Orange-tinted glasses. Extraordinary.

Rating: 9/10 (20 January 2016)

One of my favourite films. Let's get that said and done with and not drag on my personal love for it like so many reviews do. For anyone not getting the reference, the summary depicts both my love of the film, and the constant orange glow that simmers through this film. Francis Ford Coppola has created an incredible adventure of the mind, which parallels Capt. Willard physical and mental journey to find and 'terminate with extreme prejudice' Col. Kurtz. One can watch this film with many frames of mind, in which you can draw upon politics, barbarous acts, war in general, a man's state of mind, and even military family life. But putting all aside is to witness a man execute orders given to him by his superiors, with the help of a small naval crew, along a treacherous river in Vietnam. Martin Sheen should be commended more than he has been, which is difficult when he becomes overshadowed by 3 amazing performances by Brando, Duvall and Hopper. But Sheen is brilliant too. Some may not see him as a Captain who could've carried out some of the tasks he has been accredited (secretly) for, as mentioned by his superior Colonel Lucas. But it's more a state of mind that Sheen has to portray in Willard's character. Which I should say is what I believe to be the most important factor of this movie. The mind. Willard possesses the ability to achieve what none of the predecessors to his current task could. Whether or not the brilliant crossover images that Coppola uses in this film, such as the fire burning in the head of Willard near the start, are intentional, they certainly sat right with me. Coppola of course, had to overcome the overweight Brando problem and transform his movie. Boy are we glad he had to now. With the help of Brando, they created the core of this movie. Kurtz' 'demise'. Despite the lack of screen time for Brando, you feel his presence. Of course, we see pictures, and hear recordings, but we are nowhere near him. Yet you feel you get closer, and not just physically, as they travel up the river. Aside from all the war politics that come with Kurtz' new found philosophy, the words are not just all about war. I believe that the essence of this film comes from many aspects, but importantly, the dialogue, and script. As if written by Hunter S Thompson, we are taking an acid trip throughout the movie. Jumping from fear, to comedy, to brutality, to philosophy, and even to Playboy Bunnies. I, as I'm sure a lot of people are, am glad the Redux version was released. As Coppola states, it gives more of the immediacy, horror, sensuousness and surrealism of the Vietnam war. We see Coppola as a director within the movie, which shows a surrealism in itself to the act of war. Especially the Vietnam war. Despite the peace loving belief of people that all wars are unnecessary, this one may well be one the most famous wars that should never have been. A quote from the film as 'the biggest nothing in history'. A lot of morals can be gained from this film, and at many points (as a member of the military too), I see comparative instances in how the world works. For instance, the 'terminate with extreme prejudice' I mentioned earlier, is delivered by... A civilian. This then transcends to superior officers of our main character, stating the 'insanity' of the subject of this mission, but do they, or would they ever understand? They just want the problem dealt with. Governments and Military (not forgetting the vast majority of general society) find it difficult to appreciate the thought process of man when one figures out that there is more to life than politics. 'The horror... the horror'. Despite the fact that Kurtz admits his mind has drifted down river, and that he wants Willard to do what is necessary, the key link is the Photo Journalist. Hopper as mentioned earlier, plays a fantastic role in this film, and to me ties up all the aspects of this film into one. Philosophy, beauty, fear, and also drug appreciation. The latter is made obvious by his characters personality, but the others are entwined a bit tighter. The beauty aspect is the fact that he is a photographer. He wants to innocently capture the events of this war, and now especially, the incredible transfixion of Kurtz' 'putting the world to rights'. His fear is noticeable in two senses; one physically, but more intelligently, the fear that Kurtz won't be understood when all is said and done. This to me, is the nail being hammered in. Fear is all around. Willard has to end this some how. Like I had stated earlier; he has the mind-set, for both mission, and ultimately, Brando's awe-inspiring bald 'joined the SF at a strange age' Colonel. My favourite personal viewpoint, from a quote related to Willard's mind through this journey is Kurtz' question.. 'How far do you live from the river?'.