"Charlie didn't get much USO...he had only two ways home - death, or victory."

Rating: 10/10 (6 June 2001)

I first saw this film during its original release, at the Town Theatre in downtown Seattle, in 70mm. I was somewhat prejudiced by a review I had read previously, so I did not fully absorb what was going on. Over the next few months, I saw Apocalypse Now 25 times, in 70mm and 35mm, at various theatres. It became my all-time favorite movie.
What is it that grips me so much about this film? I never served in Vietnam (too young by a couple of years), and other noted films about Vietnam (Deer Hunter, Platoon) did not affect me this way. I think the style and structure of the film got to me. Right from the opening montage set to "The End", Coppola uses all his film-making skill to draw the viewer into one man's waking nightmare. The trip up the river becomes a metaphor for Willard's journey into the mind of Kurtz.
(POSSIBLE SPOILERS)
The touches of absurdity, such as the Wagner during the helicopter attack, the water-skiing behind the boat, and the USO show only add to the feeling that this is all some sort of mad dream. After the encounter with the sampan, the screen goes dark momentarily. When the action resumes, at the Doh-Long bridge, we are completely drawn into "The Heart of Darkness".
(END POSSIBLE SPOILERS)
How one reacts to this movie will depend on one's attitudes towards war, and especially the Vietnam conflict. The film does a very good job of presenting a specific point of view, i.e., the only way to 'win' the war was to engage in the same type of ruthless guerilla fighting that the Viet Cong used. Kurtz did that, and paid a terrible price.