Apocalypse Now

Ok, so far I have four 5 star films out of my first six in my blu ray collection. I guess I sort of buy movies I love. Maybe you should take most of what I own as my recommendation. This is one of the best war films ever made. It blows my mind how large scale and realistic the fight scenes are. Sometimes I can't understand how the actors were willing to be in such dangerous conditions, shots coming right at them, nearby explosions, etc.

But, most importantly there are two perfect things to point out. Acting is phenomenal by everyone. Obviously though, Brando and Martin Sheen are the peaks. Both know how to convey a lot in subtile ways. Robert Duvall plays a great dick lieutenant so well too. I love when he tells people how much he respects someone dying, and starts to give him water out of his canteen... until he's distracted by something he finds entertaining and just lets water fall.

The other perfection is the overall tone. It isn't just an action movie about the war. You see the way this stuff can effect soldiers. Some good things, a lot of bad, and others that just get depressing. It gets into your head and makes you really think about this all in a deep psychological way. Check it out for sure.

Side note: I watched the original version. I've seen Redux, but I think I prefer the original. Redux doesn't add bad scenes, but I feel like the movie works better at the more standard pace. Worth checking out both for sure, and I think either way this is a great film.

[9.6/10] Still a total masterpiece. Coppola's meditation on the tragic absurdities of war, the hypocrisies of those who manage them, and the hollowing nature of killing remains an incredible high point for cinema writ large.

Go read "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad, before you watch the theatrical version of this film. And if you enjoy it, go ahead watch the documentary about the production and the Redux version.

Out of all the hailed directors of the modern era of cinema (the Kubricks and Scorseses and Tarantinos) Coppola has been the one that to me, has most successfully lived up to his incredible hype. Of course, I haven't watched his weaker efforts, apart from The Godfather part III, but if I've watched other classics by other directors, often described as masterpieces, and ended up underwhelmed, with Coppola that hasn't happened. His three sensations (The Godfather Part I, The Godfather Part II and Apocalypse Now) have met every single one of my expectations and are all completely worthy of the masterpiece title. Apocalypse Now in particular was surprising and enthusing from start to finish. I found every single shot of the movie breathtakingly beautiful and the editing was some of the best I've ever seen. The soundtrack is maybe the greatest of all time, and the story, whilst not original, is a take I had not yet seen on the Vietnam war where through a mission against someone on his own "team" we discover the gruesome reality and inhumanity of the conflict. The Americans often call the locals "savages" but time and time again we are shown that they're the ones who do barbaric things. I loved it, and just like both Godfathers it has immense rewatch potential and I will certainly be watching it again.

Also, I guess I should say I watched the theatrical release and it worked really well for me. I see people in the comments saying it's too long, so I'm happy I chose to watch the shorter one, as I fully thought it was the perfect length.

Wow, I really enjoyed the film. The acting was subtle and geared towards a more thoughtful audience in my opinion. The music brought me back to the original halloween days of the 70's, god, wish I was born earlier than 2002. I get where people are coming from saying it's too long. You could easily cut out an hour and deliver the same message, however it's clear to me that the director didn't want that. So we are forced to take in the film for what it is. I watched the redux version which I believe is the longest version and I had no problem with the length. Did it take awhile? yeah, but I enjoyed every minute of it. I only have just a few ten out of ten films and this one? Yeah, 10/10 material. Highly recommend this film if you're into the slow burner, mind bender, subtle acting types of films. If not? hey that's fine go watch something else. I'm gonna watch it again :)

Spoiler!!!...Rosey Palm and her husband Hairy have a daughter named Nay

Rating: 5* / 5* or 10 / 10

The name fits like a glove. I think one of the biggest attractions the film has is that it is VERY Dantesque and depicts a super chaotic Vietnam. Obviously depicting chaos in a war film is always going to be "right" but Vietnam was basically described as hell on earth and this is what I mean by the film being Dantesque and chaotic. You can perfectly feel the desperation, hopelessness and descent into madness of the soldiers.

I don't feel the film was heavy and I think it has very good shots. Continuing a little further on the subject of chaos, I think that this is well achieved because there are war films that try to be chaotic to reflect the agitation of combat and in my opinion what they do is screw it up, here they were able to transmit that with very well-cared-for shots

I think it is a very complete film, the shots, the settings, the effects, the whole issue of post-traumatic stress, the sprinkling of social criticism... I think it has it all.

If this film had been recommended by a film genius it would have been Samuel Lindow

This might become one of my favorites of all time.

And how come I've never seen people talk about Marlon Brando's performance in this movie?

One of the most unnerving and chilling performances I've ever seen. He was on screen for barely a few minutes and still managed to be my favorite thing about the movie.

Brilliant movie. Dense. Robert Duvall, Martin Sheen....and Marlon Brando. The plot, everything is allright here.