The greatest movie ever made

Rating: 10/10 (19 February 2003)

Okay, maybe not the greatest movie ever made, but certainly my favorite. Coppola experienced a golden age in the 70s, making four of the greatest films ever made (The Godfather I and II, The Conversation, Apocalypse Now), but this film, released at the end of a revolutionary decade in film, made in the worst possible conditions, plagued by mental and physical ailments among cast and crew, seemingly doomed from the start, comes across as a complete masterpiece, utterly absorbing for every minute and in many ways absolutely terrifying.
Martin Sheen, who suffered a near-fatal heart attack during shooting, shows pain and inner turmoil in every single line he forces out and every single facial expression. This can hardly even be called acting; when Sheen looks directly into the camera at different points throughout the movie there is no indication on his face that he sees it at all.
The same can be said of Brando's acting. As he rambles on about pilots writing obscene words on their airplanes and rubbing his thumb along his eyebrows, he seems lost inside his own mind. This is Brando's most obscure and inaccessible work by far, but it's a rush to watch him go over the top and down the other side.
Dennis Hopper, Robert Duvall, and a very, very young Laurence Fishburne also turn in amazing performances, representing different facets of the insanity of war. Also look for bit parts for Harrison Ford and Scott Glenn. But overall, just sit back and allow one of the most immersive experiences in the history of film take you on a very dark, very pretentious (I say this with nothing but respect) journey into man's "heart of darkness".(11/10) (or very emphatic 10, whatever sounds more reasonable)