This is how the world ends... (Apocalypse Now Redux (DVD))

Member Name: l-m-n-o-p

Product:	Apocalypse Now Redux (DVD)
Date:	28/03/08 (69 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Amazing war scenes, even better jungle scenes

Disadvantages: It gets very strange towards the end?

I had a little bit of a Vietnam phase recently - I watched Platoon (which was excellent) then Full Metal Jacket (which I don't think I really understood properly), and I taped this off TV soon after. However, due to one thing and another, there was a long gap between watching those and finally getting round to seeing Apocalypse Now. Fortunately, it was worth the wait.

It starts as it means to go on - the opening scene is haunting and brilliant, with the sound of helicopters flying and a montage of a jungle being blown up - all photographed in a dusty yellow light with some music from The Doors to really evoke a sense of the time.

We then see Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) going crazy with boredom in his Saigon hotel room. Drunk, dishevelled and disheartened, he longs to go on another mission. Luckily, his requests are answered, and he is assigned a very important and strictly confidential task.

In the jungles of Cambodia, Willard is to track down and "terminate with extreme prejudice" a man named Colonel Kurtz (played by Marlon Brando). A brilliant American commander with a glittering career, Kurtz has gone insane and been charged with the murder of four Vietnamese intelligence workers. He's also become the leader of a group of loyal fighters, who have been brainwashed into following his every command.

Willard sets off on his assignment, along the way working with Lieutenant Bill Kilgore (Robert Duvall) and his men, who enjoy a spot of surfing when they're not busy destroying Vietnamese villages with their helicopters. He also gets on board a navy boat to travel down the river into the jungle, along the way encountering danger lurking at every corner, and all the time reading and learning more about this mysterious man, as well as seeing the true horrors of war at first hand.

Apocalypse Now is a masterpiece on every level. For a story which at its basic level is extremely simple, it develops into something deeply philosophical and really makes you think about the effects of war on a man's mind.

The action scenes and photography are just astonishing, especially considering this film was made 28 years ago. The scene early on in which Willard meets Kilgore amidst a chaotic scene of helicopters and swirling clouds of smoke and dust is spectacular, only to be well and truly trumped by the classic scene in which a band of helicopters destroy a village to the sound of Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries. Utterly visceral, thrilling and technically incredible, whilst also raising moral issues, this is as good as action sequence as you could hope for, even today.

The performances are superb all round - Martin Sheen (who obviously kept reminding of Charlie Sheen in Platoon all the way through, much to my distraction) is great, as is the Oscar-nominated Robert Duvall as the worryingly psychotic lieutenant. His classic line, "I love the smell of napalm in the morning" is both humorous and frightening, and as a character he's equally ambiguous - we don't know whether to like him or be disgusted by his actions, or maybe both.

Finally, there is the late great Marlon Brando, who dominates the screen in the short time he's on it, and even when he's not. There's a point early on where Willard listens to a recording of Colonel Kurtz, and you can see why he becomes obsessed with finding this man - Brando's voice is just so unique and mesmerising. When we finally do get to see him, he is eerily sinister - lurking in the shadows, spouting poetry, and once again being ambiguous: is he really as insane as we thought, or is he just acting as anyone would do under the circumstances?

While we're on it, the final part of Apocalypse Now develops into something completely different from the gung-ho war action of the first two hours. As Willard spends more time in the jungle, he begins to feel the horrors of war (and the influence of drugs) affecting his mindset, and the film becomes increasingly disturbing and visually striking. The lighting and photography in the final twenty minutes is some of the most incredible I've ever seen, and combined with mysterious editing and an atmospheric soundtrack, it's a truly haunting and memorable piece of cinema.

Finally, the conclusion is indicative of the rest of the film: dark, thought-provoking, unforgettable and brilliant.

Apocalypse Now began as I expected, as an excellent war movie, possibly even better than I'd hoped for. However, by the end, I had been transported to something totally unexpected and mind-blowing. I was transfixed and in awe of this surreal blend of sound, visuals and ideas. Despite its long running time (two and a half hours) I was gripped and excited all the way through. I won't lie and say that the time flew by (two and a half hours just doesn't fly by no matter how much you're enjoying it) but it never dragged either; I felt the film was perfectly paced.

Wow, what can I say about this film? It blew me away. I came into it expecting something along the lines of Platoon, and for the most part it was quite similar, but the two films can't compare. Apocalypse Now is right up there amongst the greatest films I've ever seen. It's a true spectacle; a treat for the senses with an excellent story to boot - to my mind, Francis Ford Coppola's best film.

Even if you don't particularly like war films, I'd urge you to see this masterpiece.
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You can buy the original Apocalypse Now or the director's cut, Apocalypse Now: Redux, both for under £5 from www.amazon.co.uk. I haven't seen the Redux edition, and I don't own the dvd; this is a review of the film itself.

Directed by: Francis Ford Coppola

Starring:
Marlon Brando ... Colonel Kurtz
Robert Duvall ... Lieutenant Kilgore
Martin Sheen ... Captain Willard
Dennis Hopper ... Photo Journalist
Laurence "Larry" Fishbourne ... Tyrone Miller

Classification: 18 (disturbing violent images, language, sexual content and some drug use)

Running time: 153 minutes

Year: 1979

My rating: 10/10

Summary: ...not with a whimper but with a bang