Review of Apocalypse Now (1979) by Brea D — 20 Jan 2013

I watched this movie time and time again in my younger days. I remember watching it in the dark as I was drifting off to sleep (on my big tv with the sound wafting clearly from my stereo that I was struggling to pay off) and jumped on one occasion as I thought I was going to fall out of the helicopter.

The shots are still what I find most appealing and amazing. The helicopters coming over the tree tops, the Napalm, the palm trees, the flairs, the explosions and the fan. I think the scene in the beginning , where the fan spins to the sound of the helicopter is amazing. Such a small thing, just editing really. But it always seems so clever to me.

There are many memorable lines in the movie such as; "Charlie don't surf!" Or "I love the smell of napalm in the morning". The acting is also something you'll remember, it's as wild as it comes. Sheen, Brando and Hopper giving out of control performances like nothing you've ever seen. You are not watching a man who is acting out a breakdown on screen. You are watching a man breaking down on screen, filmed as it happens. In some cases (Sheen) literally.

The first time I saw this film I found the sacrificial killing of the Caribou awful. It was shocking as you are watching a live animal being hacked apart. I didn't expect to see it like that. After watching Hearts of Darkness: A Film Makers Apocalypse (a documentary about the making of the film) my mind was rested some what. Its not nice to see but I do feel I understand the reason it's there. The intertwining sequence between the sacrificial cow and Colonel Kurtz, the last major shocking blow/ knock out punch before the end of the movie and Brando's final words - "The horror ... the horror".

For me it leaves me cold and bitter. I am sure there are more than a few people that feel that way about the war itself.

The whole movie is a representation of the Vietnam war for me; confused, crazy, shocking and lost. You finish watching the movie and wonder just what you have witnessed. It seems a whole mix and match of ideas, beliefs and approximations. There is no explanation, just a cross section of something you cannot fully understand - like Vietnam. One thing is for sure, it is like no other movie you've seen before.

I like Apocalypse now because it's film making on a grand scale, because of the amazing shots, because it's wild, memorable, intense and powerful. I would have loved to experience this for the first time in a cinema.