Fighting Insanity with Insanity

Rating: 10/10 (27 May 2009)

This comment is for the original cut, Not the Redux version.
The myth of the "Good War" still persists, that there can be nobility in the horrendous acts committed in the service of Right. Francis Coppola took upon himself the task of exploring and refuting this notion, and found entry into this harrowing terrain by way of Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness."
In the novel, commercial interests drive the British empire into the depths of the African jungle, and just as deeply into Britian's own severely corrupted soul. The ambitions of a "civilized" people have supplanted all notions of decency, Christianity, humanity. In the novel the inescapable corrupting force is the savage ivory trade. The African natives have been reduced to dispensable pawns, fortunate to receive even the most brutal treatment from their colonial masters. This horrendous industry supports a contentedly oblivious Empire. In the film it's the Vietnam war that inexorably disfigures all its participants. And for the great director, the irresistible flame of destruction is his film. Coppola's river of decent became Time, as a projected 15 week shoot in the jungle sprawled to more than 250 grueling days. Repeatedly prolonged by an ongoing brutal guerrilla war, severe monsoon weather, and the near fatal heart attack of Martin Sheen, the shoot evolved into a treacherous marathon, pushing everyone involved beyond their limits.
In the film the character of Kurtz functions as the ideal civilized fighting man: educated, decorated, refined, virile, charismatic, brilliant, formidable. In the novel and perhaps more importantly, Kurtz is an artist; "essentially a great musician," a journalist, a skilled painter, and "a universal genius." Coppola, too, is something of a universal genius; a larger than life character of enormous talents and capacities. Though we are ostensibly given access to his personal beliefs through the narrations of Capt. Willard, I suspect that Francis more deeply identifies with Kurtz. After all, Coppola had in fact become a renegade demigod leading a ragged army in the jungle, defying all authority, ruthlessly executing his own brand of creativity.
Studio execs like to consider themselves Highly Principled Creatives. But, in the face of Francis' truly uninhibited, honest excesses they proved themselves to be timid sheep by cutting his budget. They had been complicit in creating the monstrous ego of Coppola and had profited hugely with his "Godfather" franchise. But they lost their nerve when they saw what was reflected in the bizarre mirror that Francis was assembling in that Philippine jungle. There were more than a few Studio execs that wanted the director terminated with extreme prejudice. This is perhaps the film's most salient point; that the Enterprise can only be corrupt because its Sponsors are corrupt. And more so, the Sponsors are further corrupted by the Enterprise. Vicious cycle. In the film the home office honchos wanted Col. Kurtz dead because his actions were revealing to them the folly of their own ways. Proof of their depravity is their need to have a great American soldier assassinated. As for Coppola, the Studio was embarrassed by the accurate picture he was painting of their industry; bloated, self-serving, and unprincipled.
Francis commented at the film's Cannes preview that its production was so overwhelming that "(it) is not about Vietnam, it IS Vietnam." The herculean effort is evident in every frame. Not an instant passes without a heightening sense of ominous doom. Each klik up the Mekong into Cambodia is a slowly tightening tourniquet on the throat, breath barely moving over dry lips. The aerial battle scenes are absolutely the most grandly choreographed tableaux of grace and destruction ever put to film; an utterly Grotesque Opera. Everything is over-sized, disproportionate, absurd. And most disorienting of all is Brando, himself.
Col. Kurtz (kurtz is German for short) is ill, weakened, compromised, but Brando's creation manages to tower above all else. He seems to be very gently rocking in a wind; a massive ancient sequoia listing to and fro on the verge of a mighty, awesome collapse. Brando/Kurtz is doubly mesmerizing because we only glimpse him in deep shadows and stark profiles. Accounts of the shoot explain that Brando arrived on location at nearly 300 pounds and felt very self conscious of his size, so Francis devised the high contrast lighting to conceal and appease the star. It's a fortuitous concession because it only magnifies his intense psychological presence. It's as though Kurtz is played by the spectre of Brando.
War has long been a compelling topic for films. The visual spectacle and pyrotechnics serve the film medium well. The eternal theme of good versus evil is elegantly displayed against a backdrop of chaos and mayhem. The poignant interplay of suffering and sacrifice, the glory of selfless duty to a country that has our best interest at heart. What 'Apocalypse Now" attempts is the complete negation of these values. These outdated ideals are so hollow, so feeble compared to what the tender human mind experiences under the influences of war. There is nothing good in war. There is nothing good as a result of war. Even when participation becomes necessary, there is nothing to be gained from war but loss. And what is most lost is our sanity, our humanity. Kurtz's "Horror" is not of what he has witnessed in country, but in the hypocrisy of Society and the behavior of the "Civilized".
(Important Note: Redux is valuable as an example of how important good editing is. It contains additional scenes that help flesh out the history of Vietnam and the conflict, and attempts to make more human the star characters, but succeeds only in disrupting the rhythm and flow of the original masterpiece. The specifics of the Vietnam war are irrelevant to the larger theme of "War's" madness, and feels like a detour. Making Capt. Willard more personable only undercuts the tension that builds along his "journey" up the river. See the original cut first.)