Although I’ve seen quite a few war movies in my time, Apocalypse Now takes the prize as perhaps the most bizarre and insane war movie that I’ve ever seen. The film has the reputation for being a classic, having taken inspiration from Joseph Conrad’s classic novel, Heart of Darkness. This much is certainly true, and it’s easy to see why this film earned that reputation. At the same time, this is also an extremely absurdist film, being almost comedic at times in its portrayal of the Vietnam War while also taking the subject matter quite seriously where it counts.
Watching Apocalypse Now today, though, it becomes clear that is exactly the point that screenwriter John Milius and writer/director Francis Ford Coppola were making about Vietnam and about war in general. As they have envisioned it in this film, war is a kind of madness, inspiring different forms of insanity. The writers of the film also make a clear argument against the mismanagement of the Vietnam War, using the absurdist language of the film to make their point. The search for Colonel Kurtz becomes a march into the insanity of war, with the protagonist Captain Willard seeing the war through the eyes of the audience. There is a poetry and a vision to the statement that Coppola and Milius, one that elevates the problematic work of Joseph Conrad and speaks universally to the madness and tragedy of war.
One point I appreciate about Apocalypse Now is how true it feels to the realities of that war, while at the same time being ridiculously exaggerated for effect. John Milius in particular understood war fairly well, something that comes across in his other films, including Conan the Barbarian. The scene with the surfer colonel that introduced the classic line “I love the smell of napalm in the morning” is pure Milius, drawing on Milius’s own love of surfing while establishing the absurdist tone of the film. Structurally, this movie is a loose connection of different scenes, connected by the character journey of Willard as he understands Kurtz’s point of view more and more. Each of these scenes also deepens Kurtz’s character, as Willard experiences everything that drove Kurtz further into frustration and madness. Though the movie also subtly asks the question of who is truly the most insane: Kurtz, or the people fighting and masterminding the war? This ends up being a more complicated question than it appears at first, with Willard trying to maintain his own sanity as he asks himself that very thing. The movie gives no clear answers, either about the question it raises or about Kurtz, and that might seem frustrating after the long journey the film takes the viewer on. At the same time, that also is very probably the point that Milius and Coppola are making with this film, that the viewer has to form an individual answer about the material it presents.
Apocalypse Now spares no expense with the cast, providing one of the best casts you could find. Including some surprising names. Martin Sheen during his prime played an excellent everyman character as Willard, presenting his character journey through subtle visual acting. Sheen understood the war-weariness of the character, the feeling of disconnection from even his own side as he begins to see Kurtz’s position. Marlon Brando is not present for most of the film, but in the moments where he is present, he casts a large shadow over this film. Brando’s reading of Kurtz’s letters capture the sense of the character’s mental decline, until we fully see Brando and get a sense of his charisma, intelligence, and brokenness. Most of the other actors get short scenes and walk off the stage, including many legendary actors like Harrison Ford, Robert Duvall (who is memorable as the surfer colonel), and Dennis Hopper (offering another memorable performance as the photojournalist). One surprising face is a very young Laurence Fishburne as Tyrone “Clean” Miller, the gunner’s mate; Fishburne lied about his age to get the role, and his strong acting chops were evident even in this early role. Frederic Forrest also does an excellent job as Chef, the engineman with a background as a sous-chef. The characters are all interesting, even those we don’t spend time with, and the acting brings out the most from them, even when we don’t get an extended amount of time with most of these characters.
Apocalypse Now is a surreal, insane, and absurdist war film, but that’s why it’s become such a classic since its initial release. It’s a movie that speaks some hard truths about war that would be difficult to express in serious language, and that is to the film’s credit. The film is not without its issues—its slow pace (especially in its extended cuts) and its lack of clear resolution blunts its impact somewhat—but it’s a fascinating journey into madness and war regardless. There isn’t a film that is truly like this one, and I’d recommend watching this at least once simply because it is a film classic with a stellar cast. However, it is definitely an acquired taste, especially if you’re not into war films. But if you are a fan of war films and the movie’s absurdist style, you may find a great deal to appreciate in it.
Score: 4.6/5
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Writer: John Milius, Francis Ford Coppola, and Michael Herr
Cast: Martin Sheen, Martin Brando, Robert Duvall, Laurence Fishburne, Harrison Ford, Dennis Hopper, Frederic Forrest, Sam Bottoms, Albert Hall, Christian Marquand
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- Steve Sellers had been a fan of superheroes ever since Superman: The Movie. But it took the JSA, the Legion of Super-Heroes, Dragonlance, Lord of the Rings, Twilight Zone, and Chris Claremont's legendary run on the X-Men to make him a writer and a longtime fan of comics, fantasy, and science fiction. Steve is the co-creator of WHITE DRUID & MICHAEL NERO and GUARDIANS OF ELAYIM for Omen Comics, and he is also the creator of BLITZ and SHOCKWAVE for Revelation Comics (an imprint of Omen Comics).
