Film Apocalypse Now Redux: A Harrowing Psychedelic Journey
Disclaimer: I was rather high on cannabis while I watched this, and I may have missed a few bits. However, I feel my intoxication enhanced the experience rather than detracted from it.
No film has freaked me out to the degree that Apocalypse Now has. This, in my opinion, is a good thing. And while I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, I'd like to point out what I consider to be the flaws before talking about what I liked.
I know this is some flame-bait here, but I believe that Marlon Brando's performance was the weakest in the film. I could hardly make out what he was saying at times, though my aforementioned use of marijuana no doubt contributed to this. He was not as terrifying as the build-up seemed to suggest, and I considered Kurtz to be something of a let-down. This was due to the acting rather than the writing, though. To be fair, I've never been a fan of Brando so this may reflect bias on my part.
The ending sequence with Kurtz's cult was probably the second worst part of the movie—not that any part could be called bad—and the worst was the part at the French plantation. The latter segment didn't add much in my view, and seemed to be sort of a non-sequitur. The former was alright, but for me this movie was about the journey, not the destination.
Everything else was pretty fantastic. The brutal, chaotic progression of the film's events reflects the dischord of war itself; one feels uneasy at the lack of order and general human decency as the boat moves further up the river. The helicopter attack on the village was particularly gut-wrenching; the way the villagers took cover from the helicopters reminded me of tornado drills back in elementary school, making me feel for the nameless victims as human beings. Kilgore's condemnation of them as "savages" was one of the most poignantly ironic statements I've heard in a film.
The soundtrack was impeccable as well. The opening scene of the napalm hitting the trees while "This is the End" played in the background told me just how this movie was going to be. It was every bit as trippy, horrifying and philosophical as I'd hoped, and the music was a big part of that. The weed helped, too.
If you haven't seen this classic, I'd recommend watching it. It's probably the best war movie I've seen, and its influence is evident in many later films in the genre. Thank you for reading!
Film A Masterpiece with a Marlon Brando-Shaped Hiccup
Note that this is a review of the theatrical version (the only version I've seen) which I saw for the first time recently.
What can I say about Apocalypse Now that hasn't already been said (and far better than I ever could)? It is, without a doubt, a masterpiece. There's a reason this film is a cornerstone of American cinema and considered one of the greatest films ever produced.
Everything about it — the cinematography, score, performances, pacing — comes together to create a surreal sense of terror and dread, a true descent into madness and hell. More than any horror film I've seen, this film truly manages to get under the skin and unsettle. It portrays how lost and devastated the soldiers have become and is very spiritually faithful to Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness as the world is gradually stripped of its sanity the longer they follow the river.
Captain Willard, in particular, is wonderfully realized - his character's battle with despair is made more poignant and pronounced by the moments of hope. Martin Sheen's performance of a man struggle not to fall completely over the edge is astounding.
My one issue, however, centers around Kurtz. He works very well as a narrative device, as a reason for Willard to make his journey and as a representation of the depths to which Willard and others could sink. But as a character, he feels inauthentic, cliché, and very Hollywood-esque. Now, this may be a side effect of Apocalypse Now's ENORMOUS influence on subsequent films, but there's something about Kurtz that comes across as very rote and predictable.
Oddly enough, it feels like the film is trying too hard with him. Trying too hard to make him tragic and deep when scenes with Willard accomplished this so much better and with far greater emotional resonance.
As an example, Kurtz's line about how hypocritical it is that young men are taught to drop fire on people but can't write "fuck" on their planes because it's obscene seems artificial when compared to a scene, earlier on, of Willard killing a Vietnamese woman his fellow soldiers had wounded in a panic and now want to help. That scene perfectly illustrated Willard's disgust with the hypocrisy of war in a way that renders Kurtz's lines a pale shadow.
Despite my issues with Kurtz, though, he in no way hampers the fantastic achievement that is Willard's story.