What more would you expect from Coppola?

Rating: 10/10 (11 August 2004)

I'm almost embarrassed that as a big movie fan I had not seen this title sooner so I finally rented it and decided to see what it was all about. I went into it expecting a good film as just about all of Coppola's are but what I found was an incredible experience that takes you straight into the hearts and minds of the actors. I think the two keys to the film's success in the sense of pulling the viewer in is its acting and the cinematography.
Firstly, the cinematography is absolutely masterful and shows Coppola's supreme understanding of the camera. The shots which I was most enthralled with were the POV shots from the boat is which as the viewer you would feel like you were on the boat, being pushed through the smoke and humidity. At times I almost felt as if I was on a theme park ride, something like Universal's Jurrasic Park ride, it gave that much of a feeling of putting you in the point of view of the actors and their situations. I also liked his use of rack focus shots where during conversations he would use the technique rather then adding more unnecessary cuts. Really a supreme example of cinematographic mastery.
Secondly, the acting was outright incredible, Martin Sheen completely played his roll down to the nuances and was backed up by a seamless cast pinnacling with Marlon Brando. Definitely felt for them to the point where when they greeted someone, I almost nodded my head with them. This could only have happened through the superb acting and cinematographic POV. Definitely one of the great films up there with the Godfathers!