Apocalypse Now (1979)

During the Vietnam War, Captain Willard is sent on a dangerous mission into Cambodia to assassinate a renegade colonel who has set himself up as a god among a local tribe.

Director:

Francis Ford Coppola (as Francis Coppola)

Writers:

John Milius, Francis Ford Coppola,

Stars:

Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall

Top 250 #47 | Won 2 Oscars. Another 19 wins & 30 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Marlon Brando	...	Colonel Walter E. Kurtz
Martin Sheen	...	Captain Benjamin L. Willard
Robert Duvall	...	Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore
Frederic Forrest	...	Jay 'Chef' Hicks
Sam Bottoms	...	Lance B. Johnson
Laurence Fishburne	...	Tyrone 'Clean' Miller (as Larry Fishburne)
Albert Hall	...	Chief Phillips
Harrison Ford	...	Colonel Lucas
Dennis Hopper	...	Photojournalist
G.D. Spradlin	...	General Corman
Jerry Ziesmer	...	Jerry, Civilian
Scott Glenn	...	Lieutenant Richard M. Colby
Bo Byers	...	MP Sergeant #1
James Keane	...	Kilgore's Gunner
Kerry Rossall	...	Mike from San Diego

Storyline

It is the height of the war in Vietnam, and U.S. Army Captain Willard is sent by Colonel Lucas and a General to carry out a mission that, officially, 'does not exist - nor will it ever exist'. The mission: To seek out a mysterious Green Beret Colonel, Walter Kurtz, whose army has crossed the border into Cambodia and is conducting hit-and-run missions against the Viet Cong and NVA. The army believes Kurtz has gone completely insane and Willard's job is to eliminate him! Willard, sent up the Nung River on a U.S. Navy patrol boat, discovers that his target is one of the most decorated officers in the U.S. Army. His crew meets up with surfer-type Lt-Colonel Kilgore, head of a U.S Army helicopter cavalry group which eliminates a Viet Cong outpost to provide an entry point into the Nung River. After some hair-raising encounters, in which some of his crew are killed, Willard, Lance and Chef reach Colonel Kurtz's outpost, beyond the Do Lung Bridge. Now, after becoming prisoners of Kurtz, will...

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Plot Keywords:

jungle | vietnam | army | green beret | insanity | 

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Taglines:

The Horror. . . The Horror. . .

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Genres:

Drama | War

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Certificate:

R

Details

Official Sites:

American Zoetrope

Country:

USA

Language:

English French Vietnamese Khmer

Release Date:

15 August 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

Apocalypse Now

Filming Locations:

Philippines

Box Office

Budget:

$31,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£68,351 (UK) (30 November 2001)

Gross:

£338,493 (UK) (21 December 2001)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Zoetrope Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

153 min 202 min (Redux)

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby Digital (Redux version) Dolby (35 mm prints) DTS (Redux version)

Color:

Color (Technicolor) Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Martin Sheen's son Charlie Sheen also stars as the main protagonist in a movie that is set during the Vietnam War that is in the IMDB top 250 - Platoon.

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Goofs

In the scene the morning after the Do Long bridge incident, following Lance's popping smoke ("purple haze," he calls it), Clean is shown about to listen to his tape and an M-60 is shown on the left with linked ammo dangling and draped over the boat's side panel. However, the ammo rounds are clearly blanks with the characteristic blunt bottle-nose tips, not real rounds.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Willard: [voiceover] Saigon... shit; I'm still only in Saigon... Every time I think I'm gonna wake up back in the jungle.
Willard: When I was home after my first tour, it was worse.
[grabs at flying insect]
Willard: I'd wake up and there'd be nothing. I hardly said a word to my wife, until I said "yes" to a divorce. When I was here, I wanted to be there; when I was there, all I could think of was getting back into the jungle. I'm here a week now... waiting for a mission... getting softer. Every minute I stay ...

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Crazy Credits

There are no opening credits in the film. The title can be seen as graffiti in the Kurtz compound late in the film.

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Connections

Spoofed in Problem Child (1990)

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Soundtracks

(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction
Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards
Performed by The Rolling Stones
Courtesy of ABKCO Records

User Reviews

Lives Up To Its Title

From all of the Vietnam war movies this is probably the most frightening and disturbing and that is really saying a lot with so many spectacular ones that have come out. It has this freakish feel to it. Everything is so chaotic in the movie it scares you. It is not like it shows a lot of different things compared to the other Vietnam war movies. What does push to such a high level is the:

The directing was spectacular here. Francis Ford Coppola shows of his talent in his last epic movie. Unlike other directors he makes you feel as if you are in the war. Most others just display and show you the horrors of war. Coppola though makes you feel confused, shocked and scared. These feelings of war are usually told to us from a movie or story. This is something that I have only experienced very few times while watching a film. The writing was of course amazing too. It brought you write into the middle of the movie. It never made me bored and this movie is three hours. The cinematography goes hand in hand with the directing which very much added to the freakish experience of watching this film showing all the chaos around you even when everything seems calm.

The acting was bone-chilling. Just look at Marlon Brando also giving his last great performance playing a deluded, out of whack colonel. When ever I think of a crazy gone made soldier I think Marlon Brando in Apocalpyse Now. With Brando n this film you don't want to look into his eyes. Like the movie he was freakish. To me this performance is as memorable as the one he gave in The Godfather. Martin Sheen gave a very deep performance and probably the best one of his career making you see everything through his eyes all the craziness he is experiencing and yet wanting him to get to his goal. It is just a wonder why these two did not get Oscar nominations. Robert Duvall was able to show part of that craziness with his ludicrous battle strategies, among those playing music to tell the enemy he is coming. Also Duvall's character asking one of the soldiers to surf in the middle of a battle was just shocking but believable. Other great supporting performances were given by a young Laurence Fishburne, Sam Bottoms and Frederic Forest who all summed up the attitudes of many of the soldiers at that time without becoming a cliché. Also for once cameos were put into good use having Dennis Hopper and Harrison Ford who I both love.

I would definitely recommend people to watch this movie. It has a message and everyone involved in the making of it is at their best. There is nothing more I could ask of this movie with its great acting, directing, writing, cinematography and great ending. Watch and you will see why it lives up to its title Apocalpyse Now.