A surrealistic look at the horrors of war

Rating: Null/10 (3 November 2001)

The Vietnam War on itself was pretty horrific enough. With all the
senseless bloodshed among soldiers and civilians, it's hard to equate how much violence and death was brought upon that land in Souteast
Asia. But Francis Ford Cappola gave the image of the war in 'Nam an even more frightening display in his masterpiece APOCALPYSE NOW.
Basically a nightmare on film, APOCALYPSE NOW portrays the mis- adventures of one American G.I. (Martin Sheen) named Willard as he and a platoon of U.S. troops go up the river on a mission to stop a
megalomanical American colonel named Kurtz (Marlon Brando, mesmirizing as ever). The horrors that Willard had seen on the way to Kurtz' whereabouts were bad enough, having undergone airstrikes and countless attacks by the Vietcong. But when Willard finally meets Kurtz, he
encountered the line between reality and madness. Sheen gives a
convincing portrayal as Willard (who didn't seem all "out there"
himself as opposed to Kurtz), but Brando typically gives a strong, god- like performance as the renegade army superior who succumbed to the feel of the jungle and lost all touch with reality.