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STARSHIP TROOPERS (1997)
Futuristic tale of teens joining the military to fight off alien bugs. No induction haircut scenes in this movie, but lead actor Casper Van Dien (pictured left) has a nice short haircut that's neatly parted on the side throughout. As for the movie itself, if you like machine-gunning big bugs -- suffice to say you will love this movie. It's guaranteed that you've never seen so much machine-gunning of big bugs in your entire life.

STRIPES (1981)
Be all that you can be! Bill Murray and Harold Ramis join the army. In the barbershop, we see a row of recruits in chairs, getting their induction cuts, including John Candy (pictured) and Judge Reinhold. The camera pans over them during the cuts, then we see a fearful Murray and Ramis waiting on line. We don't see their cuts. Next scene shows everyone outside the barbershop, adjusting to their new cuts, which are something of a letdown. They're all above the ears, but not nearly short enough (except Candy's, for some reason). Totally unrealistic, since the army shaves recruits almost bald, but the movie is funny, and the scene is worth watching.

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TAPS (1981)
Wildly implausible tale of a group of rebellious young cadets who take over a military academy to prevent it from being closed. Movie features three actors who would later become major stars: Tom Cruise, Sean Penn and Timothy Hutton.The haircuts on most of the cast in this movie are NOT of genuine military-school caliber, with the exception of a very young Cruise, who plays an intense cadet with a nice buzzcut (pictured right). Also starring George C. Scott as the school's headmaster. SEE ALSO: Cruise in "Top Gun," listed below.

THIS BOY'S LIFE (B&W-1993)
Leonardo DiCaprio's mom doesn't mind his long greaser haircut, but when she remarries domineering Robert De Niro, they move to the small town of Concrete, and it's off to the Concrete barber shop for young Leonardo (pictured). The scene is brief, but memorable. "There," Deniro tells the freshly-cut Leonardo, "Now you look like a Concrete boy!" Apparently DeNiro forces Leonardo to visit the barber shop often, as his hair is kept in a well-trimmed flat top. By the end of the movie, though, time has passed and it's back to long and greasy—and, unfortunately (for haircut fans anyway) DeNiro gets dumped by Leonardo's mom.
 

THIS IS ELVIS (1981)
A cheezy docu-drama of Presley's life that mixes real footage with reenactments. The highlight: The King was drafted in March 1958, and we see real footage of Elvis getting his actual induction haircut -- a flattop buzzcut. Since real-looking haircuts can't be faked, all movie haircuts are "real," but this one is REALLY real! In fact, it's quite possibly the most famous real-life haircut in military history! This documentary contains a 10-second scene showing a buzzer being applied to the side and back of Elvis' head as he sits in the barber's chair, then we see him out of the chair, rubbing the top of his new crewcut.There's an Elvis song playing over the soundtrack, so we don't get to hear the actual words Elvis said during his induction haircut: "Hair today, gone tomorrow." SEE ALSO: "Elvis," starring Kurt Russell.

TIGERLAND (1999)
A group of recruits goes through Advanced Infantry Training at Fort Polk, Louisiana's infamous Tigerland, the last stop before Vietnam for tens of thousands of young men in 1971. This documentary-style film has no barbershop or haircut scenes, but most of the cast has regulation cuts.

TOO YOUNG THE HERO (1988)
Rick Schroder (pictured before the haircut) in the true story of Calvin Graham, who joined the Navy during World War II at age 12. In spite of his young age, he received a purple heart for his bravery in the battle of Guadalcanal. Schroder has a standard boy's Ivy League-ish cut when he joins. The great induction-haircut scene shows him waiting on line, then feeling his freshly-buzzed crewcut with a bewildered look after he gets out of the barber's chair.
 

TOP GUN (1986)
Stars Tom Cruise as Maverick, a pilot who is sent to Top Gun Naval Flying School. No haircut scenes, just the famous slick, side-parted taper haircuts of Cruise, and the slightly punkish look of co-star Val Kilmer, known in this movie as Iceman (both stars pictured). At the time, 1986, the cuts in this movie were considered shockingly short! SEE ALSO: Cruise in "Taps."

TRIBES (1970 - TV movie) (FIVE STAR CLASSIC!)
A hippie is drafted into the Marines. It opens with a 100% accurate induction-haircut scene. All recruits are shown standing in line with very nervous expressions, and shown almost throughout their induction haircuts. Better still, it's set in the 60's, and they all have -- HAD --very long hair. Main character Adrian Stone (Jan-Michael Vincent) is a flower child with shoulder-length blonde hair parted in the middle. Watching him get his head totally shaved is a rare treat. Several boot camp haircuts are shown in their (almost) entirety. The entire scene lasts just over two minutes, but it's so good it seems like hours. JMV remains bald throughout the movie, but in flashbacks he remembers scenes of himself and his girlfriend frolicking in a field. In the flashbacks, he's the perfect hippie. Then we return to the "present," and he's a totally bald Marine recruit again. Has to be seen to be believed. May never be topped. A true haircut classic, rivaled only by "Full Metal Jacket."
 

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WALKING ACROSS EGYPT (1999)
Jonathan Taylor Thomas (Home Improvement) gets a home haircut from grandma (Ellen Burstyn) in this direct-to-video coming of age story. The haircut scene (pictured) is very brief, and no real haircutting action is shown. But as you can see, JTT looks a whole lot better afterwards. Hey Grandma, what about them sideburns? Isn't it just like a woman barber to screw them up?

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