on, the story of the name's origin may have been retold until it became largely accepted, with its connection to Kinsey and Malinowski having faded. Writers began using the expression for sexual intercourse in the late 1960s, and as Alex Comfort's bestseller "The Joy of Sex" (1972) and the "Oxford English Dictionary" (1976) spread the term 'missionary position', it gradually replaced older names. By the 1990s, it had spread to other languages: (German), (Spanish), (Dutch) and (French).


title: Missionary position

text: Though there are a number of variations and adoptions of the missionary position, the classic missionary position involves a man and a woman, with the woman lying on her back and the man on top. Variations in the positions may vary the angle and depth of penile penetration.


title: Missionary position

text: In the missionary position, a woman lies on her back on a bed or other surface with her legs comfortably spread with the soles of the feet resting. The penetrating partner positions himself between the woman's spread legs, and either uses his arms to hold himself up, or lets his weight rest on her. When the woman's vagina is sufficiently lubricated, which may involve fingering her vulva or clitoris in particular, the man will introduce his erect penis in her vagina for penetration, and may use fingers to open the woman's labia and guide the penis in.


title: Missionary position

text: With the penis inside the woman's vagina, the man can control the force, depth, and rhythm of thrusts, and can also control to some extent the female partner's movements. Subject to the man's weight and position, the woman may have some control by pushing her feet and legs against the mattress and by side movements in her pelvis as well as by clutching onto and moving with her partner. A woman can increase the force of a man's thrust by moving against the man's rhythm.


title: Missionary position

text: The man may straddle the woman, taking the woman's legs between his. This restricts and further controls the woman's movements, and the man can increase the tightness on the penis by pressing the woman's thighs together. However, this increases vaginal friction and makes thrusting more difficult.


title: Missionary position

text: During sexual intercourse, most women experience involuntary vaginal contractions. The contraction causes the pelvic muscles to tighten around the penis, which increases the level of her partner's arousal and sexual frenzy and results in the man increasing the pace and force of thrusts as he approaches orgasm, which in turn further increases the woman's vaginal contraction. After a man has achieved orgasm, he will normally collapse onto the woman and will normally not be capable of further thrusting. Some men try to control their orgasm until their female partner also orgasms, but this is not always achieved. At times, a woman can achieve orgasm after the man has ceased thrusting by contracting her vaginal muscles and with pelvic movements, or the couple may change to another position that enables the woman to continue thrusting until she has reached orgasm, such as a woman on top position.


title: Missionary position

text: During sexual intercourse in the missionary position, the penis is in preferential contact with the anterior wall of the vagina and the tip of the penis reaches the anterior fornix, while in the rear-entry position it is in preferential contact with the posterior wall of the vagina and probably reaches the posterior fornix.


title: Missionary position

text: A receiving woman's legs and arms are generally free to move about, though her position and movement may be constrained by the penetrating partner's weight and in some other way. A woman can adjust the position of her legs for comfort, variety and to control the angle and depth of penetration. Generally, the higher a woman's legs, the deeper is the penetration. When the legs are raised in any way, the woman has less control of the rhythm of thrusts. Also, raising the legs raises the woman's pelvis, reduces the angle of penetration, and lowers the level of clitoral stimulation.


title: Missionary position

text: A woman's legs can remain flat or raised toward her chest, or wrapped around the penetrating partner at various heights: at the back of the legs, at the buttocks or back or over the shoulders, in a position called the "Wiener Auster" or Viennese oyster. In the higher leg positions the woman's legs may need some support, which may be achieved by crossing the ankles behind the partner or resting on his shoulders. She may also hold them with her hands or cross her arms around them at the knees. Some are flexible enough to cross the legs behind their heads. Alternatively, her partner may hold her legs up.


title: Missionary position

text: A pillow or sex pillow can be used, to alter the depth and angle of penetration. A wedge- or ramp-shaped pillow can relieve pressure on the top person's hands and arms. Placing a pillow under the woman's buttocks can lift her pelvis—a "Playboy" article suggested placing it under her hips to increase pressure on the clitoris. Each of these methods can increase the depth of penetration. Using a pillow can also help the woman arch her back.


title: Missionary position

text: In one variant, the woman may lift and slightly bend her legs, resting her feet flat on the bed. This shortens the distance between the vagina and cervix, and may apply more friction to the area termed the "G-Spot." The woman may find this variant more comfortable, and it can allow her to push against the man's thrust, giving her some control over the rhythm.


title: Missionary position

text: Placing the woman's legs on or over the man's shoulders provides the deepest possible penetration. This variant is sometimes called "the anvil". This position aims the head of the penis at the vaginal fornix (posterior fornix). When the legs are held mid-level in this way, the penis can achieve significant depth while attempting to stimulate the G-Spot and achieving more friction on the top of its shaft.


title: Missionary position

text: The Viennese oyster position requires great flexibility from the woman to perform. The female lies on her back and moves her legs behind her head, with the groin area being completely exposed. The male partner penetrates the vagina from the top. This is a deep penetrating position and may not be suitable for men with larger than average penis size. However, in most cases, the female will not be flexible enough to achieve this position fully, and will need to stop well before the legs are behind the head. If that is the case, the male partner can help hold the legs in a comfortable position and continue on with intercourse.


title: Missionary position

text: In the "butterfly position", the woman can lie on her back with her hips on the edge of a platform such as a bed, table, kitchen bench, desk, etc. while the man penetrates her while standing. The woman can move her body freely. She can dangle her legs over the edge or raise them to any height or manner mentioned above. The woman can rest her legs on the man or he can hold them or separate them. The woman has a greater ability to move her pelvis and to arch her back, and the man can raise, support or restrict the movement of her pelvis. The woman is not weighed down by the man's weight. This position adds variety to the angle and depth of penetration and generally enables the man to withdraw and then fully thrust the penis, with faster and more forceful thrusts. The downside of this position is that the angle of penetration results in reduced clitoral stimulation, and the woman may need direct clitoral fingering, either by herself or by the man, to achieve orgasm. Alternatively, the woman may either arch her back or raise her torso onto her elbows or arms to reduce the angle and enhance clitoral stimulation. Also, prior to and after the man's orgasm, the man may need to lie down on the woman.


title: Missionary position

text: In the riding high missionary variant, the man enters the woman and then shifts his body up and forward toward her head. He then rocks back and forth, stimulating her clitoris with his pelvic bone, or base of his penis. This results in more consistent clitoral stimulation at the cost of a man's deep thrusting; accordingly, some men prefer to use it during only part of sex.


title: Missionary position

text: Penetrative anal sex may be performed on a partner in the missionary position. The legs may be raised high, with the knees drawn towards their chest, and with some sort of support (such as a pillow) under the receiver's hips for comfort and to raise the receiver's buttocks. The penetrating partner positions himself between the receiver's legs and aligns his penis with the anus for anal penetration. Instead of penetration, an active partner may perform anilingus on the partner with raised legs.


title: Missionary position

text: Tribadism between women may be performed in the missionary position. The practice involves women rubbing their vulvas against each other. Female couples may also engage in the missionary position while one or both partners use their fingers or sex toys for stimulation of the clitoris, other parts of the vulva, or vagina.


title: Missionary position

text: There are many appealing psychological aspects of the missionary position. It is often regarded as a romantic position because the two partners face each other and may maintain eye contact; there is potentially a greater amount of skin-to-skin contact than in any other position; and the couple can hold each other in their arms, which can easily segue into cuddling when sex is over. Partners may engage in other intimate contact, such as kissing, or guiding each other's hips with their hands.


title: Missionary position

text: At the same time, the woman needs a high level of trust in the man on top who is in a dominant position vis-a-vis the woman below. The trust is demonstrated by the woman spreading her legs in an implicit invitation for the man on top to enter the most sexually sensitive part of her body. This, as well as her lack of control, the social expectation of passivity of the woman and the possibility of pregnancy, heightens her feeling of vulnerability. Her lack of control is accentuated because once the man is in place, he is very difficult to dislodge without his co-operation. With the man's weight on the woman, especially on her pelvis, the man has control of the rhythm and depth of his thrusts, as well as the duration and intensity of the sexual activity, which may continue after the woman has orgasmed.


title: Missionary position

text: The missionary position is commonly used the first time a couple has sex. Thomas Stuttaford notes that it may be more comfortable to do so: "The discomfort of early penetrative sex, if there is any, is usually related to tension in the pelvic or thigh muscles and/or anxiety that has prevented the usual vaginal lubrication. Muscles of the pelvic floor are more relaxed if, initially, the missionary position is chosen and a couple of pillows are arranged under the woman's bottom so her hips are tilted upwards." The Lovers' Guide states that missionary lends itself well to sex with a new partner as it is "a romantic yet fairly unadventurous sex position" that is "non-threatening and loving" and "lays neither partner open to strangeness, anxiety and unfamiliarity."


title: Missionary position

text: On the other hand, Sacha Tarkovsky advises women to not use the missionary position when having sex for the first time, stating, "You are not in control, and it will be more painful and you cannot do anything but lay there and take it." Tarkovsky recommends positions such as woman on top that allow the woman to control the speed and pressure at which she loses her hymen. However, it may not be necessary to completely forgo missionary the first time; Alphonso Sirtle suggests starting with woman on top until the hymen is torn, and then possibly switching to missionary or whatever other position is preferred.


title: Missionary position

text: The missionary position allows easy entry into the vagina. The man can use force and gravity to help himself in, and the position allows the woman to relax her vaginal muscles and help her partner guide his penis gently in with her hand. Suzi Godson said, "In an observational study carried out in The Netherlands, magnetic resonance imaging was used to study the male and female genitals during coitus. The images illustrate the very natural fit of the male and female genitals in [the missionary] position. The penis has the shape of a boomerang—one third of its length consists of the root of the penis—and the vaginal walls wrap snugly around it."


title: Missionary position

text: According to Sexual Health Resource, "The man-on-top sex positions are very good for couples who are trying to have a baby, because penetration can be very deep. If the woman holds on to her legs behind her knees and draws her thighs right back, sperm can be deposited deep in the vagina—at the neck of the womb. This provided the best chance of conception occurring." Francoeur states that "male-above sex promotes fertility by keeping the opening of the vagina higher than the seminal pool, which, in turn, helps sperm get into the womb and find the egg." However, according to BabyCenter, "There is no evidence that any particular sexual position is more likely to lead to conception." Donnica Moore agrees, stating that while there are no scientific studies regarding the best sexual positions for reproduction, the missionary (man on top) position is typically considered optimal for conception.


title: Missionary position

text: Pregnancy Info states that the missionary position may become increasingly awkward for pregnant women as their belly begins to grow. The March of Dimes notes, "Positions that work before pregnancy and early in pregnancy can be uncomfortable or even unsafe at later stages of the baby's development. For example, a woman should avoid lying flat on her back after the fourth month of pregnancy, because the weight of the growing uterus puts pressure on major blood vessels." David Port states, "Beginning early in the second trimester, doctors tend to discourage pregnant women from supine exercise. And the missionary position is exactly that kind of exercise, at least if the activity lasts more than a few fleeting moments."


title: Missionary position

text: The deep penetration and large hip thrusts of the missionary position can cause the man to reach orgasm quickly compared to other positions, which can be problematic if the couple seeks to reach simultaneous orgasm. The male reaching orgasm first can be disruptive to sex, as 50% of penile erection is lost immediately after ejaculation, making him more likely to inadvertently slip out of the vagina, especially during the strong pelvic contractions of female orgasm. In addition to the standard methods for treating premature ejaculation, Zachary Veilleux notes that this problem can be overcome by workarounds such as changing positions frequently (which studies have shown delays male orgasm by a factor of 2-3), using lubrication to reduce friction (friction stimulates the male but is not as important in female orgasm), or switching to cunnilingus for a while when close to ejaculation, and then switching back when ejaculation is no longer imminent.


title: Missionary position

text: The missionary position is sometimes mocked as a plain vanilla sex position. Archer stated, "To all the sex gymnasts, this kind of banal preference looks lazy, unimaginative and uninformed," but she rebuts this by pointing out the existence of variations: "Missionary is kind of like tofu: You have to add your own flavor." Perhaps due to the ubiquity of this position, its typical role as the first position used by couples, its tendency to put the man in control of speed, tempo and depth, its ability to cause him to quickly reach orgasm, and the fact that it is literally a "male-superior" position with the man on top, missionary is sometimes associated with men who are dominating and uncreative and selfish about sex. According to Gina Ogden, "the cultural missionary position—man on top" is not conducive to romance since "If a relationship is based on authoritarian control, keeping one person on top and the other underneath, it gets old pretty fast—for both partners, really". In "Women Who Love Sex", Ogden writes, "Think what will happen to the missionary position when women, en masse, opt for pleasures that stir body and soul instead of continuing to do good-girl intercourse by the book." In Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart", the main character ridicules the idea of women making decisions by saying that one might as well say that the woman lies on top of the man when they are making the baby.


title: Missionary position

text: The missionary position has potential for clitoral stimulation in several ways. Christakos assures, "This position can give the woman plenty of clitoral stimulation if the man leans forward thus rubbing his pelvic bone against her clitoris." Emily Queenie Chung notes, "Also, this position is the easiest for a woman to stimulate her clitoris manually." Sexual Health Resource notes that also "the man can reach under and stimulate his partner using his fingers on her clitoris" although "the man has limited use of his hands" (presumably this would depend on the variant of the position used and whether the man's hands are occupied holding himself up).


title: Missionary position

text: Since in women the movements of the penis in and out do not stimulate the clitoral glans continuously, women have discovered the "rocking" movement technique. A study of over 3000 American women found that 76% of women use the technique because they find it sexually arousing, while the penis is in their vagina and barely moving, to rub their clitoris against the base of the penis. Rocking is among the techniques that allow a man to mitigate the rise of his arousal, because the penis receives little friction. Unless he suffers from premature ejaculation, he can thus prevent the orgasm in himself while promoting arousal in the woman. This technique is known as the coital alignment technique.


title: Missionary position

text: Sexual activity in the missionary position, as a form of physical exercise, may be slightly more vigorous for the man than in other positions. A study conducted by Bohlen et al. found that "man-on-top coitus required more metabolic expenditure than woman-on-top coitus" and that the heart rate during man-on-top sex was higher than in self-stimulation, partner stimulation, or woman-on-top. In contrast, one study showed that there was no difference in heart rate or blood pressure when comparing these two basic positions, while another showed only a minor decrease in oxygen consumption or exertion with the 'man-on-bottom' technique during orgasm.


title: Missionary position

text: The position has been used at least for millennia if not longer since it is also used by the great apes, as well as other primates. Robert Francoeur notes that evidence of the missionary position's use appears in ancient pottery and art in the Fertile Crescent as well as in the art of Early Greeks, Romans, Peruvians, Indians, Chinese and Japanese. The majority of the positions described in the Kama Sutra involve the woman lying on her back with her legs in a variety of positions. According to Canongate, ancient art shows missionary as being less popular than woman-on-top positions in Ur, Greece, Rome, Peru, India, China and Japan, but Francoeur states that the ancient Chinese preferred male-on-top because of their belief that males are born face down and females face up. Kagaba natives in Colombia preferred missionary because of the stability it offers; they believed that if the woman moved during intercourse, the earth would slip off the shoulders of the four giants who held it up above the waters. Some Kerala tribes believe that the male-on-top position is the only way to conceive warriors.


title: Missionary position

text: In ancient Greece, the missionary position was originally an unpopular position. Beds existed, yet not as we know them today, and men married girls 14 or 15 years of age, which created a height differential. These factors made the rear-entry standing position more convenient. However, circa the second century, Artemidos popularized the missionary position among Greco-Roman Stoics, declaring it "the only proper and natural" position due to the flow of semen.


title: Missionary position

text: Although the Bible does not mention sexual positions, from the 6th to 16th centuries, some Church authorities taught that intercourse should be face-to-face, man-on-top, primarily because they believed that semen flows with gravity, leading to conception. Exceptions were made for couples dealing with illness, obesity, or pregnancy. According to John Bancroft's "Human Sexuality and Its Problems", Thomas Aquinas believed that crimes against nature included intercourse in "unnatural" ways. Protestants did not communicate proper sex positions, and the Catholic Church eventually abandoned its discourse on the topic. Simon Hardy wrote that the missionary position was used to distinguish "bestial and civilized sex."


title: Missionary position

text: Others who held that missionary was the only permitted position included Alexander of Hales and the author of "De secretis mulierum", who suggested that nonstandard positions might result in birth defects. Ruth Mazo Karras states that William Peraldus' treatise "Summa de virtutibus et vitiis" distinguished between sins against nature that were "according to the substance" (intercourse other than vaginal) and "according to the manner, as when a woman mounts." Nicholas Venette's 1770s-era sex manual praised the missionary position as the "common posture...which is most allowable and most voluptuous." Numerous sources have reported that in the United States, some states had outlawed positions other than missionary between husband and wife, or will grant a divorce to a woman whose husband makes love to her in another position. While many states formerly outlawed oral sex, anal sex, buggery, or other "unnatural" acts, no US law has banned dorso-ventral heterosexual sex, or specified which partner needed to be on top.


title: Missionary position

text: D'Emilio and Freedman, who are historians of sexuality, note that historical use of the missionary position in the US is marked by social class as well as ethnicity. In the 19th century, white settlers and Protestant missionaries who moved West attempted to assimilate Native American, Mexican, and immigrant peoples into the sexual values held by the middle classes in the American north. These authors also note that the Kinsey studies revealed social class influences, with working class men preferring to use the missionary position over other sexual positions.


title: Missionary position

text: Among humans, the missionary position is the most commonly used sex position. In his seminal study "Sexual Behavior in the Human Female" (1953), which focused on American women, researcher Alfred Kinsey stated that 91% of married women surveyed reported using this position most often, whereas 9% reported using it exclusively. A "The Journal of Sexual Medicine" study entitled "What Kind of Erotic Film Clips Should We Use in Female Sex Research? An Exploratory Study" selected 18 film clips out of a sample of 90 that were found by the women studied to be particularly mentally appealing and visually arousing. 21% of the original 90 involved the missionary position, but 33% of the final 18 involved missionary. Fewer than 10% of sexually active persons rarely or never use the missionary position. According to Francoeur, the Brazilian Bororo Indians eschew missionary, finding it insulting for either partner to be above the other during sex. Balinese shun the man-on-top position in favor of what they call "the Oceanic position" due to their perception of the former as being impractical and clumsy. The Cashinahua people use the missionary position to stay stable when they have sex in a forest stream to avoid insect bites. The inhabitants of Inis Beag practice the missionary position exclusively, with very limited foreplay. In addition to humans, the missionary position has also been used by certain other species, including bonobos, gorillas, and armadillos.


title: Full Metal Jacket

text: Full Metal Jacket is a 1987 war drama film directed and produced by Stanley Kubrick, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Michael Herr and Gustav Hasford. The film is based on Hasford's 1979 novel "The Short-Timers" and stars Matthew Modine, Lee Ermey, Vincent D'Onofrio and Adam Baldwin.


title: Full Metal Jacket

text: The storyline follows a platoon of U.S. Marines through their boot camp training in Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, South Carolina, primarily focusing in the first half of the film on privates J.T. Davis and Leonard Lawrence, nicknamed "Joker" and "Pyle", who struggle under their abusive drill instructor Gunnery Sergeant Hartman. The second half portrays the experiences of Joker and one other of the platoon's Marines in Vietnamese cities Da Nang and Huế during the Tet Offensive of the Vietnam War. The film's title refers to the full metal jacket bullet used by military servicemen.


title: Full Metal Jacket

text: Warner Bros. released "Full Metal Jacket" in the United States on June 26, 1987. It was the last of Kubrick's films to be released during his lifetime. The film received critical acclaim, grossed $120 million against a budget of $16 million, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Kubrick, Herr, and Hasford. In 2001, the American Film Institute placed the film at number 95 in its poll titled "AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills".


title: Full Metal Jacket

text: During the Vietnam War, a group of recruits arrive at Parris Island to become Marines. Drill instructor Gunnery Sergeant Hartman uses harsh methods to turn the recruits into combat-ready Marines. Among the recruits is the overweight and dim-witted Leonard Lawrence, whom Hartman nicknames "Gomer Pyle", and the wisecracking J.T. Davis, who receives the name "Joker" after interrupting Hartman's introductory speech with an impression of John Wayne.


title: Full Metal Jacket

text: During basic training, Hartman names Joker as squad leader and puts him in charge of helping Pyle improve. One day, Hartman discovers a jelly doughnut in Pyle's footlocker, blames the platoon for Pyle's infractions, and adopts a collective punishment policy in which any infraction committed by Pyle will earn a punishment for everyone else in the platoon. One night, the recruits haze Pyle with a blanket party, in which Joker reluctantly participates. Following this, Pyle appears to reinvent himself as a model recruit, showing particular expertise in marksmanship. This pleases Hartman but worries Joker, who believes Pyle may be suffering a mental breakdown after seeing Pyle talking to his rifle. After the recruits graduate and the night before they leave Parris Island, Joker discovers Pyle in the bathroom, loading his service rifle with live ammunition, executing drill commands, and loudly reciting the Rifleman's Creed. Hartman attempts to intervene, but Pyle shoots and kills him and then commits suicide.


title: Full Metal Jacket

text: By January 1968, Joker is a sergeant and is based in Da Nang for the newspaper "Stars and Stripes" alongside his colleague Private First Class Rafterman, a combat photographer. The Tet Offensive begins and Joker's base is attacked, but holds. The following morning, Joker and Rafterman are sent to Phu Bai where Joker searches for and reunites with Sergeant "Cowboy", a friend he met at Parris Island. During the Battle of Huế, a booby trap kills the squad leader, leaving Cowboy in command. Becoming lost in the city, the squad is ambushed by a Viet Cong sniper who kills two members. As the squad moves in on the sniper's location, Cowboy is killed.


title: Full Metal Jacket

text: Assuming command, squad machine gunner "Animal Mother" leads an attack on the sniper. Joker locates her first, but his M-16 rifle jams, alerting the sniper to his presence. As the sniper opens fire, she is revealed to be a teenage girl. Rafterman shoots her, wounding her mortally. The squad discusses what to do while standing over her as she lies in pain, begging them to finish her off, and Joker does so after Animal Mother states that they will leave her if he does not. Later, as night falls, the Marines return to camp singing the "Mickey Mouse March". A narration of Joker's thoughts conveys that, despite being "in a world of shit", he is glad to be alive and no longer afraid.


title: Full Metal Jacket

text: In early 1980, Kubrick contacted Michael Herr, author of the Vietnam War memoir "Dispatches" (1977), to discuss work on a film about the Holocaust but Kubrick discarded that idea in favor of a film about the Vietnam War. Herr and Kubrick met in England; Kubrick told Herr he wanted to make a war film but had yet to find a story to adapt. Kubrick discovered Gustav Hasford's novel "The Short-Timers" (1979) while reading the "Virginia Kirkus Review". Herr received the novel in bound galleys and thought it a masterpiece. In 1982, Kubrick read the novel twice; he concluded it is "a unique, absolutely wonderful book" and decided to adapt it for his next film. According to Kubrick, he was drawn to the book's dialogue, which he found "almost poetic in its carved-out, stark quality". In 1983, Kubrick began researching for the film; he watched archival footage and documentaries, read Vietnamese newspapers on microfilm from the Library of Congress, and studied hundreds of photographs from the era. Initially, Herr was not interested in revisiting his Vietnam War experiences, and Kubrick spent three years persuading him to participate, describing the discussions as "a single phone call lasting three years, with interruptions".


title: Full Metal Jacket

text: In 1985, Kubrick contacted Hasford and invited him to join the team; he talked to Hasford by telephone three to four times a week for hours at a time. Kubrick had already written a detailed treatment of the novel, and Kubrick and Herr met at Kubrick's home every day, breaking the treatment into scenes. Herr then wrote the first draft of the film script. Kubrick worried the audience might misread the book's title as a reference to people who did only half a day's work and changed it to "Full Metal Jacket" after coming across the phrase in a gun catalogue. After the first draft was complete, Kubrick telephoned his orders to Hasford and Herr, who mailed their submissions to him. Kubrick read and edited Hasford's and Herr's submissions, and the team repeated the process. Neither Hasford nor Herr knew how much each had contributed to the screenplay, which led to a dispute over the final credits. Hasford said, "We were like guys on an assembly line in the car factory. I was putting on one widget and Michael was putting on another widget and Stanley was the only one who knew that this was going to end up being a car". Herr said Kubrick was not interested in making an anti-war film but "he wanted to show what war is like".


title: Full Metal Jacket

text: At some point, Kubrick wanted to meet Hasford in person, but Herr advised against this, describing "The Short-Timers" author as a "scary man, a big, haunted marine", and did not believe Hasford and Kubrick would "get on". Kubrick, however, insisted on the meeting, which occurred at Kubrick's house in England. The meeting went poorly, and Hasford did not meet with Kubrick again.


title: Full Metal Jacket

text: Through Warner Bros., Kubrick advertised a casting search in the United States and Canada; he used videotape to audition actors and received over 3,000 submissions. Kubrick's staff screened the tapes, leaving 800 of them for him to review.


title: Full Metal Jacket

text: Former U.S. Marine drill instructor Ermey was originally hired as a technical advisor. Ermey asked Kubrick if he could audition for the role of Hartman. Kubrick, who had seen Ermey's portrayal of drill instructor Staff Sergeant Loyce in "The Boys in Company C" (1978), told Ermey he was not vicious enough to play the character. Ermey improvised insulting dialogue against a group of Royal Marines who were being considered for the part of background Marines, to demonstrate his ability to play the character and to show how a drill instructor breaks down individuality in new recruits. Upon viewing the videotape of these sessions, Kubrick gave Ermey the role, realizing he "was a genius for this part". Kubrick incorporated the 250-page transcript of Ermey's rants into the script. Ermey's experience as a drill instructor during the Vietnam War proved invaluable; Kubrick estimated Ermey wrote 50% of his character's dialogue, particularly the insults.


title: Full Metal Jacket

text: While Ermey practiced his lines in a rehearsal room, Kubrick's assistant Leon Vitali would throw tennis balls and oranges at him, which Ermey had to catch and throw back as quickly as possible while saying his lines as fast as he could. Any hesitation, slip, or missed line would necessitate starting over. Twenty error-free runs were required. "[He] was my drill instructor", Ermey said of Vitali.


title: Full Metal Jacket

text: Eight months of negotiations to cast Anthony Michael Hall as Private Joker were unsuccessful. Val Kilmer was also considered for the role, and Bruce Willis turned down a role due to filming commitments of his television series "Moonlighting". Kubrick called Ed Harris on the phone to offer him the role of Gunnery Sergeant Hartman, but Harris declined it, a decision which he later called "foolish". Bill McKinney was also considered for that role. Denzel Washington wanted to be in the film, but Kubrick did not send him a script.


title: Full Metal Jacket

text: Kubrick filmed "Full Metal Jacket" in England in 1985 and 1986. Scenes were filmed in Cambridgeshire, the Norfolk Broads, in eastern London at Millennium Mills and Beckton Gas Works in Newham, and in the Isle of Dogs. Bassingbourn Barracks, a former Royal Air Force station and then British Army base, was used as the Parris Island Marine boot camp. A British Army rifle range near Barton, Cambridge, was used for the scene in which Hartman congratulates Private Pyle for his shooting skills. Kubrick worked from still photographs of Huế taken in 1968; he found an area owned by British Gas that closely resembled it and was scheduled to be demolished. The disused Beckton Gas Works, a few miles from central London, was filmed to depict Huế after attacks. Kubrick had buildings blown up, and the film's art director used a wrecking ball to knock specific holes in some buildings for two months. Kubrick had a plastic replica jungle flown in from California but once he saw it dismissed the idea, saying; "I don't like it. Get rid of it." The open country scenes were filmed at marshland in Cliffe-at-Hoo and along the River Thames; locations were supplemented with 200 imported Spanish palm trees and 100,000 plastic tropical plants from Hong Kong.


title: Full Metal Jacket

text: Kubrick acquired four M41 tanks from a Belgian army colonel who was an admirer. Westland Wessex helicopters, which have a much longer and less-rounded nose than that of the Vietnam era H-34, were painted Marine green to represent Marine Corps Sikorsky H-34 Choctaw helicopters. Kubrick obtained a selection of rifles, M79 grenade launchers, and M60 machine guns from a licensed weapons dealer.


title: Full Metal Jacket

text: Modine described the filming as difficult; Beckton Gas Works was a toxic environment for the film crew, being contaminated with asbestos and hundreds of other chemicals. During the boot camp sequence of the film, Modine and the other recruits underwent Marine Corps training, during which Ermey yelled at them for 10 hours a day while filming the Parris Island scenes. To ensure the actors' reactions to Ermey's lines were as authentic and fresh as possible, Ermey and the recruits did not rehearse together. For film continuity, each recruit had his head shaved once a week.


title: Full Metal Jacket

text: While filming, Ermey had a car accident and broke several ribs, making him unavailable for four and a half months. During Cowboy's death scene, a building that resembles the alien monolith in Kubrick's "" (1968) is visible, which Kubrick described as an "extraordinary accident".


title: Full Metal Jacket

text: During filming, Hasford contemplated taking legal action over the writing credits. Originally, the filmmakers intended Hasford to receive an "additional dialogue" credit but he fought for and eventually received full credit. Hasford and two friends visited the set dressed as extras but was mistaken by a crew member for Herr. Hasford identified himself as the writer upon whose work the film is based.


title: Full Metal Jacket

text: Kubrick's daughter Vivian, who appears uncredited as a news camera operator, shadowed the filming of "Full Metal Jacket". She filmed 18 hours of behind-the-scenes footage for a potential "making-of" documentary that went unmade. Sections of her work can be seen in the documentary "Stanley Kubrick's Boxes" (2008).


title: Full Metal Jacket

text: Michael Pursell's essay ""Full Metal Jacket": The Unravelling of Patriarchy" (1988) was an early, in-depth consideration of the film's two-part structure and its criticism of masculinity, saying the film shows "war and pornography as facets of the same system".


title: Full Metal Jacket

text: Most reviews have focused on military brainwashing themes in the boot camp section of the film while seeing the content in the film's latter half as more confusing and disjointed. Rita Kempley of "The Washington Post" wrote, "it's as if they borrowed bits of every war movie to make this eclectic finale". Roger Ebert saw in the film an attempt to tell a story of individual characters and the war's effects on them. According to Ebert, the result is a shapeless film that feels "more like a book of short stories than a novel". Julian Rice, in his book "Kubrick's Hope" (2008), saw the second part of the film as a continuation of Joker's psychic journey in his attempt to understand human evil.


title: Full Metal Jacket

text: Tony Lucia, in his 1987 review of "Full Metal Jacket" for the "Reading Eagle", examined the themes of Kubrick's career, suggesting "the unifying element may be the ordinary man dwarfed by situations too vast and imposing to handle". Lucia refers to the "military mentality" in this film and also said the theme covers "a man testing himself against his own limitations", and concluded: ""Full Metal Jacket" is the latest chapter in an ongoing movie which is not merely a comment on our time or a time past, but on something that reaches beyond".


title: Full Metal Jacket

text: British critic Gilbert Adair wrote, "Kubrick's approach to language has always been reductive and uncompromisingly deterministic in nature. He appears to view it as the exclusive product of environmental conditioning, only very marginally influenced by concepts of subjectivity and interiority, by all the whims, shades and modulations of personal expression".


title: Full Metal Jacket

text: Michael Herr wrote of his work on the screenplay, "The substance was single-minded, the old and always serious problem of how you put into a film or a book the living, behaving presence of what Jung called The Shadow, the most accessible of archetypes, and the easiest to experience ... War is the ultimate field of Shadow-activity, where all of its other activities lead you. As they expressed it in Vietnam, 'Yea, though I walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I will fear no Evil, for I the Evil'."


title: Full Metal Jacket

text: Kubrick's daughter Vivian, under the alias "Abigail Mead", wrote the film's score. According to an interview in the January 1988 issue of "Keyboard", the film was scored mostly with a Series III edition Fairlight CMI synthesizer and a Synclavier. For the period music, Kubrick went through "Billboard" list of Top 100 Hits for each year from 1962 to 1968 and tried many songs but found "sometimes the dynamic range of the music was too great, and we couldn't work in dialogue".


title: Full Metal Jacket

text: A single titled "Full Metal Jacket (I Wanna Be Your Drill Instructor)", credited to Mead and Nigel Goulding, was released to promote the film and incorporates Ermey's drill cadences from the film. The single reached Number 1 in Ireland, Number 2 in the UK, Number 4 in both the Netherlands and the Flanders region of Belgium, Number 8 in West Germany, Number 11 in Sweden, and Number 29 in New Zealand.


title: Full Metal Jacket

text: "Full Metal Jacket" received a limited release on June 26, 1987, in 215 theaters. During its opening weekend, it accrued $2.2 million, an average of $10,313 per theater, ranking it the number 10 film for the weekend June 26–28. It took a further $2 million for a total of $5.7 million before being widely released in 881 theaters on July 10, 1987. The weekend of July 10–12 saw the film gross $6.1 million, an average of $6,901 per theater, and rank as the second-highest-grossing film. Over the next four weeks the film opened in a further 194 theaters to its widest release of 1,075 theaters; it closed two weeks later with a total gross of $46.4 million, making it the twenty-third-highest-grossing film of 1987. , the film had grossed $120 million worldwide.


title: Full Metal Jacket

text: "Full Metal Jacket" was released on Blu-ray on October 23, 2007. Warner Home Video released a 25th anniversary edition on Blu-ray on August 7, 2012.


title: Full Metal Jacket

text: Warner released the film on 4K Ultra HD in the UK on September 21, 2020, and in the U.S. on the following day. Other regions were slated for an October release. The 4K UHD release uses a new HDR remastered native 2160p that was transferred from the original 35mm negative, which was supervised by Kubrick's personal assistant Leon Vitali. It contains the remixed audio and, for the first time since the original DVD release, the theatrical mono mix. The release was a critical success; publications praised its image and audio quality, calling the former exceptionally good and faithful to the original theatrical release, and Kubrick's vision while noting the lack of new extras and bonus content. A collector's edition box set of this 4K UHD version was released with different cover art, a replica theatrical poster of the film, a letter from director Stanley Kubrick, and a booklet about the film's production among other extras.


title: Full Metal Jacket

text: Review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes retrospectively collected reviews to give the film a score of 90% based on reviews from 84 critics and an average rating of 8.30/10. The summary states; "Intense, tightly constructed, and darkly comic at times, Stanley Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket" may not boast the most original of themes, but it is exceedingly effective at communicating them". Another aggregator, Metacritic, gave it a score of 76 out of 100 based on 19 reviews, which indicates a "generally favorable" response. Reviewers generally reacted favorably to the cast—Ermey in particular— and the film's first act about recruit training. Several reviews, however, were critical of the latter part of the film, which is set in Vietnam, and what was considered a "muddled" moral message in the finale.


title: Full Metal Jacket

text: Richard Corliss of "Time" called the film a "technical knockout", praising "the dialogue's wild, desperate wit; the daring in choosing a desultory skirmish to make a point about war's pointlessness", and "the fine, large performances of almost every actor", saying Ermey and D'Onofrio would receive Oscar nominations. Corliss appreciated "the Olympian elegance and precision of Kubrick's filmmaking". "Empire"s Ian Nathan awarded the film three stars out of five, saying it is "inconsistent" and describing it as "both powerful and frustratingly unengaged". Nathan said after the opening act, which focuses on the recruit training, the film becomes "bereft of purpose"; nevertheless, he summarized his review by calling it a "hardy Kubrickian effort that warms on you with repeated viewings" and praised Ermey's "staggering performance". Vincent Canby of "The New York Times" called the film "harrowing, beautiful and characteristically eccentric". Canby echoed praise for Ermey, calling him "the film's stunning surprise ... he's so good—so obsessed—that you might think he wrote his own lines". Canby said D'Onofrio's performance should be admired and described Modine as "one of the best, most adaptable young film actors of his generation", and concluded "Full Metal Jacket" is "a film of immense and very rare imagination".


title: Full Metal Jacket

text: Jim Hall, writing for Film4 in 2010, awarded the film five stars out of five and added to the praise for Ermey, saying his "performance as the foul-mouthed Hartman is justly celebrated and it's difficult to imagine the film working anything like as effectively without him". The review preferred the opening training segment to the later Vietnam sequence, calling it "far more striking than the second and longer section". Hall commented the film ends abruptly but felt "it demonstrates just how clear and precise the director's vision could be when he resisted a fatal tendency for indulgence". Hall concluded; ""Full Metal Jacket" ranks with "Dr. Strangelove" as one of Kubrick's very best". Jonathan Rosenbaum of the "Chicago Reader" called it "Elliptical, full of subtle inner rhymes ... and profoundly moving, this is the most tightly crafted Kubrick film since "Dr. Strangelove", as well as the most horrific". "Variety" called the film an "intense, schematic, superbly made" drama that is "loaded with vivid, outrageously vulgar military vernacular that contributes heavily to the film's power" but said it never develops "a particularly strong narrative". The cast performances were all labeled "exceptional"; Modine was singled out as "embodying both what it takes to survive in the war and a certain omniscience". Gilbert Adair, writing for "Full Metal Jacket", commented; "Kubrick's approach to language has always been of a reductive and uncompromisingly deterministic nature. He appears to view it as the exclusive product of environmental conditioning, only very marginally influenced by concepts of subjectivity and interiority, by all whims, shades and modulations of personal expression".


title: Full Metal Jacket

text: "Chicago Sun-Times" critic Roger Ebert called "Full Metal Jacket" "strangely shapeless" and awarding it two and a half stars out of four. Ebert called it "one of the best-looking war movies ever made on sets and stage" but said this was not enough to compete with the "awesome reality of "Platoon", "Apocalypse Now" and "The Deer Hunter"". Ebert criticized the film's Vietnam-set second act, saying the "movie disintegrates into a series of self-contained set pieces, none of them quite satisfying" and concluded the film's message is "too little and too late", having been done by other Vietnam War films. Ebert praised Ermey and D'Onofrio, saying "these are the two best performances in the movie, which never recovers after they leave the scene". Ebert's review angered Gene Siskel on their television show "At The Movies"; he criticized Ebert for liking "Benji the Hunted" more than "Full Metal Jacket". "Time Out London" disliked the film, saying "Kubrick's direction is as steely cold and manipulative as the régime it depicts", and that the characters are underdeveloped, adding "we never really get to know, let alone care about, the hapless recruits on view".


title: Full Metal Jacket

text: British television channel Channel 4 voted "Full Metal Jacket" fifth on its list of the greatest war films ever made. In 2008, "Empire" placed the film at number 457 on its list of "The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time". In 2010, "The Guardian" ranked it 19th on its list of the "25 best action and war films of all time". The film is ranked 95 on the American Film Institute's 100 Years... 100 Thrills list, which was published in 2001.


title: Full Metal Jacket

text: Between 1987 and 1989, "Full Metal Jacket" was nominated for 11 awards, including an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, two BAFTA Awards for Best Sound and Best Special Effects, and a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor for Ermey. It won five awards, including three from overseas; Best Foreign Language Film from the Japanese Academy, Best Producer from the Academy of Italian Cinema, Director of the Year at the London Critics Circle Film Awards, and Best Director and Best Supporting Actor at the Boston Society of Film Critics Awards for Kubrick and Ermey respectively. Of the five awards it won, four were awarded to Kubrick and the other was given to Ermey.


title: Full Metal Jacket

text: Film scholar Greg Jenkins has analyzed the adaptation of the novel as a screenplay. The novel is in three parts and the film greatly expands the relatively brief first section about the boot camp on Parris Island and essentially discards Part III. This gives the film a twofold structure, telling two largely independent stories that are connected by the same characters. Jenkins said this structure is a development of concepts Kubrick originally discussed in the 1960s, when he talked about wanting to explode the usual conventions of narrative structure.


title: Full Metal Jacket

text: Sergeant Hartman, who is renamed from the book's Gerheim, has an expanded role in the film. Private Pyle's incompetence is presented as weighing negatively on the rest of the platoon; unlike those in the novel, he is the only under-performing recruit. The film omits Hartman's disclosure he thinks Pyle might be mentally unstable—a "Section 8"—to the other troops; instead, Joker questions Pyle's mental state. In contrast, Hartman praises Pyle, saying he is "born again hard". Jenkins says that portraying Hartman as having a warmer social relationship with the troops would have upset the balance of the film, which depends on the spectacle of ordinary soldiers coming to grips with Hartman as a force of nature who embodies a killer culture.


title: Full Metal Jacket

text: Some scenes in the book were removed from the screenplay or conflated with others. For example, Cowboy's introduction of the "Lusthog Squad" was markedly shortened and supplemented with material from other sections of the book. Although the book's third section was largely omitted, elements from it were inserted into other parts of the film. For instance, the climactic episode with the sniper is a conflation of two sections of Parts II and III of the book. According to Jenkins, the film presents this passage more dramatically but in less gruesome detail than the novel.


title: Full Metal Jacket

text: The film often has a more tragic tone than the book, which relies on callous humor. In the film, Joker remains a model of humane thinking, as evidenced by his moral struggle in the sniper scene and elsewhere. Joker works to overcome his own meekness rather than compete with other Marines. The film omits Joker's eventual domination over Animal Mother shown in the book.


title: Full Metal Jacket

text: The film also omits Rafterman's death; according to Jenkins, this allows viewers to reflect on Rafterman's personal growth and speculate on his future growth after the war.