Apocalypse Now

*Year: 1979

*Director: Francis Ford Coppola

*(PON)Cinematographer: Vittorio Storaro

*Cast: Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Albert Hall, Frederic Forrest, Sam Bottoms, Laurence Fishburne

Famed film adaptation of the Novella, Heart of Darkness. Martin Sheen stars as Captain Willard. A soldier sent into Cambodia to assassinate a rogue Colonel (Brando) who it seems has lost his mind and is commanding tribal forces in brutal attacks on the NVC/VC. The closer he gets to arriving at the Colonel's compound, the more his obsession with the man grows.

This film is probably the epitime of physcological darkness in film. Throughout it's 3 hour + runtime, it examines the darkside of humanity and the mind. And the messages it sends about warfare and such seem very true. The insane Colonel Kurtz has witnessed war and through it has deduced that to defeat the enemy (in this case, the Vietnamese) the US must adopt the barbaric Guerilla tactics used by such an enemy. It's a rather surreal film by the end and very potent. It may affect people differently. But as for myself, it was very powerful. not necessarily in it's messages or importance, but in it's sheer darkness.

Some say the film suceeds as a war film but not much else. I would say that it fails as a war film and suceeds at being great Cinema regardless. I never really watched the film as a war film. Ofcourse it is one but it isn't really about combat. The film has a great storyline and is very well made. Another criticism of the film is that the ending is a big let down. Once Willard has met Kurtz, the rest of the film seems much like a lecture in philosophy, civilization, warfare, and humanity. I actually liked this aspect myself. But I see where people may be annoyed by it as the previous 2 hours moved rather quickly, once Marlon brando comes into the pciture, the film sort of comes to a hault and the suspense of meeting this mysterious man wears off.

Another plus is Vittorio Storaro's gorgeous cinematography. I'd say Storaro is Cinema's best cinematographer. His traditional use of vibrant colors is even more vibrant here. It's a beautiful looking film filmed in deep oranges which are the result of accentuated Asian sun and tribal camp fires and torches.

Apocalypse Now is one of the favorite films. Easily in my top 5. A well made and sucessfully adapted story. A film you don't need me to recommend, as it is any cinephiles duty to see a film like this.