Coppola is one of those directors who's tried his hand at everything, never really settling down. He's so in love with the cinema, so curious, that he's never truly satisfied to return to the same subject matter twice. In fact, outside of the Godfather films, he's never really revisited a genre. So Apocalypse Now is, at once, a definition of what he did, and nowhere near a definition of what he did. It doesn't contain any of Coppola's usual stylistic touches because he really has no formula or pattern for how he makes his films, and that's why it is his signature film.
The film is allegedly based on Heart of Darkness, the novel, but outside of a few key parallels, the two are very different stories, albeit sharing a similar nihilistic tone and a few moments. We follow Martin Sheen as the alcoholic Captain Ben J. Willard, a secret operative who has grown more and more psychotic in his time away from the action.
He only wants to get back in the field, while he's still strong, and sane, enough to fight. He's not patriotic, he simply has nothing else to live for and can't take another day imprisoned in this room. We start with helicopters flying overhead, and Benjamin Willard going slowly insane.
The famous shot of Sheen punching the mirror was not scripted. He really went that crazy. The film is full of scenes and moments that were not scripted, and not just because of Coppola's open attitude towards improvisation. The making of feature on this film is just about as wild and as fascinating as the movie itself, but we've only got time to review one or the other for now...
From the first scene to the last, the movie is full of fascinating characters and cameos. We see Harrison Ford in the mission briefing scene playing a one-conversation character, and then we meet Cockroach, a character who never speaks, but rather, sleeps through most of his scene, fires a grenade, and goes back to sleep, while remaining the most gripping character in the scene. We have Robert Duvall as Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore, and...
This is without even mentioning any of the main characters. You could remove Kilgore, Dennis Hopper or Cockroach and still tell this story. Marlon Brando as Colonel Kurtz is, in fact, the heart of the film, despite not even appearing until the final act of the story. Even without appearing on screen until the finale, his existence casts a nihilistic dread across the atmosphere of the movie.
The film succeeds on every possible level. It is endearing, at times, when you see the camaraderie between the men on Willard's boat. It's funny, it's exciting with some of the greatest action set pieces ever put to film, it's a jaw dropping piece of cinematic art, yet... The pessimism, the nihilism of the two main characters, Willard and Kurtz, eventually takes over and overwhelms every other aspect of the film.
Coppola always cites Rumble Fish as his own favorite amongst his films, but fans will duke it out between Apocalypse Now and The Godfather Part 2. Of course, it's always up to the individual viewer, but without a doubt, this film is certainly his most ambitious, his most unpredictable, and his most insane movie.
The film is allegedly based on Heart of Darkness, the novel, but outside of a few key parallels, the two are very different stories, albeit sharing a similar nihilistic tone and a few moments. We follow Martin Sheen as the alcoholic Captain Ben J. Willard, a secret operative who has grown more and more psychotic in his time away from the action.
He only wants to get back in the field, while he's still strong, and sane, enough to fight. He's not patriotic, he simply has nothing else to live for and can't take another day imprisoned in this room. We start with helicopters flying overhead, and Benjamin Willard going slowly insane.
The famous shot of Sheen punching the mirror was not scripted. He really went that crazy. The film is full of scenes and moments that were not scripted, and not just because of Coppola's open attitude towards improvisation. The making of feature on this film is just about as wild and as fascinating as the movie itself, but we've only got time to review one or the other for now...
From the first scene to the last, the movie is full of fascinating characters and cameos. We see Harrison Ford in the mission briefing scene playing a one-conversation character, and then we meet Cockroach, a character who never speaks, but rather, sleeps through most of his scene, fires a grenade, and goes back to sleep, while remaining the most gripping character in the scene. We have Robert Duvall as Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore, and...
This is without even mentioning any of the main characters. You could remove Kilgore, Dennis Hopper or Cockroach and still tell this story. Marlon Brando as Colonel Kurtz is, in fact, the heart of the film, despite not even appearing until the final act of the story. Even without appearing on screen until the finale, his existence casts a nihilistic dread across the atmosphere of the movie.
The film succeeds on every possible level. It is endearing, at times, when you see the camaraderie between the men on Willard's boat. It's funny, it's exciting with some of the greatest action set pieces ever put to film, it's a jaw dropping piece of cinematic art, yet... The pessimism, the nihilism of the two main characters, Willard and Kurtz, eventually takes over and overwhelms every other aspect of the film.
Coppola always cites Rumble Fish as his own favorite amongst his films, but fans will duke it out between Apocalypse Now and The Godfather Part 2. Of course, it's always up to the individual viewer, but without a doubt, this film is certainly his most ambitious, his most unpredictable, and his most insane movie.
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