Awesome portrayal of Vietnam War

Rating: 10/10 (25 April 2005)

If there was ever a movie that explains the horrors, atrocities, and abuse of power during wars, this is the movie all people should see. Even before seeing it for the first time, whenever I look at the title of the movie, the song that came to my mind is "The End" by the Doors because it is so true that once you enter warfare, all things normal cease to exist and you are out in your own world with eventually will end whether by death or by destruction of your sanity.
This movie is beautifully done. I was hypnotized by the scene of darkness and the nihilism that the movie showed. The direction of Francis Ford Coppola was just incredible, the actors were brilliant. I couldn't imagine what Martin Sheen went through in order to prepare for the role of Lt. Willard and the animalistic approach of surviving and adapting to the situation was breathtakingly stunning. Marlon Brando lived up to his image as an American icon with his portrayal of the maniacal, god fearing Kurtz and Robert Duvall was almost comical, yet surprising incredible as Col. Kilgore.
The attitude of the Americans as the superhero was evident in this movie and with the defeat of the "superhero" by the "villians" the communists, the movie showed that with wars - no one really wins and with only lives lost. It is incredible that the movie was made barely three years after the ending of the Vietnam War.