The best movie you'll never see

Rating: 10/10 (14 April 2002)

I don't have any more right to say anything about this movie than anyone else; I think it lends itself well to interpretation. If there is one thing to be said with which I think everyone would agree it would be that this movie does not paint a very good picture of war, which, at this moment in time in our nation's history, may not be the best message I president would want us to see.
This is the best, and the only, to my knowledge, screen adaptation to Heart of Darkness, a book which I did not like initially, but which has steadily grown on me, until I now view it as one of the greatest of this last century. I recommend reading it to anyone up for a challenge; it does not flow very quickly, and if you miss one sentence you've missed quite a bit.
Both the book and the movie are extremely affecting, and both can stand as archetypes of their own medium. Apocalypse Now is one of those movies I can watch about once a year, but never get that tired of it; it flows better than the book, obviously.
You can tell this is a movie that will never be made again, or if it is remade it will be undoubtedly horrible. How do you describe the plot, other than to say Martin Sheen goes down the river to kill an insane Colonel? But that is too simple, because the movie reaches the psychological red line, where any more would bore a person inconsolably, but too little would make a completely different, hollow movie. Gladiator has nothing on this film, and yet they're both making messages about combat. Which one is more realistic? That's not really a fair question given the two movies. Which one is better? That is a fair question, and the answer is obvious.