Coppla shows why is one of the best.

Rating: Null/10 (9 April 2001)

WARNING SPOILER ALERT! One might postulate that Francis Ford Coppols was inspired by Dante's INFERNO rather than Conrad's HEART OF DARKNESS when he made this film. A virtual maelstrom throughout, continually cacophonous and frenetic, the auteur that brought us the GODFATHER saga explores the darkness of man's soul as well as the tumult that was Vietnam. Coppola weaves the motifs of violence and dread between scenes that have become ingrained in movie history lore. The fulminations of the Air Cav attack and Do Lung Bridge battle are set ominously against a surreal background and vagarious dialouge. The only problem here is that such a cataclysmic backdrop desensitizes the viewer; a flat surface of violence leaves no peaks and valleys in which the audience can breathe. The ending is much more ambigious than Coppola may have intended (see DVD Special Features--Destruction of Kurtz Compound). Is Kurtz coming to terms with the one eternal truth: That horror (and therefore war) is the only pure thing in life? Or is it that Williard has now cleansed his soul through the blood of Kurtz and can finally leave the Nam? Or was the entire film simply dressing around the "I love the smell of Napalm in the morning" line? Great flick. Not as good as PLATOON, much better than the desultory THE DEER HUNTER, and on par with FULL METAL JACKET.