The Greatest Film Ever Made About Vietnam

Rating: 10/10 (6 December 2014)

I feel that I have gazed into the abyss, and that the abyss has gazed into me, for I have experienced Apocalypse Now. Sheer unremitting madness is what it is about, and madness is the form that it takes for much of its runtime. Coppola has taken the classic Heart of Darkness, crossed it with Herzog's Aguirre, The Wrath of God, and set it against the madness of the Vietnam War to produce a film that is darker, more disturbing, and perhaps more profound as any I have ever seen. Watching this, you will see the face of true horror, and you will be changed.
For any who do not know the story, Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) must travel far upriver into Cambodia to confront and eliminate Colonel Kurtz (Marlin Brando) a once ideal soldier who has gone rogue and is presumed to be completely insane. And on his journey he will see more darkness than he could have imagined, and discover that the truth is far worse than any had believed.
Since this is a movie review, I suppose I should comment on the acting, production values, etc. They are excellent. The sets and jungle locations are gorgeous. The battle scenes, especially the airborne assault, are among the best Hollywood has ever produced, with massive scale, incredible camera work, and pyrotechnics that would be the envy of Michal Bey. And the cinematography has lent much of the film an otherworldly feel, like the most horrifying acid trip possible.
The acting is likewise excellent. Sheen's performance as the haggard, mentally exhausted, and increasingly disturbed Captain Willard has changed my entire opinion of him as an actor. His haunting narration sets the tone for the entire film, and his eyes speak volumes in every scene. They tell the story of a man who thought he had seen it all, only to discover that he was horribly wrong. And Brando, despite having relatively little time on screen, is truly unforgettable. He is the very essence of a man who is profoundly unwell, and utterly detached from sanity.
And that is what Apocalypse Now is all about, the retreat from any semblance of sanity. On the journey upriver, we are confronted with madness of every form and color. There is the blood-lust and near suicidal bravado of Kilgore (Robert Duval) who lives and breathes war, and simply does not give a damn about his personal safety. It takes someone more than a bit off to go surfing as enemy bullets are ripping overhead or to remark that napalm "smells like victory." There's the utter detachment of Dennis Hopper's photojournalist, who seems to float along in a state of perpetual high, mistaking the madness of others for true wisdom. And the sheer idiocy of Lance, who drops acid in the midst NVA invested territory, and who yells 'Look guys, purple haze" as he envelopes his own boat in thick clouds of colored smoke, never mind that they're on an uncharted stretch of river deep in Cambodia.
And there's the more generalized kind of madness that pervaded the whole war. The madness of forcibly moving entire populations in the hope that they would be grateful to us for protecting them. The madness of rebuilding a bridge every day and defending it against attack every night, just so the generals can say the road is open, casualties be damned! Or the madness of sending high strung, inexperienced, dope smoking kids on a sensitive dangerous mission. Other than Willard and possibly the skipper, no-one on that boat had any business being in a war zone.
But all of this pales in comparison to the sheer insanity of Colonel Kurtz. He is a man who has decided that not only do the ends justify the means, but that only the most horrifying means will achieve those ends. He has absorbed every ounce of the madness he's encountered, he has fully embraced that madness, and he has been transformed into a fount of madness, spewing forth pure horror and infecting everything it touches. The truly scary thing is that even half dead; rarely stepping out of his quarters, Kurtz still wields more absolute power than any man ever should. His madness is mistaken for divinity by followers who will commit any act for him. He's like an aged Charles Manson, with an entire tribe of true believers rather than a handful of dropouts.
Even scarier is that on one level he's right. By embracing the horrors of war, he and his people have done more damage to the enemy than any comparable force. If we'd had ten divisions of troops as ruthless as his, we could have destroyed the Cong and the NVA, but only at the cost of our souls. And yet in his rare moments of lucidity, Kurt knows and understands that what he has done is completely beyond the pale of decency or civilized humanity. Deep down, he hates what he is doing and what he has become. He no longer fears death but craves it, because it is the only escape from the nightmare he has created. His only wish is others may understand what happened to him and why he became what he did.
And I do. I cannot condone, excuse, or forgive any of what he has done, but I understand. And seeing this film for yourself, perhaps you will too. I cannot lie. This movie is dark, frightening, and at times downright depressing. But it is magnificent. If you have the fortitude to gaze into the jaws of insanity, you owe it to yourself to watch Apocalypse Now.