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Changed line(s) 138 (click to see context) from:
* BloodKnight: He loves the smell of napalm in the morning.
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* BloodKnight: He loves He's actually less rabid than most examples of this trope, but his monolog about loving the smell of napalm in the morning.morning very much fits, and his observation that someday the Vietnam War will end is delivered morosely.
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* DeathFromAbove: Leads aerial assaults from his command chopper, which has the trope written on it's nose.
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* DeathFromAbove: Leads aerial assaults from his command chopper, which has the trope written on it's its nose.
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* ShirtlessScene: Kilgore is so ludicrously Badass that, even when shrapnel is raining down around him, he'll take off his shirt.
* SkewedPriorities: He's annoyed with Charlie (who don't surf) because the VC are occupying a terrific beach that should be used for surfing. His DeathFromAbove air-strikes are meant to clear the zone so he can exercise his hobby, the military importance is not the issue. In fact Kilgore never would have escorted Willard and his crew there if he hadn't gotten word of a nice beach being there alongside Willard's destination.
** Later, he's prepared to send out ''helicopters'' in order to find his stolen surfboard, complete with amplified complaints over how hard it is to find a decent board and reassurances that he won't hurt the thief.
* SkewedPriorities: He's annoyed with Charlie (who don't surf) because the VC are occupying a terrific beach that should be used for surfing. His DeathFromAbove air-strikes are meant to clear the zone so he can exercise his hobby, the military importance is not the issue. In fact Kilgore never would have escorted Willard and his crew there if he hadn't gotten word of a nice beach being there alongside Willard's destination.
** Later, he's prepared to send out ''helicopters'' in order to find his stolen surfboard, complete with amplified complaints over how hard it is to find a decent board and reassurances that he won't hurt the thief.
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* ShirtlessScene: Kilgore is so ludicrously Badass badass that, even when shrapnel is raining down around him, he'll take off his shirt.
* SkewedPriorities: He's annoyed with Charlie (who don't surf) because the VC are occupying a terrific beach that should be used for surfing. His DeathFromAbove air-strikes are meant to clear the zone so he can exercise his hobby, not because the beach held any militaryimportance is not the issue. significance. In fact Kilgore never would have escorted Willard and his crew there if he hadn't gotten word of a nice beach being there alongside Willard's destination.
** Later,he's prepared to send he sends out ''helicopters'' in order to find his stolen surfboard, complete with amplified complaints over how hard it is to find a decent board and reassurances that he won't hurt the thief.
* SkewedPriorities: He's annoyed with Charlie (who don't surf) because the VC are occupying a terrific beach that should be used for surfing. His DeathFromAbove air-strikes are meant to clear the zone so he can exercise his hobby, not because the beach held any military
** Later,
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* TeamMom: He runs the boat and keeps the crazy kids in his crew from killing each other half the time.
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* TeamMom: He runs the boat and keeps the crazy kids in his crew from killing each other half the time. At times, he seems almost more a ''babysitter'' than a chief.
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* NoNameGiven: He's only known as 'the Photojournalist'. Although, Kurtz calls him 'Mutt'.
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* NoNameGiven: He's only known as 'the Photojournalist'. Although, At one point, Kurtz calls him 'Mutt'.'Mutt', but this may have been an insult rather than his given name.
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* PsychoSupporter: To Kurtz, who he considers an idol.
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* PsychoSupporter: To Kurtz, who whom he considers an idol.
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* AdmiringTheAbomination: After recalling an incident where he witnessed the Viet Ring chop off the arms of every child he and his men had inoculated for polio, Kurtz notes that he was initially horrified but now ''admires'' the Viet Cong's ability to commit atrocities for the sake of winning and not even blinking.
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* AdmiringTheAbomination: After recalling an incident where he witnessed the Viet Ring Cong chop off the arms of every child he and his men had inoculated for polio, Kurtz notes that he was initially horrified but now ''admires'' the Viet Cong's ability to commit atrocities for the sake of winning and not even blinking.
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[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mysterious_man_apocalypse_now.jpg]]
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* AdmiringTheAbomination: After recalling an incident where he witnessed the Viet Ring chop off the arms of every child he and his men had inoculated for polio, Kurtz notes that he was initially horrified but now ''admires'' the Viet Cong's ability to commit atrocities for the sake of winning and not even blinking.
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Changed line(s) 48 (click to see context) from:
* SociopathicSoldier: A soft Type 3 example.
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* SociopathicSoldier: A soft Type 3 example.4 example. Willard can't handle civilian life anymore and longs to be back in the jungle. He [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor gets his wish and his sanity pays dearly for it]].
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* LikeGoesWithLike: When the crew encounters a dilapidated camp where the playboy bunnies are holed up, Willard negotiates for the men to have a couple of hours with them. The Chief politely declines to partake, saying he prefers "some mamas" or not at all.
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* AllThereInTheManual: If one of the documents Willard flips through is any indication, his name is Moore.
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* EvilSoundsRaspy: He speaks with a raspy, halting voice.
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* WickedCultured: Kurtz is a Harvard graduate and a lover of poetry and advanced literature. Part of the reason he has so many followers is because of his eloquence and almost lyrical manner of speaking.
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Changed line(s) 86 (click to see context) from:
* FreudianExcuse: During one of his ramblings, Kurtz pinpoints the exact moment that kickstarted his SanitySlippage: having witnessed the Viet Cong chop off the arms of countless civilians and children after Kurtz and his troops inoculated them for polio. Kurtz came to the conclusion that their actions were something to be admired and embraced the savagery of war.
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* FatBastard: As noted under AdiposeRex, Kurtz is clearly overweight and he's devolved into an insane tyrant.
* FormerlyFit: A photograph of a younger Kurtz shows he was quite slim and fit, and to serve in Special Forces one would need to be quite athletic. By the time of the film, Kurtz has let himself go and is quite overweight.
* FreudianExcuse: During one of his ramblings, Kurtz pinpoints the exact moment that kickstarted his SanitySlippage: having witnessed the Viet Cong chop off the arms of countlesscivilians and children after Kurtz and his troops inoculated them for polio. Kurtz came to the conclusion that their actions were something to be admired and embraced the savagery of war.
* FormerlyFit: A photograph of a younger Kurtz shows he was quite slim and fit, and to serve in Special Forces one would need to be quite athletic. By the time of the film, Kurtz has let himself go and is quite overweight.
* FreudianExcuse: During one of his ramblings, Kurtz pinpoints the exact moment that kickstarted his SanitySlippage: having witnessed the Viet Cong chop off the arms of countless
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* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: He does seem to genuinely love his son, and worries aloud that he won't understand what Kurtz is trying to do. He even requests that Willard tell him the truth about what his father has done.
--> '''Kurtz:''' I worry that my son might not understand what I've tried to be. And if I were to be killed, Willard, I would want someone to go to my home and tell my son everything. Everything I did, everything you saw, because there's nothing that I detest more than the stench of lies. And if you understand me, Willard, you will do this for me.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: He despises lies, which is what motivates his antipathy to his former superiors. He doesn't care that they're trying to kill him, but the idea that they're pretending they are in any way better than him morally infuriates him.
--> '''Kurtz:''' I worry that my son might not understand what I've tried to be. And if I were to be killed, Willard, I would want someone to go to my home and tell my son everything. Everything I did, everything you saw, because there's nothing that I detest more than the stench of lies. And if you understand me, Willard, you will do this for me.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: He despises lies, which is what motivates his antipathy to his former superiors. He doesn't care that they're trying to kill him, but the idea that they're pretending they are in any way better than him morally infuriates him.
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--> '''Kurtz:''' Horror has a face, and you must make a friend of horror. Horror and mortal terror are your friends. If they are not, than they are enemies to be feared.
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Changed line(s) 67 (click to see context) from:
* AffablyEvil: He's a violent, deranged tyrant, but Kurtz is never anything less than polite to Willard even while holding him captive.
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* AffablyEvil: He's a violent, deranged tyrant, but Kurtz is never anything less than polite to Willard even while holding him captive.torturing him.
* FreudianExcuse: During one of his ramblings, Kurtz pinpoints the exact moment that kickstarted his SanitySlippage: having witnessed the Viet Cong chop off the arms of countless civilians and children after Kurtz and his troops inoculated them for polio. Kurtz came to the conclusion that their actions were something to be admired and embraced the savagery of war.
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* SoftSpokenSadist: He speaks in a calm, mumbling tone at all times and almost never raises his voice. It serves to make him all the creepier, especially all the war crimes he's ordered.
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* SoftSpokenSadist: He speaks in a calm, mumbling tone at all times and almost never raises his voice. It serves to make him all the creepier, especially given all the war crimes he's ordered.ordered.
* ThenLetMeBeEvil: Kurtz came to the conclusion that morality has no place in war and that the more brutal and ruthless an army is, the more likely it is to win. Kurtz promptly embraced this and went flying off the deep end.
* ThenLetMeBeEvil: Kurtz came to the conclusion that morality has no place in war and that the more brutal and ruthless an army is, the more likely it is to win. Kurtz promptly embraced this and went flying off the deep end.
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* TheStoic: He's almost perpetually calm and icy in his demeanor, no matter what. It's played disturbingly when he murders a Vietnamese civilian in cold blood without even batting an eye.
* SympathyForTheDevil: For as much as he comes to realize that Kurtz is genuinely insane, he still regards him with sympathy.
--> '''Willard:''' He broke from them, and then he broke from himself. I'd never seen somebody so broken up inside.
* SympathyForTheDevil: For as much as he comes to realize that Kurtz is genuinely insane, he still regards him with sympathy.
--> '''Willard:''' He broke from them, and then he broke from himself. I'd never seen somebody so broken up inside.
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* AffablyEvil: He's a violent, deranged tyrant, but Kurtz is never anything less than polite to Willard even while holding him captive.
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* SoftSpokenSadist: He speaks in a calm, mumbling tone at all times and almost never raises his voice. It serves to make him all the creepier, especially all the war crimes he's ordered.
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* MyCountryRightOrWrong: Kurtz is fanatically dedicated to helping the U.S. win the Vietnam War, while fully acknowledging that both his own side and the Viet Cong are committing war crimes by the dozen. To Kurtz, it doesn't matter how cruel either side is; all that matters is that America is the one to win the war.
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* SanitySlippage: Kurtz was once an exemplary soldier, but over the course of his tour in Vietnam he gradually lost his mind. Only snippets of his fall to madness are shown (most notably a recording of him struggling to describe his PTSD), but by the time of the film he's a rambling, unhinged wreck.
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* AsskickingLeadsToLeadership: Kurtz gave up his life as a staff officer in order to join Special Forces as an active duty soldier. He graduated the grueling Airborne School at 38 years old, which Willard struggled to complete at 19. And despite his mental and physical decay after going rogue in the jungles of Cambodia, his army has a fanatical devotion to his leadership and view him as a god.
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* IDidWhatIHadToDo: He takes this opinion on his crimes. He acknowledges that the things he's done are atrocities, but views them as having been fully necessary to win the Vietnam War since he feels that war can only be won by [[TheUnfettered someone with zero principles.]]
--> '''Kurtz:''' It's impossible for words to describe what is ''necessary'' [[WarIsHell to those that do not know what "horror" means.]]
--> '''Kurtz:''' It's impossible for words to describe what is ''necessary'' [[WarIsHell to those that do not know what "horror" means.]]
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* MoralMyopia: Defied. Kurtz freely admits he's a murderer who deserves to die for what he's done, and his disdain for Willard and the U.S. government as a whole comes not from their efforts to kill him but that they won't acknowledge that they are just as barbaric and cruel as he is.
--> '''Kurtz:''' You have no right to judge me. You have a right to kill me. [[RepeatedForEmphasis You have a right to do that.]] But you have no right to judge me.
--> '''Kurtz:''' You have no right to judge me. You have a right to kill me. [[RepeatedForEmphasis You have a right to do that.]] But you have no right to judge me.
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* TheUnfettered: Kurtz is determined to end the Vietnam War in the U.S.'s favor, and he's willing to commit countless atrocities and massacres to see it through.
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* AtLeastIAdmitIt: Kurtz views himself as the OnlySaneMan because unlike his ArmchairMilitary superiors who try to spin the Vietnam War as a humanitarian effort, he fully acknowledges that it's just devolved into pointless bloodshed and has embraced the fact.
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* OnlySaneMan: He believes himself to be this, and is a subversion.
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* OnlySaneMan: He believes himself to be this, and is a subversion. Kurtz is right that the U.S. government's methods in Vietnam are utterly ineffective, but his solution is to ''double down'' on the pointless brutality and bloodshed common among both sides rather than actually improving the situation.
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* ShellShockedVeteran: As Willard notes in his InternalMonologue, Kurtz has been emotionally destroyed by his experiences in both the Korean War and the Vietnam War. His untreated PTSD and the atrocities his superiors ordered him to commit is what wound up driving him into insanity.
* TragicVillain: Kurtz is a vicious war criminal who has ordered numerous atrocities, but he remains somewhat sympathetic because it's clear that Kurtz has been utterly broken by the Vietnam War to the point he's been driven mad.
--> '''Willard:''' I'd never seen a man so broken up or ripped apart.
* TragicVillain: Kurtz is a vicious war criminal who has ordered numerous atrocities, but he remains somewhat sympathetic because it's clear that Kurtz has been utterly broken by the Vietnam War to the point he's been driven mad.
--> '''Willard:''' I'd never seen a man so broken up or ripped apart.
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Changed line(s) 132 (click to see context) from:
->'''Played By:''' Creator/Frederic Forrest
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->'''Played By:''' Creator/Frederic Forrest Creator/FredericForrest
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* CharacterDevelopment: When we first meet Willard, he's completely unable to function in peaceful society, so much so that he willingly returned to Vietnam after failing to make a go of it at home. Yet we know that by the end of the film's events, he'll have no further interest in serving in the military. He tells us so at the beginning of the film:
-->'''Willard:''' It was a real choice mission. And when it was over, I'd never want another.
-->'''Willard:''' It was a real choice mission. And when it was over, I'd never want another.
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->'''Played By:''' Frederic Forrest
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->'''Played By:''' Frederic Creator/Frederic Forrest
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trivia trope
Deleted line(s) 225 (click to see context) :
* SparedByTheCut: In most versions of the film, he just seems to mystically exit the story prior to the finale. The extended workprint on the other hands shows his character would have been killed by Colby.
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* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: In most versions of the film, he just seems to mystically exit the story prior to the finale. The extended workprint shows his character would have been killed by Colby.
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* SparedByTheCut: In most versions of the film, he just seems to mystically exit the story prior to the finale. The extended workprint on the other hands shows his character would have been killed by Colby.
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no longer a trope
Deleted line(s) 79,80 (click to see context) :
* KillEmAll: He believes the North Vietnamese and the VC will never surrender, and if the US wants to win the war, they'll have to kill every last one of them:
-->'''Kurtz:''' We must incinerate them. Pig after pig... cow after cow... village after village... army after army.
-->'''Kurtz:''' We must incinerate them. Pig after pig... cow after cow... village after village... army after army.
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Changed line(s) 21 (click to see context) from:
* TheAlcoholic: Hinted at. We join him wasted in his hotel room after a bender. He later empty's out his water bottle when he is on a mission and replaces it with whiskey.
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* TheAlcoholic: Hinted at. We join him wasted in his hotel room after a bender. He later empty's empties out his water bottle when he is on a mission and replaces it with whiskey.
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* GeneralRipper: A DeconstructedCharacterArchetype. He's a highly decorated officer (one scene has Captain Willard going over his dossier and marvelling at Kurtz's accomplishments) who one day just snapped and went native, becoming as much a cult leader as a soldier, taking his orders from only the jungle as Willard says. However, Kurtz is a unique example, being quite aware that he is in fact a General Ripper. He thinks that if America wants to win the Vietnam War, it cannot afford to "play fair" - it needs "Rippers" to do the dirty work and is acting hypocritically by pretending that the war can be won "cleanly" with nothing but a technological advantage over the enemy. He basically gives his superiors two choices: either get the hell out of 'Nam, or to embrace their savagery like he has. His final actions indicate that he prefers they choose the first option, or at least doesn't believe they can afford to choose the second.
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* GeneralRipper: A DeconstructedCharacterArchetype. He's a highly decorated officer (one scene has Captain Willard going over his dossier and marvelling marveling at Kurtz's accomplishments) who one day just snapped and went native, becoming as much a cult leader as a soldier, taking his orders from only the jungle as Willard says. However, Kurtz is a unique example, being quite aware that he is in fact a General Ripper. He thinks that if America wants to win the Vietnam War, it cannot afford to "play fair" - it needs "Rippers" to do the dirty work and is acting hypocritically by pretending that the war can be won "cleanly" with nothing but a technological advantage over the enemy. He basically gives his superiors two choices: either get the hell out of 'Nam, or to embrace their savagery like he has. His final actions indicate that he prefers they choose the first option, or at least doesn't believe they can afford to choose the second.
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* CoolShades: Wears a pair of these throughout the iconic valkyries/helicopter sequence.
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* CoolShades: Wears a pair of these throughout the iconic valkyries/helicopter Valkyries/helicopter sequence.
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** It can be inferred that he has an impressive service record given that he was entrusted with the sensitive task of infiltrating Kurtz’s stronghold and killing him. Not to mention that he sports a [[TrainingFromHell Ranger tab]].
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Changed line(s) 102 (click to see context) from:
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->'''Dubbed By:''' Creator/BernardPierreDonnadieu (European French)
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Changed line(s) 120 (click to see context) from:
* NiceHat: His iconic Cavalry Stetson, which he is never seen without. They're unofficial in the Air Cavalry, but of course Kilgore would wear this rather than a boring old beret or helmet.
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* NiceHat: NeverBareheaded: His iconic Cavalry Stetson, which he is never seen without. They're unofficial in the Air Cavalry, but of course Kilgore would wear this rather than a boring old beret or helmet.
