A landmark work of filmmaking.

Rating: 9/10 (16 October 2016)

This iconic motion picture can be summed up in a single phrase: A descent into Hell. In essence, the sum total of the Vietnam War. It begins as a relatively bland exploration of life in the military in those days, more specifically in the life of a single soldier, given the distasteful task of the elimination of a rogue officer. Then it immediately, inexorably morphs into an abundant panorama of the horrors that characterized the horrors of that tragic and unnecessary conflict. The director, a superb Francis Ford Coppola, wisely relies on intense visual imagery to tell the story, instead of using the heavy-handed moralizing or storytelling so liberally used in most depictions of war, allowing the ever changing landscape to reveal this soldier's tale of both inner confusion and his unflinching, rigid implementation of military code. In his incredible use of the filmmaker's art, Coppola gradually develops a sense of fear and dread unseen in previous war films, epitomized by the final appearance of an incredible Marlon Brando in one of the most memorable and controversial roles of his career.