Rating of
4/4
Apocalypse Now review
Daniel Corleone - wrote on 03/04/12
Viewing this masterpiece makes you appreciate the goal and brilliance of its director despite several production concerns. A story of how one man (or even a few) can change because of lies and his environment. Captain Benjamin L. Willard (Martin Sheen) was given a special assignment by Lt. General Corman (G. D. Spradlin) and Colonel Lucas (Harrison Ford) to eliminate the deranged Colonel Walter E. Kurtz (Marlon Brando). Willard’s mission is aided by Navy Patrol Boat (PBR) commanded by George "Chief" Phillips (Albert Hall) crewmen Lance Johnson (Sam Bottoms), Jay "Chef" Hicks (Frederic Forrest) and, and Tyrone "Mr. Clean" Miller (Laurence Fishburne). His team meets with the flamboyant Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore (Robert Duvall). As Willard gets close to Kurtz, he encounters an eclectic American civilian photographer (Dennis Hopper). One of many quotable lines: "Do you know that 'if' is the middle word in life?” “I love the smell of napalm in the morning.”
The soundtrack already captures attention from the Door’s The End to the choppers nearing Vietnam. Performances of Hopper, Brando, Duvall and Sheen were noteworthy. Screenplay played a huge part in making this one of the most influential war film’s produced with quotes: Kurtz – “Have you ever considered any real freedoms? Freedom from the opinions of others...even the opinions of yourself?” “Did he live his life again in every detail of desire, temptation, and surrender during that supreme moment of complete knowledge?...The horror! The horror!” Willard – “Everyone gets everything he wants. I wanted a mission, and for my sins, they gave me one.” “It wasn't just insanity and murder, there was enough of that to go around for everyone.” Themes of sanity, persistence, lies, freedom, transformation, morality and psyche of war were well presented. Direction was gorgeous with elegant cinematography and usage smoke, nature itself and shadows before revealing Kurtz. Apocalypse Now’s staying power is not only from the philosophical topics but also its interesting characters, incorporating slight humor (if only Kilgore had more scenes aside from the surfing scene) and realism of the whole premise.
