History Film / ApocalypseNow

%%* CelebrityParadox: Kurtz reads aloud from ''[[Creator/TSEliot The Hollow Men]]'' (1925), which contains an epigraph quoting from ''Heart of Darkness'' (i.e. the basis of the movie), written twenty years earlier. The paradox was not present in the original script, where Kurtz was originally called "Col. Leighley". A scene with Harrison Ford has the original name redubbed.

** The ''Final Cut'' uses most scenes from the ''Redux'' cut, but is shorter than the ''Redux'' version due to the removal of two ''Redux'' scenes including the outpost scene and the scene where Kurtz red the Vietnam reports on Time Magazine while Willard was imprisoned. This cut was the only modern version of the film to add ending credits.

->''The horror... the horror...''

Leading up to its release, Coppola workshopped an extensive number of cuts of the film that ran from 139 minutes to around 3 hours, the latter being its runtime when it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, the first-ever instance of the festival showing an unfinished work in competition[[note]]a ballsy move even at the time that was only approved because Coppola's prior film ''Film/TheConversation'' had won high honors at the festival[[/note]] and further awarding one the Palme d'Or.

While it opened to mixed reviews, ''Apocalypse Now'' [[VindicatedByHistory is now firmly considered one of the all-time greats]], as well as the definitive anti-war movie for many. Containing many famous scenes and quotes, most notably "I love the smell of napalm in the morning", "Charlie don't surf" and the climax ("The horror... the horror...") involving the slaughter of a real water buffalo, this movie at times feels like what one might imagine a bad acid trip to be like.

It is also legendary for having what is considered to be one of the most {{troubled production}}s in Hollywood history. To describe all of the mishaps that occurred on set would require an entire page, to the point where the film's nightmarish production was documented by Coppola's wife Eleanor, who would later use footage she shot on set to make the 90-minute documentary ''Film/HeartsOfDarknessAFilmmakersApocalypse.'' The highlights can be read on the [[Trivia/ApocalypseNow Trivia section]].

* BrokenPedestal: There's a interesting example as much of the movie is about Willard reading about Kurtz and coming to believe they're NotSoDifferent. Also, that Kurtz has a much clearer view of the Vietnam War than his superiors who are MildlyMilitary incompetents at best and ColonelKilgore at worst (or maybe it's the other way around). By the time Willard actually reaches Kurtz, Willard finds Kurtz genuinely ''is'' insane and committing atrocities for flimsy excuses.

** Colonel Kurtz goes out of his way to call the Commanders running the Vietnam War this. He detests how they refuse to do what is necessary to win and then lie to everyone about how everything they are doing is adequate, multiple points in the movie have Willard reading excerpts from Kurtz' dossier where it was recorded he had criticized the way the war was being run. Willard eventually comes to [[NotSoDifferent agree with Kurtz]] and wonders why the hell he is even meant to kill this man. This comes to a head in the ending where it is shown that Kurtz' records his philosophy on war as a sort of auto-biography where he famously states this:

* NotSoDifferent: Kurtz and Willard are more than a little similar and both men pick up on it right away. While Willard may not have gone beyond the pale like Kurtz did he does have some of the same big issues like becoming a BloodKnight junkie for combat, being fed up with the military command's bullshit, being deeply affected by the violence they've seen, and realizing that they are both screwed up in the head. Neither Kurtz nor Willard make excuses for what they do and freely admit to their reprehensible actions. This is one of the reasons why Kurtz take special interest in Willard whom he sees as a kindred spirit and the only one who can understand without judgement just what Kurtz is going though.

* ShadowArchetype: Used in combination with NotSoDifferent. Is Willard, in the last analysis, any better than Kurtz? Probably not. Kurtz points this out during his haunting monologue to Willard. Can Willard judge Kurtz when he is basically the same as him?

* FamousLastWords: "The horror... the horror..."

!!"I love the smell of tropes in the morning":

Not to be confused with ApocalypseHow or ApocalypseWow, which deal with destruction apocalypses. It should be noted that the original meaning of Apocalypse was, "a revealing of the truth.", which is why the Book of Revelation is sometimes rendered as the Apocalypse of John. Under this definition someone who has been through an Apocalypse has had the truth revealed to them. The original definition definitely fits better with the themes of Apocalypse Now rather than the destruction definition.

It is also legendary for having what is considered to be one of the most {{troubled production}}s in Hollywood history. To describe all of the mishaps that occurred on set would require an entire page, to the point where the film's nightmarish production was documented by Coppola's wife Eleanor, who would later use footage she shot on set to make the 90 minutes long documentary ''Film/HeartsOfDarknessAFilmmakersApocalypse.'' The highlights can be read on the [[Trivia/ApocalypseNow Trivia section]].

While it opened to mixed reviews, ''Apocalypse Now'' [[VindicatedByHistory is firmly considered one of the all-time greats]], as well as the definitive anti-war movie for many. Containing many famous scenes and quotes, most notably "I love the smell of napalm in the morning", "Charlie don't surf" and the climax ("The horror... the horror...") involving the slaughter of a real water buffalo, this movie at times feels like what one might imagine a bad acid trip to be like. It is also legendary for having what is considered to be one of the most {{troubled production}}s in Hollywood history. To describe all of the mishaps that occurred on set would require an entire page, to the point where the film's nightmarish production was documented by Coppola's wife Eleanor, who would later use footage she shot on set to make the 90 minutes long documentary ''Film/HeartsOfDarknessAFilmmakersApocalypse.'' The highlights can be read on the [[Trivia/ApocalypseNow Trivia section]].

--->'''Kurtz:''' [[ArmorPiercingQuestion Are my methods unsound?]]
--->'''Willard:''' [[ArmorPiercingResponse I don't see any method at all, sir.]]

** There are several to the Creator/WernerHerzog movie ''Film/AguirreTheWrathOfGod'', also based on ''Heart of Darkness'' and which, oddly enough, had a similarly troubled production. One scene (of the natives attacking with arrows) is a shot for shot remake of ''Aguirre''.

* SurrealHorror: The iconic depiction of war, not as battle, or even [[WarIsHell as purgatory]], but as nightmarish, illogical fever dream a la ''Film/AguirreTheWrathOfGod'', where the biggest threat to American soldiers is each other, commanding officers ignore the war they're fighting to [[SkewedPriorities film documentaries and go surfing]], and [[RiverOfInsanity the farther down the river they go]], [[SanitySlippage the crazier everyone gets]]. "The horror" indeed.

Leading up to its release, Coppola workshopped an extensive number of cuts of the film that ran from 139 minutes to around 3 hours, the lattermost being its runtime when it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, the first-ever instance of the festival showing an unfinished work in competition[[note]]a ballsy move even at the time that was only approved because Coppola's prior film ''Film/TheConversation'' had won high honors at the festival[[/note]] and further awarding one the Palme d'Or.

''Apocalypse Now'' is a very loose adaptation of the classic Creator/JosephConrad novella ''Literature/HeartOfDarkness'', transporting the events of that book to 1970 Vietnam and Cambodia. The film took three years to complete before its 1979 release. It was directed by Creator/FrancisFordCoppola at the [[AuteurLicense height of his career]].

Containing many famous scenes and quotes, most notably "I love the smell of napalm in the morning", "Charlie don't surf" and the climax ("The horror... the horror...") involving the slaughter of a real water buffalo, this movie at times feels like what one might imagine a bad acid trip to be like. Considered the definitive anti-war movie by many, ''Apocalypse Now'' is also one of the all-time greats. It is also legendary for having what is considered to be one of the most {{troubled production}}s in Hollywood history. To describe all of the mishaps that occurred on set would require an entire page, to the point where the film's nightmarish production was documented by Coppola's wife Eleanor, who would later use footage she shot on set to make the 90 minutes long documentary ''Film/HeartsOfDarknessAFilmmakersApocalypse.'' The highlights can be read on the [[Trivia/ApocalypseNow Trivia section]].

In 2001, Coppola drastically ReCut the film, extending the running time by nearly an hour, adding some additional scenes and re-shuffling some existing ones around. The new version was released (to mixed reviews) as ''Apocalypse Now Redux'': some reviewers felt it was a beautiful expansion on the themes of the original, others thought it diluted the impact and bloated the movie.[[note]]For what it's worth, the original cut has a 97% score on Rotten Tomatoes, while Redux has 93%.[[/note]] It was recut again in 2019 as the "Final Cut", with a new runtime of just over three hours, nineteen minutes less than Redux.

-->'''Kurtz:''' We left the camp after we had inoculated the children for polio, and this old man came running after us and he was crying. He couldn't see. We went back there, and they had come and hacked off every inoculated arm. There they were in a pile. A pile of little arms.''

--->'''Willard:''' [[ArmorPiercingResponse I don't see any method, sir.]]
* BunnyEarsLawyer: Kilgore wears a stetson and bandana like he's still riding a horse, and seems to be more focused on surfing than fighting the war. However there appears to be no question of his competency by his superiors or by his men.

** The men sent to escort Willard to Nha Trang do not appear shocked when they find a 'wetwork' officer naked, hungover and covered in his own blood.

* CatScare: Quite literally, but with [[PantheraAwesome a considerably larger-than-usual cat]]. Hell, even the actors were scared!

* ClusterFBomb: It is one of the very earliest films to have frequent usage of the f-word throughout its entire duration.

* DownerEnding: Similar to the vast majority of American soldiers who survived the Vietnam war, Willard leaves even more deeply disturbed that when we saw him, having seen three of his allies die and the only remaining one lose his sanity.

** Kurtz throughout his appearances. Also Brando himself wanted this for aesthetic effect, claiming that it suited the character of Kurtz because he's a person who is flirting with darkness and the primal instinctual fears of humanity -- Brando wanted Kurtz to look like a man who is going to be consumed by the darkness, but he has enough mastery over it to (semi) safely dwell in it.

* FanDisservice: Colleen Camp's character appears just fine with the above, though her parrot's antics and Chef's request to have her wear a wig quickly makes the scene feel bizarre. Cynthia Wood's character on the other hand talks about her miserable life and failed dreams as Lance has sex with her...unaware of the ''dead soldier'' a foot away.

* ThousandYardStare: [[spoiler: Willard]] sports one right at the end, after [[spoiler: he completes his mission]].

* WhyIsntItAttacking: "Why the fuck aren't they attacking?!"

Special operations Captain [[Characters/ApocalypseNow Benjamin Willard]] (Creator/MartinSheen) is sent to kill [[Characters/ApocalypseNow Walter E. Kurtz]] (Creator/MarlonBrando), a Green Beret Colonel who has gone mad and formed a personality {{cult}} in Cambodia. After Colonel Bill Kilgore (Creator/RobertDuvall) clears off his initial path, Willard and his crew -- including George "Chief" Phillips (Albert Hall), Jay "Chef" Hicks (Frederic Forrest), Lance Johnson (Sam Bottoms), and Tyrone "Mr. Clean" Miller (a 14-year-old Creator/LaurenceFishburne) -- go up a river and into the depths of humanity.

!!I love the smell of tropes in the morning:

* EruditeStoner: Appropriately for Dennis Hopper's character; a half-crazed, stoned, hyperactive ex-hippie. He can quote Creator/RudyardKipling and Creator/TSEliot, but his riff on dialectics is pure gibberish.

* MadnessMantra: ''Never get off the boat! Never get off the boat!"

-->'''Roxanne:''' There are two of you, don't you see ? One that kills and one that loves.

** While Willard refuses to disclose his mission with the PBR crew, he is relatively affable with them despite outranking all of them considerably. The crew realizes his true nature after he mercy kills the Vietnamese girl without hesitation.

** Kilgore appears to be beloved by his men despite, or possibly because of, his willingness to send them into extremely dangerous combat zones. He leads from the front and does not appear the least bit concerned when shells explode right next to him.

''Apocalypse Now'' is a very loose adaptation of the classic Joseph Conrad novella ''Literature/HeartOfDarkness'', transporting the events of that book to 1970 Vietnam and Cambodia. The film took three years to complete before its 1979 release. It was directed by Creator/FrancisFordCoppola at the [[AuteurLicense height of his career]].

Special operations Captain [[Characters/ApolcalypseNow Benjamin Willard]] (Creator/MartinSheen) is sent to kill [[Characters/ApolcalypseNow Walter E. Kurtz]] (Creator/MarlonBrando), a Green Beret Colonel who has gone mad and formed a personality {{cult}} in Cambodia. After Colonel Bill Kilgore (Creator/RobertDuvall) clears off his initial path, Willard and his crew -- including George "Chief" Phillips (Albert Hall), Jay "Chef" Hicks (Frederic Forrest), Lance Johnson (Sam Bottoms), and Tyrone "Mr. Clean" Miller (a 14-year-old Creator/LaurenceFishburne) -- go up a river and into the depths of humanity.

Special operations Captain Benjamin Willard (Creator/MartinSheen) is sent to kill Walter E. Kurtz (Creator/MarlonBrando), a Green Beret Colonel who has gone mad and formed a personality {{cult}} in Cambodia. After Colonel Bill Kilgore (Creator/RobertDuvall) clears off his initial path, Willard and his crew -- including George "Chief" Phillips (Albert Hall), Jay "Chef" Hicks (Frederic Forrest), Lance Johnson (Sam Bottoms), and Tyrone "Mr. Clean" Miller (a 14-year-old Creator/LaurenceFishburne) -- go up a river and into the depths of humanity.

''Apocalypse Now'' is a very loose adaptation of the classic Joseph Conrad novella ''Literature/HeartOfDarkness'', transporting the events of that book to 1969 Vietnam and Cambodia. The film took three years to complete before its 1979 release. It was directed by Creator/FrancisFordCoppola at the [[AuteurLicense height of his career]].

* PyrrhicVictory: Willard successfully kills Kurtz. But three out of four of his men are dead, he'll be forever scarred by what he's witnessed on his journey, and [[ForgoneConclusion he'll eventually find that the entire war was fought for nothing]].

** In both the theatrical and Redux versions, the Photojournalist tells Willard that he's getting out of the compound and that's the last we see of him. In the workprint, [[spoiler:he gets shot to death by Captain Colby, who was completely cut out of both versions. Willard promptly kills him by throwing a knife to his chest]].

** Kurtz's backstory resembles that of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_B._Rheault Colonel Robert B. Rheault]], a Green Beret commander involved in [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_GAMMA#Capture.2C_interrogation.2C_and_killing_of_Chu_Van_Thai_Khac the execution of Chu Van Thai Khac]], a Vietnamese informant for the CIA in 1969. Rheault and several of his subordinates were arrested for murder, but the case was ultimately dismissed at the behest of military higher-ups. The phrase "terminate with extreme prejudice" entered the public discourse thanks to press coverage of this incident.

Captain Benjamin Willard (Creator/MartinSheen) is sent to kill Walter E. Kurtz (Creator/MarlonBrando), a Green Beret Colonel who has gone mad and formed a personality {{cult}} in Cambodia. After Colonel Bill Kilgore (Creator/RobertDuvall) clears off his initial path, Willard and his crew -- including George "Chief" Phillips (Albert Hall), Jay "Chef" Hicks (Frederic Forrest), Lance Johnson (Sam Bottoms), and Tyrone "Mr. Clean" Miller (a 14-year-old Creator/LaurenceFishburne) -- go up a river and into the depths of humanity.

* ArtisticLicenseMilitary: Kilgore has his air cavalry play "Ride of the Valkyries" from speakers attached to one of six helicopters as they ride in to bomb a Viet Cong base, saying his men use the music to psych themselves up and terrify the enemy. We hear the music from the perspective of the village as the choppers fly in. However, those speakers could not hope to break through the incredible noise that six attack choppers put out.
* AsskickingEqualsAuthority: Willard's prowess is shown early on in ''Redux'' when he beats some sense into a military orderly who is red-taping fuel supplies.