![]() His shadow looms large over the entire story. The second issue is the ending itself, specifically the portrayal of Kurtz. The pacing of APOCALYPSE NOW is never propulsive, but the French plantation scene kills it stone dead. (Or perhaps the sweet release of death.) Lastly, a gauzy woman swans in to spout profundities about the duality of man and provide us with a serving of obligatory manic pixie boobs (because all films, even great ones, require female nudity to keep the audience engaged). (In your cinema seat, you glance at your watch and begin to long for the purity of CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST.) French men argue about what it means to be French. In amongst a series of vignettes of increasing insanity, this segment appears to have parachuted in from a different movie. The first is a scene set in a French rubber plantation. There are two key stumbling blocks which prevent FINAL CUT from fulfilling its nightmarish potential. The aimless need to obey pointless orders (such as rebuilding the Do Lung bridge, only for it to be blown up again and again) is reminiscent of the mindless bureaucracy of BRAZIL. Early on, the theatre of operations of the Vietnam War is described as ‘confused.’ The film doubles down on confirming this to be a colossal understatement. The line between diegetic and non-diegetic is blurred, adding to the dreamlike quality of the narrative. The score is by turns imposing, epic and eerie. We are exposed, a raw nerve – surrounded by fire, smoke, constant explosions. The opening of FINAL CUT is a sensory assault on both the eyes and the ears. The attitude of Kilgore (who is casual about the fight against “Charlie,” but views surfing as serious business) and the men who surround him falls in direct contrast to what we, the audience, experience. Colonel “I love the smell of napalm in the morning” Kilgore (the deservedly award-laden Robert Duvall). This dissonant serenity recurs again and again over the course of the film, most notably embodied by Lt. The trees disappear in a fireball which engulfs the screen, and pleasant music plays. Helicopters clatter nearby, occasionally swooping into shot. It opens on a long shot of trees swishing in the wind. There is a lot to love about FINAL CUT (much of which the theatrical cut shares). The horror is that his actions can be rationalised. Thus the horror at the heart of APOCALYPSE NOW is not the things Kurtz has done. Great evil to achieve their goals are the sanest people of all. Perhaps in the business of war, those who are prepared to commit ![]() As we approach him, we approach, too, a disturbing idea: perhaps Kurtz is not mad. His methods for fighting the Viet Cong have become “unsound” – for which, read: “batshit crazy.” But this isn’t the whole truth. The higher-ups want him gone because he’s gone AWOL, setting up his own jungle stronghold which he rules with the authority of a god. Our final destination is Kurtz (Marlon Brando), who embodies the logical apex of this madness. We accompany Willard (Martin Sheen), into situations of ever-stranger insanity and violence. No one knows who is in charge, and everything is on fire. The American soldiers are little more than children. Death feels random, the enemy faceless, part of the land itself. From the beginning, the audience is immersed in war. But does it stand up?ĪPOCALYPSE NOW chronicles a languid slide into a very special kind of hell. Both REDUX and FINAL CUT were released under Coppola’s supervision, and so it is fair to say that the latter represents the director’s definitive vision of the final product. THE FINAL CUT, released this year, splits the difference at 182 minutes. Hours, while APOCALYPSE NOW REDUX (2001) piles on another 49 minutes. The original theatrical cut clocks in at around two and a half Given the troubled release and the volume of footage available (Coppola was reputed to have shot over one million feet of film), it is unsurprising that the picture has been revisited over the years. Kurtz, a decorated US war hero – and assassinate him.Īlthough considered iconic today, the shooting and release of Francis Ford Coppola’s APOCALYPSE NOW (1979) was beset with problems (the list is too long to include here), and the finished product was far from universally acclaimed at the time. ![]() His mission? To track down Colonel Walter E. Captain Willard, a special operations veteran of multiple tours, is sent upriver into the jungle on a naval launch. It is 1969: the Vietnam War has been going on for fourteen years, and will continue for five more.
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