Masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (20 May 2008)

Saw this on one of our dedicated film channels a couple of days ago for the first time since around 1991. The first time I saw it, "not another Vietnam war movie" crossed my mind because this subject got saturation coverage from Hollywood up until around the end of the cold war. Pretty much everything was covered by films such as this one, Hamburger Hill, The Deerhunter, Platoon, Good Morning Vietnam, Born on the Fourth of July etc. So what makes "Apocalypse Now" stand out?
1) Outstanding acting. Particularly Martin Sheen who portrays Captain Willard to perfection, resisting any temptation to overplay his character but instead allowing the audience to travel into the jungle with Willard and share his experience as he journeys into an abyss. The ensemble cast all play their parts to perfection as well, Robert Duvall's comic book turn as Lt Colonel Kilgore being especially memorable.
2) Fantastic cinematography. The use of imagery is amazing, as almost every visual is memorable but also in context of the story meaning the viewer is kept interested throughout. This is the only way to watch a 2 1/2 hour film (or the unofficial cut of nearly 5 hours) without becoming twitchy.
3) Great editing. I didn't realise the original length until I wrote this review because when watching AN it was obvious huge chunks had been taken out. My guess is editor Walter Murch got rid of lots of spoken dialogue and kept in the imagery. Because of 1) and 2) this works just fine. We don't need to know the whole mechanics of how Willard winds up in the jungle or see every scene, just what's needed.
4) The Accidents Work! Marlon Brando was far too fat to play a special forces colonel and looks like he's reading his lines off cue cards in every scene. However, shooting Kurtz in dark shadows hides these flaws and turns Brando's performance into a masterpiece. Anything that works....
5) Inspires imitation Writing this and I now realise all the other Vietnam films must have been inspired by AN as all bar The Deerhunter came afterwards!
Finally, Apocalypse Now has a fantastic and rarely achieved quality: it won't date. Usually great films get mixed reviews initially and then gradually seep into people's consciousness over many years and finally top the "Greatest Films" charts of sites like IMDb. People will still be moved by this artwork in 2079, 2179 and even 3079.