Apocalypse Now

**Apocalypse Now** is a UK VHS release by CIC Video and Paramount on 18th October 1982, 9th September 1988, 19th October 1992, It got re-released by CIC and Paramount on 4th October 1993 and it got re-released by Paramount on 22nd April 2002.

## Description

Francis Ford Coppola's stunning vision of man's heart of darkness revealed through the peculiar madness of the Vietnam War. Lieutenant Willard (Martin Sheen) receives orders to seek out a renegade military outpost led by the mysterious Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando), and to "terminate his command with extreme predjudice." Willard's mission becomes an epic journey into himself, as he ultimately recognizes an aspect of his own soul in the strange Colonel Kurtz. With APOCALYPSE NOW, Coppola created a definitive portrayal of the scope of the Vietnam War, making it one of the most powerful films of all time. The picture was nominated for eight Academy Awards and Best Supporting Actor for Robert Duvall, Best Sound, and Best Cinematography.

## Cast

* Martin Sheen as Captain Benjamin L. Willard, a veteran U.S. Army special operations officer who has been serving in Vietnam for three years. The soldier who escorts him at the start of the film recites that Willard is from 505th Battalion, of the elite 173rd Airborne Brigade, assigned to MACV-SOG. The opening scene - which features Sheen staggering around his hotel room, culminating in him punching a mirror - was filmed on Sheen's 36th birthday when he was heavily intoxicated. The mirror that he broke was not a prop and caused his hand to bleed profusely, but he insisted on continuing the scene, despite Coppola's concerns.
* Marlon Brando as Colonel Walter E. Kurtz, a highly decorated U.S. Army Special Forces officer with the 5th Special Forces Group who goes rogue. He runs his own military unit based in Cambodia and is feared as much by the US military as by the North Vietnamese and Vietcong.
* Robert Duvall as Lieutenant Colonel William "Bill" Kilgore, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment commander and surfing fanatic. His character is a composite of several characters including Colonel John B. Stockton, General James F. Hollingsworth (featured in *The General Goes Zapping Charlie Cong* by Nicholas Tomalin), and George Patton IV, also a West Point officer whom Robert Duvall knew.
* Frederic Forrest as Engineman 3rd Class Jay "Chef" Hicks, a tightly wound former chef from New Orleans who is horrified by his surroundings.
* Albert Hall as Chief Petty Officer George Phillips. The Chief runs a tight ship and frequently clashes with Willard over authority.
* Sam Bottoms as Gunner's Mate 3rd Class Lance B. Johnson, a former professional surfer from California. In the bridge scene, he mentions having taken LSD. He becomes entranced by the Montagnard tribe and participates in the sacrifice ritual.
* Laurence Fishburne (credited as "Larry Fishburne") as Gunner's Mate 3rd Class Tyrone "Mr. Clean" Miller, the seventeen-year-old cocky South Bronx-born crewmember. Fishburne was only fourteen years old when shooting began in March 1976, as he had lied about his age in order to get cast in his role. The film took so long to finish that Fishburne was seventeen (the same age as his character) by the time of its release.
* Dennis Hopper as an American photojournalist, a manic disciple of Kurtz who greets Willard. According to the DVD commentary of *Redux*, the character is based on Sean Flynn, a famed news correspondent who disappeared in Cambodia in 1970. His dialogue follows that of the Russian "harlequin" in Conrad's story.
* G. D. Spradlin as Lieutenant General Corman, military intelligence (G-2), an authoritarian officer who fears Kurtz and wants him removed. The character is named after filmmaker Roger Corman.
* Jerry Ziesmer as Jerry, a mysterious man in civilian attire who sits in on Willard's initial briefing. His only line in the film is the famous "terminate with extreme prejudice". Ziesmer also served as the film's assistant director.
* Harrison Ford as Colonel Lucas, aide to Corman and a general information specialist who gives Willard his orders. The character's name is a reference to George Lucas, who was involved in the script's early development with Milius and was originally intended to direct the film. Ford also portrayed Han Solo in Lucas's *Star Wars*, and prior to that had appeared in Lucas's *American Graffiti* (1973, produced by Coppola and Gary Kurtz) and Coppola's *The Conversation* (1974).
* Scott Glenn as Captain Richard M. Colby, previously assigned Willard's current mission before he defected to Kurtz's private army and sent a message to his wife, intercepted by the Army, telling her he was never coming back and to sell everything they owned, including their children.
* Colleen Camp, Cynthia Wood and Linda Beatty as Playboy Playmates, Wood was the 1974 Playmate of the Year while Beatty was the August 1976 Playmate of the Month.
* Bill Graham as Agent, the announcer in charge of the Playmates' show.
* Francis Ford Coppola (*cameo*) as a TV news director filming beach combat; he shouts "Don't look at the camera, keep on fighting!" Cinematographer Vittorio Storaro plays the cameraman by Coppola's side.
* R. Lee Ermey (*uncredited*) as Helicopter Pilot, Ermey, who was himself a former drill instructor and Vietnam War veteran, would later star as Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in the 1987 film *Full Metal Jacket*, another film set during the war.

## Opening (1993 Re-Release)

1. CIC Video Warning Screen (1991-1996)
2. The Paramount Pictures Big Screen, Best Sellers Trailer From 1993 with clips of "Top Gun", "Grease", "Ghost", "The Godfather Part I, Part II and Part III", "Apocalypse Now", "Fatal Attraction", "Raiders of the Lost Ark", "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom", "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade", "An Officer and a Gentleman", "The Untouchables" and "Zulu".
3. The Godfather Part III Trailer
4. BBFC 18 Card (1985-1997)
5. Paramount Pictures Ident
6. Start of Apocalypse Now (1979)

## Trailers and info

### 1993 Re-release

1. The Paramount Pictures Big Screen, Best Sellers trailer from 1993 with clips of "Top Gun", "Grease", "Ghost", "The Godfather Part I, Part II and Part III", "Fatal Attraction", "Raiders of the Lost Ark", "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom", "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade", "An Officer and a Gentleman", "The Untouchables" and "Zulu".
2. The Godfather Part III