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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...''
10/10
