One of the greats

Rating: 10/10 (2 November 2004)

As Captain Willard lays on his bed and watches the fan blades spin round, it triggers off memories of the helicopters and a past mission that he was once part of. It is this extremely effective and entrancing opening sequence that quickly establishes Apocalypse Now as a movie for the mind.
The viewer is taken on a strange journey up the river to meet an enigmatic figure known as Kurtz through the eyes of Willard (as narrator). On the journey we gain an insight in to the many dark facets of war and the effect that it has on one's humanity. Whether it be the insanity, the humour, the surrealness etc. It all comes across very effectively, with the characters in this film refreshingly real and the dialouge pertinent and on occasion genuinely funny.
Apocalypse Now does not make the mistake (as many other war films tend to do) of manipulating you into thinking a particular way, rather it is open-ended enough for you to draw your own conclusions. We are made to feel part of the crew and witness as they do and to have our own perceptions on the events as they occur. I tend to see a movie not that one watches, but experiences.
The technical aspects of the film are amazing. The cinematography is breath-taking with each scene exquisitely detailed both visually and sonically. The use of natural light in many scenes is superb (such as the mango sequence) while the music highlights the mood perfectly (The Doors was a perfect choice for the opening). The action sequences were superbly edited, especially the helicopter attack sequence coupled with Wagner blaring in the background which adds to the thrill of that scene.
Not a completely realistic film, but I don't believe that that was the vision or the intent. If you crave realism, go rent Platoon as a companion piece to this. When I first saw this film (which wasn't that long ago) I knew it would be one the greatest films I'd ever see just from the first 5 or so minutes. It's a far-reaching film that delivers on all counts.