Apocalypse Now

( 10 )

Overview

One of a cluster of late-1970s films about the Vietnam War, Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now adapts the Joseph Conrad novella Heart of Darkness to depict the war as a descent into primal madness. Capt. Willard Martin Sheen, already on the edge, is assigned to find and deal with AWOL Col. Kurtz Marlon Brando, rumored to have set himself up in the Cambodian jungle as a local, lethal godhead. Along the way Willard encounters napalm and Wagner fan Col. Kilgore Robert Duvall, draftees who prefer to surf and do ...
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Overview

One of a cluster of late-1970s films about the Vietnam War, Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now adapts the Joseph Conrad novella Heart of Darkness to depict the war as a descent into primal madness. Capt. Willard Martin Sheen, already on the edge, is assigned to find and deal with AWOL Col. Kurtz Marlon Brando, rumored to have set himself up in the Cambodian jungle as a local, lethal godhead. Along the way Willard encounters napalm and Wagner fan Col. Kilgore Robert Duvall, draftees who prefer to surf and do drugs, a USO Playboy Bunny show turned into a riot by the raucous soldiers, and a jumpy photographer Dennis Hopper telling wild, reverent tales about Kurtz. By the time Willard sees the heads mounted on stakes near Kurtz's compound, he knows Kurtz has gone over the deep end, but it is uncertain whether Willard himself now agrees with Kurtz's insane dictum to "Drop the Bomb. Exterminate them all." Coppola himself was not certain either, and he tried several different endings between the film's early rough-cut screenings for the press, the Palme d'Or-winning "work-in-progress" shown at Cannes, and the final 35 mm U.S. release also the ending on the video cassette. The chaotic production also experienced shut-downs when a typhoon destroyed the set and star Sheen suffered a heart attack; the budget ballooned and Coppola covered the overages himself. These production headaches, which Coppola characterized as being like the Vietnam War itself, have been superbly captured in the documentary, Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse. Despite the studio's fears and mixed reviews of the film's ending, Apocalypse Now became a substantial hit and was nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor for Duvall's psychotic Kilgore, and Best Screenplay. It won Oscars for sound and for Vittorio Storaro's cinematography. This hallucinatory, Wagnerian project has produced admirers and detractors of equal ardor; it resembles no other film ever made, and its nightmarish aura and polarized reception aptly reflect the tensions and confusions of the Vietnam era.
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Special Features

Audio commentary with Francis Ford Coppola; "A conversation with Martin Sheen and Francis Ford Coppola"; "An interview with John Milius" by Francis Ford Coppola; "Fred Roos: casting apocalypse"; Never-before-seen complete Francis Ford Coppola interview with Roger Ebert and the 2001 cannes film festival; Original 1938 mercury theate recording of "heart of darkness," featuring Orson Welles; "Monkey sampan" lost scene; "Destruction of the kurtz compound" end credits with audio commentary by Francis Ford Coppola; "The hallow men," video of Marlon Brando readin TS Eliot's poem; "The birth of 5.1 sound"; Additional scenes:; "Ghost helicopter flyover" sound effects demonstration; "A million feet of film: the editing of Apocalypse Now"; "The music of Apocalypse Now"; "The synthesizer soundtrack" article by music synthesizer inventor Bob Moog; "Heard any good movies lately? the sound design of Apocalypse Now"; "The final mix"; "Apocalypse then and now"; "The color palette of Apocalypse Now"; "Pbr streetgang"; Bd touch and metamenu remote enabled for iphone/ipod/ipad interactivity
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Editorial Reviews

All Movie Guide - Mark Deming
Filmmaking masterpieces are often products of fate rather than design, and while Francis Ford Coppola's fierce ambition to create a great work of art is obvious in Apocalypse Now, the same ambition often threatens to crush the picture under its own weight. Apocalypse Now is an elaborate but often haphazard construction that starts to run out of gas at the three-quarter point without delivering a satisfying ending, and Marlon Brando's often lackadaisical performance as Col. Kurtz never lives up to the massive buildup the story gives it. And yet there are moments as powerful as anything Coppola (or anyone else) ever put on screen, and there are enough of them to make the film a flawed but unmistakable triumph. The air attack set to Wagner's "The Ride of the Valkyries" and the Battle at Do Lung Bridge capture the terror and madness of war as few films have, and the further Capt. Willard (Martin Sheen) and his men travel up the river, the deeper they are drawn into a surreal nightmare where right and wrong, danger and security, past and present, have begun to blur. Coppola also drew a superb performance from Martin Sheen as Willard; a fine but inconsistent actor, Sheen rarely had a role as good as Willard, and he rises to the occasion. There's also excellent supporting work from Robert Duvall, Frederic Forrest, G.D. Spradlin, and particularly Albert Hall, who, as Chief, has the burden of being the sole unambiguously disciplined and dedicated soldier in the film. Coppola was famously quoted as saying "This isn't a film about Viet Nam, this film is Viet Nam." If, like that war, Apocalypse Now doesn't quite achieve its objective, it comes close enough to stand as Coppola's last great film.
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Product Details

  • Release Date: 10/19/2010
  • UPC: 031398126201
  • Original Release: 1979

    • Rating:

  • Source: Lions Gate
  • Region Code: ABC
  • Presentation: Special Edition / Wide Screen
  • Sound: DTS 5.1-Channel Surround Sound, Dolby AC-3 Surround Sound
  • Language: English
  • Time: 3:22:00
  • Format: Blu-ray
  • Sales rank: 12,078

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits
Marlon Brando Col. Walter E. Kurtz
Robert Duvall Lt. Col. Kilgore
Martin Sheen Capt. Benjamin Willard
Frederic Forrest Chef
Dennis Hopper Photo Journalist
Samuel Bottoms Lance
Albert Hall Chief
Harrison Ford Colonel
G.D. Spradlin General
Bill Graham Agent
Cynthia Wood Playmate of the Year
Francis Ford Coppola Film Director
Bo Byers MP Sergeant No. 1
Colleen Camp Playmate
George Cantero Soldier with Suitcase
George Canters Soldier with Suitcase
Linda Carpenter Playmate
Marc Coppola AFRS Announcer
R. Lee Ermey Heliocopter Pilot
Laurence Fishburne Clean
Scott Glenn Colby
James Keane Kilgore's Machine-Gunner
Damien Leake Kilgore's Machine-Gunner
Tom Mason Supply Sgt. Fourier
Ron McQueen Injured Soldier
Herb Rice Roach
Jerry Ross Johnny from Malibu
Kerry Rossall Mike from San Diego
Vittorio Storaro TV Photographer (uncredited)
Jack Thibeau Soldier in Trench
Glenn Walken Lt. Carlsen
Jerry Ziesmer Civilian
Technical Credits
Francis Ford Coppola Director, Producer, Screenwriter
Tony Brandt Asst. Director
Lawrence James Cavanaugh Special Effects
Leon Chooluck Production Manager
Carmine Coppola Score Composer
Gray Fredrickson Co-producer
Lisa Fruchtman Editor
Angelo P. Graham Art Director
Jerry Greenberg Editor
Michael Herr Screenwriter
Charles James Costumes/Costume Designer
Barry Malkin Editor
Richard Marks Editor
John Milius Screenwriter
Walter Murch Editor
Bob Nelson Set Decoration/Design
George R. Nelson Set Decoration/Design
Barrie M. Osborne Production Manager
Fred Roos Co-producer
Tom Sternberg Co-producer
Vittorio Storaro Cinematographer
Dean Tavoularis Production Designer
Jerry Ziesmer Asst. Director
Joseph Conrad Source Author
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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4.5
( 10 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(9)

4 Star

(0)

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Sort by: Showing all of 10 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    Just plain awesome.

    This movie is by far one of my favorite movies of all time. I do suggest that you read the book it's based on before you watch it though. The first reviewer obviously didn't as he has the mind of a rich movie critic and believes that anything he thinks is "un-american" shouldn't be seen or heard. This movie is stunning and gripping and guaranteed to trip you out. Especially the circus scene. The book is a tough read. My fellow seniors at my highschool had to read it and take a test on it in order to pass. Its only 100+ pages and took months for my classmates to finish. I was done in 2 weeks. Read it before you watch the movie and comapre and contrast for yourself. It is one of the best films to date. Period.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    Destructive anti-war fairy tale

    This fantasy is simply two-plus hours of anti-American, anti-war nonsense. It is destructive because so many people take this ridiculous portrayal as an accurate depiction of the Vietnam war and American soldiers. There is absolutely no basis in fact or history for the main premise (an officer has gone insane and set himself up as a local god-like figure) or any of the characters or events portrayed. I realize it is not billed as a documentary -- but the movie does try to pass events as realistic and many believe it. Contrary to this movie, American soldiers did not randomly murder civilians, surf in combat zones, attack USO performers, operate without any command structure, or almost every other activity in this movie. Perhaps some will enjoy it as a nightmarish fantasy - but it's pure fiction and not in anyway relevant to understanding the Vietnam War of the 1960's and 70's.

    0 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    there is only one movie better then this movie in the whole world, Platoon

    the 2nd best war movie ever, i was in shock of how good this movie is, Martin Sheen is fascinating and Robert Duvall is hardcore. I extremely recommend this movie for whoever loves war movies

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    Amazing Movie

    This is one of my favorite movies. It does a great job of showing the horrors and stupidity of war. You can see Laurence Fishburne as a 14 year old actor.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 1, 2010

    Great movie making

    Francis Ford Coppola has constructed a masterpiece here that boasts great acting, a great script (even though Marlon Brando Famously, after paying $1000000 to play the part, said he wouldn't read the script)and a marvalous director. Apocalypse Now is probably the best war film to date and even though the set was about as hectic as you get this film, I think, was helped by that.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 13, 2011

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  • Anonymous

    Posted August 29, 2010

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  • Anonymous

    Posted February 13, 2012

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  • Anonymous

    Posted December 11, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted December 11, 2010

    No text was provided for this review.

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