Year: 1979
Francis Ford Coppola's masterpiece & one of my all time favourites. This adaptation of Heart of Darkness is a visual treat from the opening shots of the helicopters bombing the quiet forests of Vietnam set to the tune of The Doors' The End to the climax with Willard executing Col. Kurtz, this film keeps the audience in a daze. This is one of those movies which are never appreciated fully with one viewing. It requires several, to understand & appreciate each little aspect of it, the music, the plot, the acting, the cinematography... it's sheer genius.
Martin Sheen plays arguably the best role in his acting career as Captain Willard, bored, disillusioned & yet hungry for the adrenaline rush of a mission entrusted to him, to find & assassinate the enigmatic Col.Kurtz who has set himself up as a God-like figure among the local tribes in Cambodia & formed his own army. Col. Kurtz is of course played by the larger than life Marlon Brando.
What follows is a series of events, blurring the lines between reality & imagination, good & evil building up to the inevitable climax, but by that time the movie & the viewer has already crossed the line into a kind of madness & is left almost in a daze.
The use of music in this film is spectacular. The classic opening sequence set to The End, the helicopter attacks set to March of the Valkyries, and the assassination scene, all make astounding use of the music, it almost becoming a part of the scene.
Apocalypse Now is in one word, beautiful, even though it is disturbing. It's best to watch the 2001 Director's Cut, available on DVD which has been remastered & brings out the delicate beauty of this movie, & contains several scenes which were originally deleted. A must watch for every self respecting movie viewer.
1 comment:
absolutely awesome film... the journey sometimes becomes madly surrealistic.
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