Review of Apocalypse Now (1979) by Bob J — 22 May 2013

APOCALYPSE NOW is the most epic and horrific war film ever made. Francis Ford Coppola's vision nearly bankrupt himself and ruin his career, but man was it worth it. A masterfully crafted psychedelic trip through the jungles of Vietnam.

The notorious and uncontrollable Colonel Kurtz must be found and must be eliminated and Captain Willard is the man put on the mission. Captain Willard is played by Martin Sheen with a stone-faced gritty approach to the character that, surprisingly, works.

Colonel Kurtz is played by the 100 pounds over weight Marlon Brando who didn't have much to do with Colonel Kurtz yet was able to express the man's diabolical sense of war with ease. The real brilliance of the film in my opinion is the feeling it leaves the audience with.

..HORROR. Everyone in the room felt a bit of disgust in their gut, a slight feeling of sadness in their heart, and the feeling as if they just experienced war. That is exactly how the film wants the audience to feel.

War ain't pretty. War is dark. War is sad. War is wrong. Above all else, war is horror. In war everyone and everything is the enemy, even your own country. That felt all more than real in the Ride of the Valkyries scene.

American forces show no remorse on the villages they invade, even when it's occupied with a school full of innocent children. With a squad commanded by Bill Kilgore, played with a phenomenal performance by Robert Duvall, every piece of the village is destroyed in a horrific and sick fashion and the soldiers love it.

The message hit me loud and clear...war is wrong, plain and simple. In my opinion this is the most important war film ever made and it is due to the emotional trip it puts the audience through. This is the definition of war, this is what war feels like, and if you don't like the feeling this film leaves you with than it accomplished everything it wanted to accomplish.