APOCALYPSE NOW
A film review by David Landers
Copyright 1997 David Landers
RATING: **** out of **** - 9.0 out of 10.0 CAST: Marlon Brando (Colonel Walter E. Kurtz), Robert Duvall (Lieutenant Colonel Kilgore), Martin Sheen (Captain Benjamin L. Willard), Frederic Forrest (Chef), Albert Hall (Chief Phillips), Sam Bottoms (Lance Johnson), Laurence Fishburne (Mr. Clean), Dennis Hopper (Freelance Photographer) DIRECTOR: Francis Coppola CERTIFICATION: R (USA) for language and violence YEAR OF PRODUCTION: 1979 ACADEMY AWARDS: Best Cinematography (Vittorio Storaro) ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS: Best Picture, Best Director (Coppola), Best Supporting Actor (Duvall), Best Adapted Screenplay (Coppola and John Milius), Best Production Design (Dean Tavoularis), Best Film Editing, Best Art Direction (Angelo P. Graham)
APOCALYPSE NOW, based on the novel "Hearts of Darkness", is an extremely striking, gripping, and horrifying depiction of the Vietnam War from another angle. A long debate has surrounded this movie as if it is actually an anti-war film. In many ways, this debate could go either way. APOCALYPSE NOW is probably one of the most memorable Vietnam War films ever made. In addition, now film has gone to the extremes that this film does - a disturbing look at the corruption and terrifying effects of the most devastating war of recent years.
APOCALYPSE NOW follows the mission Captain Benjamin L. Willard, played by Martin Sheen, to seek out and eliminate Colonel Walter E. Kurtz, a Green Beret who is thought to have gone insane and set up his own militant base in Cambodia. Captain Willard is ordered to assassinate Kurtz with "extreme prejudice" because he has been deemed a murderer. Willard accepts his mission, but not while pondering the accusation. Accusing someone of murder in this situation is like "handing out speeding tickets at the Indy 500", as he puts it. It doesn't make too much sense.
Escorting him on his mission are a group of men who operate a riverboat. The men are Chef (Frederic Forrest), Chief (Albert Hall), Lance Johnson (Sam Bottoms) and Mr. Clean (a fifteen year-old Laurence Fishburne). Willard is ordered not to let them know exactly what his mission is, but they all know it is something big. The men encounter many exciting, dangerous and bizarre situations. But no situation is more bizarre than the infamous napalm scene with a very eccentric Robert Duvall as Lieutenant Colonel Kilgore. Kilgore decides to attack and overtake a certain beach area so that his men can surf. Surf. This is all inspired when Kilgore is able to meet the famed California surfer Lance Johnson. Duvall's portrayal as Lieutenant Colonel Kilgore is terrific, and, he provides a number of memorable quotes.
Eventually, Captain Willard encounters Colonel Kurtz's frightening community full of strange things everywhere you look, especially his followers. One of his main followers is a freelance photographer (Dennis Hopper) who attempts to convey the situations to Willard. But Willard cannot understand the madness that encompasses the colony. Kurtz is actually well aware of Willard's mission, and refers to him as "an errand boy sent by grocery clerks to collect a bill". Yet Willard is intent on completing his mission, no matter what shocking things Kurtz does.
APOCALYPSE NOW, possibly one of the greatest films ever made, is a stunning vision into the madness that corresponds to the Vietnam War. A movie that will hypnotize you with it's brilliant cinematography, APOCALYPSE NOW is an outstanding epic drama about the controversial and horrifying ravages of war. Definitely on the "do not miss" list. Be prepared for a very memorable film.
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