"The horror, the horror"- Brando's dietician

Rating: Null/10 (13 February 2001)

If ever the grasp of a movie exceeded its reach, it was this one. Which, in fairness to Coppola, is also true of the original novel, Heart of Darkness. Everybody had to read the damn thing in high school or first year english, and no one really understands it.
Actually, when you consider the subject matter a bit of ambiguity is called for anyway, in my mind.
I love this movie because it has that wonderful flavour of a moment. I remember the first time I saw it in a theatre, and looking back at the amazing cast years later, it is a delight to see so many talented actors either on top of their game (Duvall) or just starting out (fishburne and Ford). Its one of those movies that makes you nostalgic for when it was first issued. And it is one of those movies that if you stumble across it while channel surfing late at night, you can settle in and watch a few minutes of it, or the rest of it, without effort. When I got a DVD, it was at the top of the "I have to see this on DVD" list.
And the amazing lines. Everyone remembers the scene with "I love the smell of napalm in the morning". But what about the two guys at the bridge who turn to Willard from behind their machine gun and say to him in response to a request to see their commanding officer "I thought you were the commanding officer,". What about the line in the original briefing "We have found kurtzs methods to be.... unsound."
The surfing scene, the arrows and spear scene, the hotel room scene in the beginning, the water skiing scene, the beach party after the fire fight, the shot up fishing boat, Kurtz's compound, the playmates, the bridge, the helicopters and planes in the tree ups the river. Visually this movie has more stuff than a dozen others and that includes most of the other Viet Nam flicks.
Sure, the thing tanks a bit when Brando as Kurtz finally shows up, but its a let down in the novel too. Nobody could live up to the mystique the story wraps around the character of Kurtz. I still think George C. Scott or William Holden would have been a better choice. No offence Marlon.
Coppola has stuck his name on a bunch of crap over the years, but this one was worthy.
Flawed, imperfect but still a great movie.