A Short Review of Apocalypse Now (1979)

The War Will Be Here Tomorrow

Jeffrey Clemmons
Jul 25, 2017 · 3 min read

In honor of Dunkirk, I continue my retrospective of iconic war films, this time Apocalypse Now.

Apocalypse Now is the 1979 directorial effort of renowned director Francis Ford Coppola, a fitting close to a robust and historic oeuvre of works throughout the 1970s including both parts of The Godfather and Patton. To some, it is his finest film. In short, it tells the story of a captain put on leave who is then called back into duty to complete a mission that others before him have failed at — the assassination of a rogue colonel who has gone “completely insane.” It is partly an adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness for the modern era, under the auspices of the Vietnam War, America’s darkest chapter. It stars Martin Sheen as the film’s lead, Captain Willard; supplementing him are Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Frederic Forrest, Dennis Hopper, and Harrison Ford (briefly).

Apocalypse Now is the bloody, paranoid, acid-tipped visual to Jimi Hendrix’s “Machine Gun”

There are a couple of versions of the film which exist — the theatrical version, the Redux version (subject of this review), and a bootleg “work-print” version; each longer than the last, with the work-print being almost 300 minutes long. I recommend the Redux version because it is perhaps the most complete version of the film, the work-print is truly rough, though still brilliant. If you just want to be able to say you’ve watched the classic, or are just short on time, stick with the 2 and a half our theatrical version.

It’s scored by Carmine Coppola (father to Francis), but features tasteful rock of the era, prominently “The End” by the Doors, whose message underscores the entire film; Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries,” also appears, to give a hint at the unexpected juxtapositions formed in the film. Coppola’s progressive cinematic style — the heavy use of crossfade in this film reaches the heights of high opera, though a contemporary reviewer of the film called it anything but — truly brings the Vietnam war to you, wherever you watch it.

To some contemporary reviewers of the film, it was anything but operatic or emotional, perhaps because it was released just 4 years after the official close of the Vietnam War, by which point most of the nation’s audiences had been thoroughly inundated with brutal images, newsreels, and books on the subject. Yet, to the modern viewer, the film will come not so much as a shock, but a harrowing odyssey into the depths of man’s heart, filled with equal parts laughter and terror. The film is darkly addictive, entertaining, a serious film that requires the strictest attention.

There is no war film like it because it is not a film about war, but is the war.

It is an immediate classic that is full of quotables and thought-provoking moments, but the only way to experience this film is not vicariously through a review, but by watching it, in full. It will startle and amaze you, but most poignantly, it will scare you, leaving you as scarred as Captain Willard is by the film’s end.

Grade: A+

A “redux” version of this review will appear later on my page that gives a lengthier analysis and my full thoughts on Apocalypse Now.

The Unprofessionals

Relentlessly honest opinions on all things sports and entertainment.

Jeffrey Clemmons

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The Unprofessionals

Relentlessly honest opinions on all things sports and entertainment.