Best Ford Coppola Film, Maybe even war film

Rating: 10/10 (19 October 2017)

Whenever someone talks about the best Ford Coppola film, most will tell you its the Godfather, and when someone talks about the best war film most will tell you its Saving Private Ryan. While both films, huge in popularity, are undeniably masterpieces, I personally this film surpasses both of them. To a degree its just my personal taste, I like films that are stylistic and more abstract but still engaging, but I think that it definitely needs to be considered one of the best. I know many people consider it as a classic, but according to IMDb user reviews, interstellar is a better film, and saying that is a sin. Interstellar needs to be pushed down, this one being pushed up. What makes Apocalypse Now such an interesting war film is how it handles the war it is in. The book, Heart of Darkness, isn't even set during a war, being a story on insanity. I think setting it in the Vietnam War is great, because not only does it feel familiar to the African Jungles with the natives, but it also focuses more on the psychology effects rather than the physical. I like films like Platoon, Deer Hunter, and Casualties of War, but not only do the feel quite similar in tone, but they feel like the focus on the brutal aspects of Vietnam too much to me. In the war casualties weren't high (for the American side at least) and it wasn't particularly difficult, compared to WW1 or 2. But psychologically, it was damaging, forcing soldiers to kill civilians, de humanize the enemy and eventually themselves. For those reasons that those films fail, both Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket and this film are able to ascend the typical Vietnam film, and to me, actually become poignant. I don't want to ruin any particular scene for anyone who might actually want to watch this film (YOU SHOULD) but just know that 1. The performances are all great, especially from Robert duvall, martin sheen and Marlon Brando. The film can get pretty intense, and sometimes a bit difficult to watch. The last 30 minutes or so are insane, and to me great. To me the film isn't a movie with one highlight, and then the rest not being able to top it. I love Saving Private Ryan, but it is a good example of a film where the Beach scene is so good that nothing ever tops it again, making some scenes personally not as powerful. In this film, you think nothing will ever top the Flight of the Valkyrie scene, everything is constantly proving this film doesn't just have one great scene, but is a variety of great scenes folding together with context, and a film that greatly shows the dehumanizing aspects of war. Overall this is definitely a film in my top 5, my personal favorite Coppola and war film. If you haven't seen this film, you are doing yourself a disservice.