Review of Apocalypse Now (1979) by Harry W — 14 Nov 2012

Apocalypse Now is a brutal, shocking war epic and one of the greatest films ever made.

It features an excellent filmmaking style with it's great editing, beautiful cinematography, great sound, exceptional musical score and everything else about it.

Right from the intro, the atmosphere of Apocalypse Now was intense, and it never stopped being intense regardless of the situation, whether it was based on general drama or horrors of the war. It maintains the integrity of the source novel despite being a loose adaptation and becomes both a good adaptation and a great standalone film.

With Apocalypse Now, you can tell just from the intro, the very scene in which the forests explode while The Doors play "The End" that you will be captivated the whole time, and it never lets up.

The storyline is a conflicting one and is structured very well, and you'll want to keep your eye on every detail the whole time.

The musical score is incredible and the cinematography is some of the most creative ever, so both film qualities assist each other in rolling the story along the whole time.

The film is shocking, and some of the most difficult parts to watch are the animals getting treated roughly (The Puppy Dog) or Slaughtered (Water Buffalo) and although it is of key importance to the story, it's hard to look at.

The screenplay provides good support to all the characters and maintains the strength from the original 1902 novella Heart of Darkness.

This is a stunningly made film with emphasis on the amazing location and the fact that this is the product of millions of dollars worth of production problems is amazing, because Francis Ford Coppola was so specific about everything he wanted, and unlike Michael Cimino's Heavens Gate, Apocalypse Now chooses it's direction properly as well as it's art direction, and the result is a masterpiece.

Lastly, the greatest quality of Apocalypse Now is the acting.

Martin Sheen gives and oscar-worthy performance as Benjamin Willard, and his portrayal is so amazingly spot on and intense. Martin Sheen is an excellent actor who can act through a heart attack and a mental breakdown. His character's internal emotional unbalance is a treasure to witness portrayed.

Robert Duvall was nuts. He was externally insane and his character was one of the actor's greatest portrayals, and he was given excellent scriptlines which he delivered extremely well.

Marlon Brando was disturbing. When he looks at you, it's as if he is staring straight into your soul, and it will freak you out. His performance was off the chain and although he wasn't emodied image of Kurtz from Heart of Darkness, he played a great character.

Dennis Hopper was odd. He was like a hippy, and it was the perfect image of the character from the book. It's as simple as that.

Laurence "Larry" Fishburne plays a great in his youth, and the way he goes on to become a talented actor in later years is no surprise.

All in all, Apocalypse Now is the second greatest war film of all time, behind The Deer Hunter.