Apocalypse Now Reviews

I am not completely sure whether to say this is Francis Ford Coppola's best work or not but it is up there with his best. It is a truly harrowing masterwork with nothing to criticise.

Apocalypse Now is filled with memorable, mystical images, helped by the wonderful cinematography, splendid effects and authentic sceneries. The music is superb, the script is wonderful, I especially loved Robert Duvall's "I love the smell of napalm first thing in the morning", the story is always compelling and the film is brilliantly directed by Coppola. Apocalypse Now is long, but it is never boring.

The acting is excellent, Marlon Brando especially is unforgettable, and Martin Sheen, Robert Duvall and Dennis Hopper adeptly support him. Overall, this is harrowing I warn you but it is a brilliant film regardless. 10/10 Bethany Cox

I already saw this movie but since it was a while back, I was quite eager to check it out again. I wish I saw this time the Final Cut but I saw (again) the Redux version but maybe I will buy the Final Cut at some point. Anyway, eventually, it is rather difficult to judge this movie without thinking about how messed up the production was. Indeed, the behind-scenes details have become pretty much as famous as the movie itself but we shouldn’t forget that this flick was on its own quite brilliant already. Through the years, the Vietnam war has been a big source of inspiration for the American directors and, in this genre, it must be one of the best (I still prefer ‘Platoon’ though). To be honest, it is not the easiest film to digest but, after multiple re-watches, there are still many things to get from it. However, after rewatching it again and rewatching the longest version on top of that, I was rather surprised by easily it went down this time around and I was probably even more fascinated by the damned thing. Seriously, pretty much right from the intro with ‘The End’ by the Doors, I was actually already pretty much hooked and, even if this movie is not flawless, there are some many iconic and unforgettable scenes though. Eventually, for Coppola, who spent 16 gruling months shooting this flick, spending pretty much all his money, losing about 45 kilos while filming, even threatening suicide several times during the making of the film, it seems that the film permanently burned him creatively and, unfortunately, he never managed to make again something so amazing during the next 35 years. Anyway, to conclude, it is a rare movie I enjoy more each time I watch it, it is pretty much a classic and a must see for any decent movie lovers.

Apocalypse Now is more clearly than ever one of the key films of the century. Most films are lucky to contain a single great sequence. Apocalypse Now strings together one after another, with the river journey as the connecting link...Apocalypse Now is more than the greatest Vietnam film ever made, more than the best war film period; it is a document of a part of man that no amount of conditioning and evolution will ever fully eradicate, and it's a beast that can emerge with only a strong push.
In contrast to Coppola's earlier The Godfather Part II and The Conversation, Apocalypse Now isn't a conspicuously ‘smart' film: literary references aside, there are no intellectual pretensions here. Instead, as befits both its tortuous hand-to-mouth genesis and the devastating conflict it reflects, this is a film of pure sensation, dazzling audiences with light and noise, laying bare the stark horror – and unimaginable thrill – of combat. And therein lies the true heart of darkness: if war is hell and heaven intertwined, where does morality fit in? And, in the final apocalyptic analysis, will any of it matter?

With the opening words of Martin Sheen, we are plunged into the terror & the darkness which refuses to let us go and with the ending words of Marlon Brando, we can safely say that the terror has been killed and lifted and now we can feel the punch Apocalypse Now gave us at the starting!

Now, how can a film, released near the end of the 70's, put a shame to all the films that were released in the 70's! Apocalypse Now is a master of a film directed by the 'the one' director, Francis Ford Coppola. As in his previous two films, The Godfather & The Godfather Part II, Apocalypse Now had that unmistakable 'mustard layer' and the 'gritty atmosphere' which I think is his trademark. Anyways, How often do you see a movie in which Marlon Brando is overshadowed by someone else? Just when I was starting to think that no actor could ever do that, Martin Sheen stepped in and proved me wrong. I've always been a major fan of Martin Sheen and have seen many of his movies but this one is his most best! The opening monologue of "I'm still stuck in Saigon" is arguably the second greatest opening scene I've seen and the narration is great.

This film reminded me alot of Aguirre, The Wrath Of God and I wasn't surprised since Apocalypse Now had taken direct influences from Aguirre (the narrations, lenghty river scenes with jungles, arrows) and I'm surprised that how come a film, which has clearly taken influences, turned out to be better than the film It was influenced by. Maybe It was because of the cast? Or maybe the violent nature and disturbing scenes? Whatever the reason might be, this film is solely for those people who like long lenghty scenes (with or without dialogues) and those who like war movies not led by acting or dialogues, but rather led by amazing cinematography and the realism of it without trying too hard. Like I said before, this film is only for selected audiences only and If you don't think you can watch a movie like this, then pass this one off!

Well..what can you write about the best anti-war movie of all time?
First of all the film is a war epic, with a strong antiwar message and sublime scenes. The chaos, misinformation, madness and horror of Vietnam are presented in their entirety over the celluloid. The movie however did not stop there, but slowly turns into a surreal nightmare to study the impact of war on the psychology of every soldier to end up as the ultimate definition of horror.


Captain Willard begins by saying that he tells the story of Vietnam through of his own story.Everyone can say only his own story, which always takes place at a specific time.Well..Who has the knowledge of the whole story to describe it?
Is a modern Odysseus,he passes a series of adventure and remains silent and enigmatic,until he reach his Ithaca,up to atone for what he has lived. Be redeemed or reach its own tipping point and break once and for all?
The screenshots in this impeccable three-hour film intact to the horrors of war, at political, philosophical, and especially in human terms. 'From the fury of the corrupt rulers in power, the merciless slaughter of soldiers who has been participated voluntarely, almost hypnotized,as the internal conflict and dissolution to bring the king of horror.The war is for everyone equally destructive and merciless.


The other big point are the performances.First of all the amazing silently and enigmaticaly Martin Sheen,gives to his character the face of Odysseus.Robert Duvall,an amazing actor in one of his best performances.And the secondary roles,Lawrence Fishburne,Sam Bottoms,Frederic Forrest and Albert Hall,have all a story to tell and show the madnesss of the war.Very good and the "crazy" Dennis Hopper.Everybody lost their mind there.
But the big star is one:Marlon Brando.Horror and madness in this masterpiece have a name and is Colonel Walter E. Kurtz.He has founded a new nation in Cambodia. He has totally lost track of the imperialist image. He has traumatical experiences from the destructives wars.He finds the solution only by himself.This different kind of persona scare both genuine imperial princes and send the captain a secret mission.
The performance of Marlon Brando is brilliantly amazing.You feel scary only by watching him.


It is a long movie..but you have not to be worry because Apocalypse Now is a experience you must live.

Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Harrison Ford, Lauren Fishbourne, and Denis Hopper. Let that sink in for a little. Francis Ford Coppola writes and directs another epic tail. Apocalypse Now comes at you with action, drama, and top notch acting. The cinematography was probably some of the best I have ever seen.

Robert Duvall stole the show in this movie. He was pretty much the most impressive of the group. Martin Sheen was good in a lead narrating role. Marlon Brando was playing a weird poet, and like usually was awesome. Denis Hopper brougt some comedy to the stage and was also the other most impressive.

The screenplay and writing was awesome. Some dark humor was hiding in the quick dialouge. The story was told in a very slow matter but for me it was it wasn't that slow, and really I was impressive how great the story really was and how the writing was.

This movie is very epic, and will not put you to sleep I will tell you that. I loved it a lot, I kind of thought I would. It clocks in at 3 hours and 20 minutes, but to me that is OK and it is actually harder to write movies that long, don't pass it up.

Don't know what to think of this movie exactly. Beautiful and awful story, great characters...but being so distant from that kind of human condition makes me thoughtful and insecure.

''I love the smell of napalm in the morning. You know, one time we had a hill bombed, for 12 hours. When it was all over, I walked up. We didn't find one of 'em, not one stinkin' dink body. The smell, you know that gasoline smell, the whole hill. Smelled like victory. Someday this war's gonna end...''

During the on-going Vietnam War, Captain Willard is sent on a dangerous mission into Cambodia to assassinate a renegade Green Beret who has set himself up as a God among a local tribe.

Marlon Brando: Colonel Walter E. Kurtz

Martin Sheen: Captain Benjamin L. Willard

Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now is one of the most controversial films that our world has been privileged to see. I have heard many rumours about what happened on the set of this film, causing many problems, but I believe that does not distract from how good a film I think it is. But I warn you, Apocalypse Now has a very long and confusing story that might make it hard for you to appreciate what Coppola attempts to share. There have been many war films made by Hollywood, but none quite as unique as this.



Nominated for 8 academy awards, Apocalypse Now, winning 2 for Cinematography and Sound, tracks the journey of Captain Willard, a US Army intelligence officer sent on a hazardous mission up river in Cambodia to terminate 'with extreme prejudice' an American renegade, a colonel named ‘Kurtz' whom has spun out of control and into madness, in a remote jungle compound.
Apocalypse Now was really well made by Francis Ford Coppola (as director, producer and screenwriter). Coppola had many moments in the film where he wanted to say something and that is the achievement made. I love the way he shot the war scenes in this film, as they were not only very dramatic, but also combined with humour and a realism. I am certain that he was trying to deliberately show the irony of war, a real highlight of the story.

''Disneyland? Fuck, man, this is better than Disneyland!''

Helping Coppola write the film's screenplay were Michael Herr and John Millus. They all did a fantastic job, incorporating the mind-boggling story of Hearts of Darkness, by adventurer Joseph Conrad. It is my view that this story, while being hard story to understand, is important for people to learn about. All the writers did with this story was replace the trip up the Congo Marlow has in the ‘HOD' story, with the river trip thorough Cambodia for Captain Willard and his crew. Some people could criticise this film's story, saying that Coppola used it for his own convenience. However I think it is good to try and learn about an old story, in a modern kind of way, in a story that has undoubtedly affected our world, for many years, to present day.

This film shows many characters that have gone mad or indeed in the process of being driven to insanity. It's main star is Willard (Martin Sheen), the captain that is given the unenviable task of trying to find the ex-army colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando). While Sheen was good in certain parts of his role, I must say that I found Willard to be a very mysterious character. This makes a challenge for audiences to connect with the main protagonist.
Alot has been said about the small role taken on by legendary actor Marlon Brando. He might have been paid one million dollars for the performance, but he does show he was the right person for the role. I believe Brando comes across perfectly as this army colonel, gone insane. When Brando says ''The horror, the horror'', it induces nostalgia regarding the prior story we have just endured, the horrors of war.
It is also amusing to see the Photojournalist (Dennis Hopper), whom is the really strange guy, harassing Willard when he finally finds Kurtz at his jungle hideaway. This character is another man that could be considered 'crazy' or is it 'enlightened'?
The other cast members in the film take considerably less of the limelight in the film, as that is how the story regards them. Yet they are still necessary. At the beginning of the film we meet a few officials that give Willard his mission. One of them is a Colonel (a very young Harrison Ford). Then on the boat that is helping take Willard on his mission through the Cambodian river are Chef (Frederic Forrest), Chief (Albert Hall), the boat driver, Lance (Sam Bottoms) whom have very disturbing death scenes, and Clean (an almost unrecognisable Laurence Fishburne), whose death is much more dignified than that of the chief.

''Horror... Horror has a face... and you must make a friend of horror. Horror and moral terror are your friends. If they are not, then they are enemies to be feared.''

When we see the war zone in Vietnam for the first time, we meet a most unusual personality, Lt. Col. Kilgore (Robert Duvall). The scene with the Kilgore in it at the earlier stage of the film, is truly great, as we see the war going on around him, but what is even more amazing is that he tells his officers around him, ''it is ok to surf, get out there or fight''. Now in any normal war film, that would be the last thing on anyone's mind, let alone an order from a top ranking official. Kilgore is also in a way crazy in his own little way, he is in a little dream or bubble, oblivious at times, to the horrors of war. This is normal, everyday, life for him. His job yet also he acts as if he is still back home in the US at times.
What's beautiful is when Wagner is played by the soldiers in the choppers, Coppola combines a powerful, timeless piece of music with the powerful, confused War that was Vietnam. It's truly haunting yet fascinating.
However, the most disturbing scene in the film happens when the navy boat crew stops, suspicious about the occupants of a Vietnamese boat. The massacre that follows is very hard to watch, but it does show what can happen, when men are trained to fight and kill in war. Willard as Captain shows absolutely no compassion to these people at all. What's even more disturbing is that these people on this particular boat are innocent civilians.

I hope that in some way my review has given you an insight into what the film entails and involves. I must reiterate that this film has an historical story attached to it. If you are a fan of literature, I can only recommend you read the Hearts of darkness story, but be ready for considerable substantial reading. If this film gets a bit heavy for you, keep reminding yourself what it is trying to show: Captain Willard and his mission, which is to find this brilliant army colonel that has gone completely mad and kill him.
This is a brilliantly made film, with a remarkable story, cast and direction. I can only recommend you get out there and see this spectacle. After all, this is better than Disneyland.

''The horror... the horror...''

Apocalypse Now is a war film but is now a new kind of war film. It is very dark with not so much blood, guts etc but it shows the pure horror of war. It is filmed with dark cinematography, art direction, costumes and even dark make-up. The characters and the whole story is dark. It isn't scary but it is dark. Despite most of the dark qualities, the settings are really beautifully designed and filmed. This is one of the rare war films that has a really deep drama story that determines fate. It has action that is hard-hitting, impactful and quite gruesome which is natural of a war film. Apocalypse Now is a film that blew me away in almost every single aspect. I don't think there will be any darker war film that this.


Marlon Brando leads the cast but is only in the last hour out of the 157 minutes (195 minutes in the extended version). I can't see Marlon playing a supporting character very much. Marlon Brando portrays another villain but this time he is portraying a colonel of the US army who has gone AWOL and is declared insane. Marlon has brought back that real badass character back but Kurtz is a psycho killing his own people. Colonel Kurtz is the highly decorated American Army Special Forces officer who goes renegade. He runs his own operations out of Cambodia and is feared by the US Military as much as the Vietnamese. The way he kills his victims is a bit like a cannibalistic manner even though he isn't a cannibal. His performance was really terrifying. I liked Martin Sheen as Captain Benjamin L. Willard but I don't think he is exactly the top-notch actor to play that sort of character. Willard is a veteran who has been in Vietnam for three years. He is in the U.S. Special Forces and hinted to be an assassin. It is also strongly implied Willard worked for MACV-SOG and even the CIA. His attempt to re-integrate into society failed and he was sent back to Vietnam. I liked Robert Duvall's acting as well as Lieutenant Colonel William 'Bill' Kilgore. Kilgore is a strong leader who loves his men dearly but has methods that appear out-of-tune with the setting of the war.


This is Duvall's third collaboration with Francis Ford Coppola after The Godfather and The Godfather: Part II. Coppola has directed a different kind of directing to Apocalypse Now like he did for the two Godfather films. However, there is one thing he did bring to Apocalypse Now that The Godfather films have and that is they are epics but in different genres. Coppola has in my opinion created one of the best war films of all time at even the modern days now. He hasn't done many films but I guess that is rather good because he should stay with his masterpieces that were the Godfather trilogy and Apocalypse Now. This film has a very dark script that is just kick-ass is some ways like 'oh the horror, the horror' but in other ways of the film, it is very typical from a war action film.


Apocalypse Now is my second favourite war film of all time after Saving Private Ryan. It is definitely the darkest war film so far. Marlon Brando's performance is amazing but it isn't his best performance. He is better in A Streetcar Named Desire, The Godfather and On The Waterfront. Francis Ford Coppola's second best work after The Godfather. Brando's second collaboration with Francis Ford Coppola is an amazing one because they have worked together on two masterpieces. Apocalypse Now is definitely one of my favourite films of the 1970s and isn't far off from reaching my favourite films list.