Coppola is a truly unique director in several ways. Perhaps the one thing that really defines him is that he is NOT defined by his gimmicks. When you watch a film by Martin Scorsese, he may surprise you, but you know that you're going to get some exotic camera movements, some fast paced editing and, if it's set in modern times, "Gimme Shelter" by the Rolling Stones will play at least once. Apocalypse Now defines Coppola's unpredictability.
The film is, supposedly, based on the novel Heart of Darkness, but to be completely honest, there are really only a few key parallels, some similar scenes. The movie itself is an entity all its own. Benjamin J. Willard, played by Martin Sheen, is our lead, a special operatives agent, an assassin, who is slowly going stir crazy awaiting his next assignment.
He only wants to get back in the field, while he's still strong, and sane, enough to fight. He's not patriotic, he simply has nothing else to live for and can't take another day imprisoned in this room. We start with helicopters flying overhead, and Benjamin Willard going slowly insane.
The famous shot of Sheen punching the mirror was not scripted. He really went that crazy. The film is full of scenes and moments that were not scripted, and not just because of Coppola's open attitude towards improvisation. The making of feature on this film is just about as wild and as fascinating as the movie itself, but we've only got time to review one or the other for now...
From the first scene to the last, the movie is full of fascinating characters and cameos. We see Harrison Ford in the mission briefing scene playing a one-conversation character, and then we meet Cockroach, a character who never speaks, but rather, sleeps through most of his scene, fires a grenade, and goes back to sleep, while remaining the most gripping character in the scene. We have Robert Duvall as Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore, and...
This isn't even getting into the main cast, these characters appear for one scene and then disappear from the film forever. Marlon Brando as Colonel Kurtz doesn't even appear until the very end, but his presence, his mere existence, casts a shadow that commands the entirety of the film, despite his limited screen time, or perhaps, mythologized by his non-presence.
The film succeeds on every possible level. It is endearing, at times, when you see the camaraderie between the men on Willard's boat. It's funny, it's exciting with some of the greatest action set pieces ever put to film, it's a jaw dropping piece of cinematic art, yet... The pessimism, the nihilism of the two main characters, Willard and Kurtz, eventually takes over and overwhelms every other aspect of the film.
Coppola always cites Rumble Fish as his own favorite amongst his films, but fans will duke it out between Apocalypse Now and The Godfather Part 2. Of course, it's always up to the individual viewer, but without a doubt, this film is certainly his most ambitious, his most unpredictable, and his most insane movie. - 40726
The film is, supposedly, based on the novel Heart of Darkness, but to be completely honest, there are really only a few key parallels, some similar scenes. The movie itself is an entity all its own. Benjamin J. Willard, played by Martin Sheen, is our lead, a special operatives agent, an assassin, who is slowly going stir crazy awaiting his next assignment.
He only wants to get back in the field, while he's still strong, and sane, enough to fight. He's not patriotic, he simply has nothing else to live for and can't take another day imprisoned in this room. We start with helicopters flying overhead, and Benjamin Willard going slowly insane.
The famous shot of Sheen punching the mirror was not scripted. He really went that crazy. The film is full of scenes and moments that were not scripted, and not just because of Coppola's open attitude towards improvisation. The making of feature on this film is just about as wild and as fascinating as the movie itself, but we've only got time to review one or the other for now...
From the first scene to the last, the movie is full of fascinating characters and cameos. We see Harrison Ford in the mission briefing scene playing a one-conversation character, and then we meet Cockroach, a character who never speaks, but rather, sleeps through most of his scene, fires a grenade, and goes back to sleep, while remaining the most gripping character in the scene. We have Robert Duvall as Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore, and...
This isn't even getting into the main cast, these characters appear for one scene and then disappear from the film forever. Marlon Brando as Colonel Kurtz doesn't even appear until the very end, but his presence, his mere existence, casts a shadow that commands the entirety of the film, despite his limited screen time, or perhaps, mythologized by his non-presence.
The film succeeds on every possible level. It is endearing, at times, when you see the camaraderie between the men on Willard's boat. It's funny, it's exciting with some of the greatest action set pieces ever put to film, it's a jaw dropping piece of cinematic art, yet... The pessimism, the nihilism of the two main characters, Willard and Kurtz, eventually takes over and overwhelms every other aspect of the film.
Coppola always cites Rumble Fish as his own favorite amongst his films, but fans will duke it out between Apocalypse Now and The Godfather Part 2. Of course, it's always up to the individual viewer, but without a doubt, this film is certainly his most ambitious, his most unpredictable, and his most insane movie. - 40726
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