The actor, 65, expressed his frustration with Amazon Prime after noticing significant changes to the poster for Stanley Kubrick’s 1987 classic, in which he played Marine James T. ‘Joker’ Davis.
The film is available to rent on Amazon Prime, but looks very different on the streaming service.
The original poster – which has adorned countless dorm rooms and frat house walls – features a battle helmet with the words ‘born to kill’ written in marker.
The version on the streaming service does not feature the slogan, but depicts a plain helmet – much to the confusion of fans of the film and Modine himself.
The actor posted about his displeasure with the changes in X, angering many fans. He wrote: ‘Who decided to delete “BORN TO KILL?” Not only did they modify a piece of fine art by Philip Castle, but they completely misunderstood the point of it.’
He then summarized the moment in the film that the poster referenced, explaining that his character wears a helmet with the words ‘BORN TO KILL’ and a peace pin at the same time. Joker personally explains at one point that he uses this apparent contradiction to symbolize the ‘duality of humanity.’
The film follows Modine’s character as he trains to become an American GI in the Vietnam war.
When asked about the pin and helmet by the officer, the Joker explained that it was a reference to ‘man’s duality. Jungian thing, sir,’- psychologist Carl Jung theory that every good quality has its opposite and equally bad.
Many fans rallied behind Modine, agreeing that converting the original artwork was one big step by Amazon.
User X @HvyMtLHippieSyL wrote: ‘It’s sad that so many are censored because “people will be offended.” Sometimes you have to be offended to get a point across.’
User @Aristos_Revenge agreed, writing: ‘That’s too stupid to delete, it takes away from how much the cover communicates the meaning of the film, and it’s not like PG to begin with.’
@DaytonCostlow posted: ‘As a Marine, this is insulting. Whoever did this clearly has no basic love of movies, let alone any understanding of the dialogue. You are a legend Matthew and we love you.’
The reasoning behind Amazon Prime’s decision to alter the poster remains unclear, but following the backlash, the streaming service seems to have returned the poster to its original form on the site.
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