Apocalypse Now (1979)
1979
R
147 Minutes
At the height of the Vietnam war, Captain Benjamin Willard is sent on a dangerous mission that, officially, "does not exist, nor will it ever exist." His goal is to locate - and eliminate - a myste...
User Review
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Apocalypse Now is a hallucinatory war epic that delves into the psychological corruption, albeit an overrated film. After watching this, I've probably seen all the classic war masterpieces so am able to compare and contrast with many variations. There is no doubt that this is one of the best, just not THE best. The story is a loose adaptation of "Heart of Darkness" where a captain is ordered to terminate a colonel who they believe has gone mentally insane. Set in the midst of the Vietnam War, this is a visual spectacle. The bluray restoration in itself is magnificent, but the cinematography used here back in 1979 was way ahead of every other film. A yellow tinged filter applied to the majority of the shots to highlight the fire and harsh sunlight. The lighting was exquisitely minimal to enhance shadowy figures and the darkness of the jungle. Coppola's direction is yet again perfect. The narrative was consistently paced. The build up of Colonel Kurtz as a character was stupendous. He was portrayed to be a myth, a legend, with such anonymity yet with ominous overshadowing. Martin Sheen took on a transformative role and portrayed his character with class. A no nonsense captain who's mind is solely focussed on his classified objective. The supporting cast were good, albeit slightly unmemorable (except Robert Duvall). The lavish action set pieces were grand in scale and the mass usage of explosives made the depiction of war feel authentic. But...there lies my problem. On one half the narrative explores the war and its devastation, the other it attempts to expand on the psychological analysis of said war. The two didn't marinate. The only character that evolved psychologically was the captain. Everyone else was just there to exist and further the plot. It wasn't really executed intelligently. Then the confrontation with Kurtz felt like a let down. Brando's performance was great, but his character really didn't feel insane. It was subtly ambiguous, but his build up was loud and clear so it felt like a juxtaposition. Epic war film, mediocre psychological drama.1 member likes this review.
