“Apocalypse Now” is often described as one of the greatest films of all time; it is certainly one of the most unusual movies ever made. There is no doubt that it is the best of the Vietnam War-era motion pictures. This masterpiece from producer-director Francis Ford Coppola (“The Godfather” 1972), who also co-wrote the screenplay with John Milius, tells the story of a U. S. Army captain (Martin Sheen) sent on a secret mission into the back country of Vietnam to assassinate the renegade Col. Kurtz, played by Marlon Brando.
Coppola created some indefinable atmospherics in this picture, partly due to the subtle performances of the actors and to the stunning cinematography by Vittorio Storaro, which was one to two Academy Award wins for “Apocalypse” (the other was Best Sound). Much of the film featured Sheen traveling up river on his quest with four crewmen played by Frederic Forrest, Albert Hall, Sam Bottoms, and Laurence Fishburne in his first major film role.
Robert Duvall was featured in a subplot where his unit took in some surfing while he exclaimed, “I love the smell of napalm in the morning!” Others include Dennis Hopper, G. D. Spradlin, Harrison Ford, Scott Glenn, Jerry Ziesmer, and Bill Graham. Christian Marquand and Aurore Clemente were featured in the lengthy French plantation segment deleted from the original film release but added back on the DVD version.
“Apocalypse Now” is a motion picture classic that every fan of cinema should see, and was a hit at the box office in 1979, all thanks to United Artists and master filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola.
Apocalypse Now (1979)
cinema
My Review
“Apocalypse Now” is often described as one of the greatest films of all time; it is certainly one of the most unusual movies ever made. There is no doubt that it is the best of the Vietnam War-era motion pictures. This masterpiece from producer-director Francis Ford Coppola (“The Godfather” 1972), who also co-wrote the screenplay with John Milius, tells the story of a U. S. Army captain (Martin Sheen) sent on a secret mission into the back country of Vietnam to assassinate the renegade Col. Kurtz, played by Marlon Brando.
Coppola created some indefinable atmospherics in this picture, partly due to the subtle performances of the actors and to the stunning cinematography by Vittorio Storaro, which was one to two Academy Award wins for “Apocalypse” (the other was Best Sound). Much of the film featured Sheen traveling up river on his quest with four crewmen played by Frederic Forrest, Albert Hall, Sam Bottoms, and Laurence Fishburne in his first major film role.
Robert Duvall was featured in a subplot where his unit took in some surfing while he exclaimed, “I love the smell of napalm in the morning!” Others include Dennis Hopper, G. D. Spradlin, Harrison Ford, Scott Glenn, Jerry Ziesmer, and Bill Graham. Christian Marquand and Aurore Clemente were featured in the lengthy French plantation segment deleted from the original film release but added back on the DVD version.
“Apocalypse Now” is a motion picture classic that every fan of cinema should see, and was a hit at the box office in 1979, all thanks to United Artists and master filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola.