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Apocalypse Now is a 1979 epic war film set during the Vietnam War. It tells the tale of Army Captain Benjamin L. Willard who is sent into the jungle to assassinate United States Army Special Forces Colonel Walter E. Kurtz, who has gone AWOL and is believed to be insane. The film has been viewed as a journey into the darkness of the human psyche, and is regarded by many to be one of the greatest films ever made.

The film was produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola from a script by Coppola, John Milius and Michael Herr, based on Joseph Conrad's novella Heart of Darkness (1899), as well as drawing elements from Herr's "Dispatches" (1977), and from Werner Herzog's Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972); Coppola himself has noted, "Aguirre, with its incredible imagery, was a very strong influence. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention it."^[1]

The film stars Martin Sheen as Captain Willard (based on Marlow in Conrad's novella), Marlon Brando as Col. Kurtz, Dennis Hopper as a photojournalist, and Robert Duvall as Lt. Colonel Bill Kilgore. The movie became notorious in the entertainment press due to its lengthy and troubled production. In the end, Coppola had to finance the film with his own money. The film won the Academy Award, Cannes Palme d'Or and Golden Globe awards.

The movie poster art for Apocalypse Now is by Bob Peak, who was considered an influential artist in the world of movie posters.

Contents 1 Apocalypse Now - Helicopter Attack 2 Plot 3 Cast 4 Awards 5 Notes 6 External links

[edit] Apocalypse Now - Helicopter Attack

[edit] Plot

U.S. Army Captain Benjamin L. Willard has returned to Saigon; a seasoned veteran, he is deeply troubled and apparently no longer fit for civilian life. A group of intelligence officers approach him with a special mission: journey up the fictional Nung River into the remote Cambodian jungle to find Colonel Walter E. Kurtz, a former member of the United States Army Special Forces. It is 1969 and the war is at its height.

They state that Kurtz, once considered a model officer and future general, has allegedly gone insane and is commanding a legion of his own Montagnard troops deep inside the forest in neutral Cambodia. Their claims are supported by very disturbing radio broadcasts and/or recordings made by Kurtz himself. Willard is ordered to undertake a mission to find Kurtz and terminate the Colonel's command "with extreme prejudice."

Willard studies the intelligence files during the boat ride to the river entrance and learns that Kurtz, isolated in his compound, has assumed the role of a warlord and is worshipped by the natives and his own loyal men. Willard learns much later that another officer, Colby, sent earlier to kill Kurtz, may have become one of his lieutenants.

Willard begins his trip up the Nung River on a PBR (Patrol Boat, Riverine), with an eclectic crew composed of the obstinate and formal Chief Phillips, a Navy swiftboat commander; GM3 Lance B. Johnson, a tanned all-American California surfer; GM3 Tyrone, a.k.a. " Mr. Clean", a black 17-year-old from "some South Bronx shit-hole"; and the New Orleanian Engineman, Jay "Chef" Hicks, who Willard describes as "wrapped too tight for Vietnam..."

The PBR arrives at a landing zone where Willard and the crew meet up with Lt. Colonel Bill Kilgore, the eccentric commander of 1/9cav AirCav, following a massive and hectic mopping-up operation of a conquered enemy village. Kilgore, a keen surfer, recognizes and befriends Johnson. Later, he learns from one of his men, Mike, that the beach down the coast which marks the opening to the river is perfect for surfing, a factor which persuades him to capture it. The problem is, his troops explain, it's "Charlie's point" and heavily fortified. Dismissing this complaint with the explanation that "Charlie don't surf," Kilgore orders his men to saddle up in the morning to capture the town and the beach. Riding high above the coast in a fleet of Hueys accompanied by H-6s, Kilgore launches an attack on the beach. The scene, famous for its use of Richard Wagner's " Ride of the Valkyries," ends with the soldiers surfing the barely claimed beach amidst skirmishes between infantry and VC. After helicopters swoop over the village and demolish all visible signs of resistance, a giant napalm strike in the nearby jungle dramatically marks the climax of the battle. Kilgore exults to Willard, "I love the smell of napalm in the morning", which he says smells "like...victory."

The lighting and mood darken as the boat navigates upstream and Willard's silent obsession with Kurtz deepens. Incidents on the journey include a run-in with a tiger while Willard and Chef search for mangoes. The boat then moves up river and watches a USO show featuring Playboy Bunnies and a centerfold that degenerates into chaos. Chef then spots a sampan and against Willard's advice they make the boat stop and inspect it. As Chef hostilely searches the sampan, one of the civilians makes a sudden movement, causing Clean to open fire on the wooden boat, killing all the civilians save for one badly wounded survivor. An argument breaks out between Willard and Phillips over whether to take the survivor to receive medical attention. Willard ends the argument by shooting the survivor, calmly stating "I told you not to stop."

The boat moves up river to a surreal stop at the American outpost at the Do Long bridge, the last U.S. Army outpost on the river. The boat arrives during a North Vietnamese attack against on the bridge, which is under constant construction. Upon arrival Willard receives the last piece of the dossier from an officer named Lt. Carlson. Willard and Lance go ashore and they make their way through the trenches where they encounter many panicked, leaderless soldiers. Willard asks a machine gunner who the CO is; the gunner replies "Ain't you?" As they talk, a North Vietnamese soldier hiding under a pile of his dead comrades screams obscenities at them. The gunner finds his friend, Roach ( Herb Rice), who is armed with a tiger-striped M79 grenade launcher and with it promptly dispatches the NVA soldier. Willard decides it's not worth it to find the CO and he and Lance return to the PBR. As the boat departs, the NVA launches an artillery strike on the bridge, destroying it.

The next day the PBR is ambushed by Viet Cong hiding in the trees by the river which results in Clean's death. Chief, who had a father-son relationship with Clean, becomes openly hostile to Willard. As they approach the outskirts of Kurtz' camp, Montagnard villagers begin firing toy arrows at them. The crew opens fire until Chief is hit by a real spear and dies.

After arriving at Kurtz' outpost, Willard leaves Chef behind with orders to call in an air strike on the village if he does not return. They are met by a seemingly crazed freelance photographer (Hopper) who explains Kurtz's greatness and philosophical skills to provoke his people into following him. Brought before Kurtz and held in captivity in a darkened temple, Willard’s constitution appears to weaken as Kurtz lectures him on his theories of war, humanity, and civilization. Kurtz explains his motives and philosophy in a famous and haunting monologue in which he praises the ruthlessness of the Vietcong he witnessed following one of his own humanitarian missions.

While bound outside in the pouring rain, Willard is approached by Kurtz, who places the severed head of Chef in his lap. Coppola makes little explicit, but we come to believe that Willard and Kurtz develop an understanding nonetheless; Kurtz wishes to die at Willard's hands, and Willard, having subsequently granted Kurtz his wish, is offered the chance to succeed him in his warlord- demigod role. Juxtaposed with a ceremonial slaughtering of a water buffalo, Willard enters Kurtz's chamber during one of his message recordings, and kills him with a machete. This entire sequence is set to "The End" by The Doors, as is the sequence at the very beginning of the film. Lying bloody and dying on the ground, Kurtz whispers "The horror... the horror," a line taken directly from Conrad's novella. Willard walks through the now-silent crowd of natives and takes Johnson (who is now fully integrated into the native society) by the hand. He leads Johnson to the PBR, and floats away as Kurtz's final words echo in the wind as the screen fades to black.

[edit] Cast

• Martin Sheen as Captain Benjamin L. Willard. Willard is a veteran who has been in Vietnam for three years. He is in the U.S. Special Forces and hinted to be an assassin. It is also strongly implied Willard worked for COMSEC and even the CIA. His attempt to re-integrate into society failed and he was sent back to Vietnam.
• Marlon Brando as Colonel Walter E. Kurtz, the highly decorated American Special Forces officer who goes renegade. He runs his own operations out of Cambodia and is feared by the US Military as much as the Vietnamese.
• Robert Duvall as Lieutenant Colonel William "Bill" Kilgore, Cavalry battalion commander and surfing fanatic. Kilgore is a strong leader but totally irresponsible and has methods that appear as crazy as Kurtz's.
• Frederic Forrest as Engineman 2nd Class Jay "Chef" Hicks, a tightly wrapped former chef from New Orleans who is horrified by his surroundings.
• Sam Bottoms as Gunner's Mate 3rd Class Lance B. Johnson, a former professional surfer from California who spends the majority of the journey on a drug binge.
• Laurence Fishburne as Gunner's Mate 3rd Class Tyrone "Mr. Clean" Miller, the 17 year old cocky Bronx born crewmember. He resents the inward nature of Willard.
• Albert Hall as Quartermaster Chief George Phillips, Navy boat commander. Chief runs a tight ship and frequently clashes with Willard over authority. Has a father-son relationship with Clean.
• G.D. Spradlin as Lieutenant General Corman, military intelligence (G-2) an authoritarian officer who fears Kurtz and wants him removed.
• Harrison Ford as Colonel Lucas, aide to Corman and general information specialist. Despite his rank, he often appears nervous and jittery regarding Kurtz and the mission.
• Jerry Ziesmer as a mysterious man in civilian attire who sits in on Willard's initial briefing, and whose only line in the movie is the famous " Terminate with extreme prejudice".
• Dennis Hopper as American Photojournalist, a crazed photographer who intercuts poetry with obscene cynicism. Stranded in Kurtz's camp. Takes pictures from a camera that may or may not contain film.
• 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 telling her to sell everything they owned.
• Bill Graham as Agent (announcer and in charge of Playmate's show)
• Cynthia Wood as Playmate of the Year
• Colleen Camp as Playmate, "Miss May"
• Linda Carpenter as Playmate
• Christian Marquand as Hubert de Marais (redux version)
• Aurore Clément as Roxanne Sarraut-de Marais (redux version), a widow and influential figure at the plantation.
• Roman Coppola as Francis de Marais (redux version), the surrogate leader of the French residents and strong vocal opponent of American action.
• Francis Coppola himself has a cameo as a director filming beach combat. He shouts "Don't look at the camera, keep on fighting!" DP Vittorio Storaro plays the cameraman by Coppola's side.

Several actors who were, or later became, prominent stars have minor roles in the movie including Harrison Ford, G.D. Spradlin, Scott Glenn, and R. Lee Ermey. Fishburne was only fourteen years old when shooting began in March 1976, and was credited as "Larry Fishburne." Martin Sheen's sons, which are famous actors at now, Emilio Estevez and Charlie Sheen had already acted in this film. Estevez had a small role as a messenger boy that was ultimately cut from the film^[2], Charlie Sheen made appearance as an extra^[3]. Apocalypse Now took so long to finish that Fishburne was seventeen (the same age as his character) by the time of its release.

[edit] Awards

Wins

• Academy Award for Best Cinematography ( Vittorio Storaro)
• Academy Award for Best Sound ( Walter Murch, Mark Berger, Richard Beggs, Nathan Boxer)
• Cannes Film Festival: Palme d'Or
• Golden Globe Award for Best Director (Francis Ford Coppola)
• Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor (Robert Duvall)
• Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score ( Carmine Coppola & Francis Ford Coppola)

In 2000, Apocalypse Now was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Nominations

• Academy Award for Best Picture
• Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture — Drama
• Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor — (Robert Duvall)
• Academy Award for Best Art Direction — Set Decoration (Angelo P. Graham, George R. Nelson and Dean Tavoularis)
• Academy Award for Directing (Francis Ford Coppola)
• Academy Award for Film Editing (Lisa Fruchtman, Gerald B. Greenberg, Richard Marks and Walter Murch)
• Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium (Francis Ford Coppola & John Milius)
• WGA Award for Best Drama Written Directly for the Screen ( John Milius & Francis Ford Coppola)
• Grammy Award for Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture ( Carmine Coppola & Francis Ford Coppola)

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• Original script (by Milius and Coppola)