Day 26 - Apocalypse Now




Day 26               Apocalypse Now [1979]
                          
Screenplay                     Francis Ford Coppola & John Milius
Based on                        ‘Heart of Darkness’ by Joseph Conrad
Director                          Francis Ford Coppola
Cinematography           Vittorio Storaro
Music                              Carmine Coppola & Francis Ford Coppola
Leads                               Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Martin Sheen, Frederic Forrest, Albert Hall, Sam Bottoms, Laurence Fishburne, Dennis Hopper, Harrison Ford
Production                     Omni Zoetrope

IMDb                                    8.5/10
RottenTomatoes              98%

Do I even need to review this one? I mean really? The only negative things I can say about it are to do with the whole debate over how Hollywood portrays enemy nations in films. If I go down that road I might as well write an essay about propaganda and military-funded films. That’s a debate for another day, this film is incredible. This was the second time I’ve seen it, and the first time I was definitely invested more in the plot – the storyline that puts you inside the dark minds of two equally deranged men in Captain Willard (Sheen) and Colonel Kurtz (Brando). This time around I was enjoying the cinematic experience that this film brings you, the craziness of war and those in the middle of it. The scenes with Lieutenant Colonel Kilgore (Duvall), the flight of the Valkyries (my music rating is based on this scene alone) and his obsession with surfing are movie diamonds. There are few films that emphasise the pure madness of war like this one. Everything is top notch. I expect you’ve seen it, but hurry the hell up if you haven’t.

Acting                                 4 / 4
Writing                               4 / 4
Cinematography               4 / 4
Music                               3.5 / 4

HWF rating                  4 / 4