Directed by Francis Ford Coppola
Written by Francis Ford Coppola and John Milius
1979/US
IMDb page
One of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
Willard: If that’s how Kilgore fought the war, I began to wonder what they really had against Kurtz. It wasn’t just insanity and murder; there was enough of that to go around for everyone.
Fabulous photography, thought-provoking story and fine acting make this one of the greatest anti-war movies.
World-weary Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) is assigned a top-secret mission to “terminate with extreme prejudice” rogue Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando) who has developed a cult like following deep in the jungle of Viet Nam.
Willard travels upstream on a patrol boat through horrible carnage and bombing. We get to know and like the young crew which gets picked off one by one.
Willard’s own mental state is fragile. As he travels down the river amid surreal scenes of American pop culture and horrible suffering, Willard comes to understand Kurtz. This sets up the tension in the third act about whether Willard will be able to carry out his mission or will join Kurtz in the heart of darkness. With fabulous performances by Dennis Hopper as a Kurtzian photojournalist, Robert Duvall as a surf-obsessed airborne officer, and Frederick Forrest and Laurence Fishburne as crew members.
I was not exactly in the mood to watch a film about man’s inhumanity to man. But as soon as I was into it, I was more impressed with its amazing technical accomplishments and genius than on previous viewings. A masterpiece.
Vittorio Storaro won an Academy Award for his fabulous cinematography. The film was nominated in the categories of Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Robert Duvall), and Best Adapted Screenplay.
Yeah, it is a tough movie to get through but undeniably a master piece. Which version were you watching ?
I’m not a hundred per cent sure but I think it was the original theatrical version. Matched the minutes shown on IMDb.
It is a great movie, of course, but also one that I find difficult to want to watch. It’s not one I gravitate to, but honestly, that’s true of war movies in general these days.
It was hard for me too. It is so brutal and cruel. But man oh man it is the Citizen Kane of anti-war movies. There was really little more to say after this one.
We were just talking about revisiting “Apocalypse Now” but I can’t imagine watching it on the small screen.
I watched on the 50 inch smart TV in my rental apartment. It dazzles there too but this was really made for a big screen and a powerful sound system. I wonder why I can sit through the carnage in this where the sheer amount of gore would turn me completely off where here it didn’t affect me that way. I think it is the sheer outrageous audaciousness and surrealism of the distances the viewer a bit. (Except for the water buffalo slaughter YUCK). One of those rare films that perfectly achieves what it set out to do. I think it might be Coppola’s best film. Or in a close tie with The Conversation.
A 50 inch smart TV is well on the way to a big screen. I do remember the sound was a huge part of the impact.