WANT TO GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO "PAUL MARTIN." For The Superchat. I Was Going Insane So Much With This Movie I Could've Been In A Mental Asylum. Please Share And Like The Video
Hey Mello, curiosity question came to mind when you thought out loud "I don't understand why civilians would do stuff like that." When the young woman threw a grenade in the chopper. If say the United States was invaded and you had foreign soldiers carrying out raids like that on your town/city. Would you fight back? This is just like a "put yourself in their shoes" kind of question I guess. Love your reactions man. Truly one of my favorites. Much love.
Coppola, in a documentary on the film, would emphasize the plot being used as a metaphor of the War itself. The Vietnam War was basically BS from start to finish. Invasion and massacres, and murders. The Govt. fed one story to the public about it, the real story they kept to themselves until it was exposed. The Pentagon Papers(Ellsburg) being one of the first publications to do so. When Kerts says "you're an errand boy sent by grocery clerks to collect the bill", describes The US Governments role in the War. In the Redux version(very highly recommended) there's a scene with a French Family. In which the real motives for the War were realized. And on the subject of Coppola, Duvall, and Brando. The Godfather has to be in the plans at some point. An Offer you can't refuse.
"Born on the Fourth of July" would be a good follow-up to this, or "Platoon." "Forrest Gump" would also fill the bill, if you want a bit of comedy to balance out the sadness.
Also, if you're just discovering Coppola, ya gotta watch the _"Godfather"_ trilogy. It's about 3 hours a piece, but those 9 hours of your life are worth it.
The novel Heart of Darkness that inspired this movie took place in Africa, they moved it to Vietnam. It was about how "savage" and "civilized" people were not so different, it touched many subjects.
"Land in a swamp, march through the woods, and in some inland post feel the savagery, the utter savagery, had closed round him,-all that mysterious life of the wilderness that stirs in the forest, in the jungles, in the hearts of wild men. There’s no initiation either into such mysteries. He has to live in the midst of the incomprehensible, which is also detestable. And it has a fascination, too, that goes to work upon him. The fascination of the abomination-you know, imagine the growing regrets, the longing to escape, the powerless disgust, the surrender, the hate." "They were conquerors, and for that you want only brute force-nothing to boast of, when you have it, since your strength is just an accident arising from the weakness of others. They grabbed what they could get for the sake of what was to be got. It was just robbery with violence, aggravated murder on a great scale, and men going at it blind-as is very proper for those who tackle a darkness. The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much. What redeems it is the idea only. An idea at the back of it; not a sentimental pretence but an idea; and an unselfish belief in the idea-something you can set up, and bow down before, and offer a sacrifice to...." - Joseph Conrad, _Heart of Darkness_
Glad you read it that way, I had to do an essay for uni evaluating Chinua Achebe's scathing review of it where he goes on about how racist it supposedly is. Amongst other things, he didn't draw the double meaning from the title.
@@EpicMRPancake Most people critiquing classics and accusing the authors of racism are complete MORONS who have no clue what the said classics really mean or are trying to convey. The really stupid thing is trying to read the classics from todays point of view. I don't waste my time on people like that. Just read Jack London's "A Son of the Sun."
@@jayeisenhardt1337 Yeah, because he was committing war crimes. If you keep committing crimes in war, you’re most likely gonna get in big trouble. Kurtz *was* insane.
@@PapaEli-pz8ffit’s not about Kurz being a sane guy but the higher ups treat him like an insane lunatic when he just sees the reality of it all regarding war and vietnam.
@@Carandini Surprising that despite Brando not reading the script, the book, arriving overweight and getting into a conflict with Dennis Hopper and Frances Ford Coppola, Brando still managed to give a legendary performance.
This movie is rough once you've watched the entire thing. Like, after you've watched it you'll keep thinking about it. And then you'll rewatch it and and really pay attention closely while thinking about the actual war and our involvement in it. That's when the movie gets under your skin.
You're spot on. I was born in 1968, and I remember when we pulled out and the fall of Saigon. It's no wonder most vets don't talk much about their tour of duty.
Also, the "iconic" helicopter scene isn't imitating anything, this _is_ the icon so to speak. I think these reaction channels would enjoy the movies or music more if they take into account chronological order. Music especially, but entertainment from the 60's to the 90's was wrapped up in the technological changes. No need to wonder if a scene was CGI from the 70's, none of it is.
I genuinely believe Coppola had, pound for pound, the best run of films in the 1970s, over any other director. In one decade we got The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, The Conversation and Apocalypse Now. Each film a masterpiece and each one a defining film in their genres. His impact in the 70s is nothing short of legendary!
every other war movie you announced are the depressing ones, this one is just a psychedelic, existential viewing of war and death, where we pretty much witness Martin Sheen’s character experience ego death lol
Watch it on psilocybin (shrooms) you will come to the same conclusion for sure. A lot of spiritual symbolism In the last act. Notice that KJV Bible on Kurtz' shelf directly next to Faust by Goethe.
Harvey Keitel originally had Martin Sheen’s role but Harvey clashed with Coppola’s directorial style. Basically, Harvey is an actual Army vet who kept telling Coppola that’s not how it’s done. Coppola fired Keitel and Sheen became a legend.
The filming of this movie was insane, with one star gaining a lot of weight (Brando) one having a heart attack (Sheen). And to add to that sets being wrecked due to storms and having to pay off the local law and govenmment.
@@jahrolo He had gone from having middle age spread in in Roots: The Next Generations, to being almost immobile. They filmed Brando like you said as they could not afford to pay him for nothing, and re-cast the role do to the movie being way over budget.
@@Justanotherconsumer There was a headline in a major US paper "Apocalypse, When?'. There was a growing expectation in the media it would collapse into the biggest disaster in Hollywood history because of all the reported problems.
The music in the helicopter scene is Richard Wagner's "Ride Of The Valkyries." The reporter at Kurtz's cult compound is played by Dennis Hopper (Easy Rider, Speed)
I don't know if you like documentaries, but I recommend "Hearts of Darkness" about the creation of this movie. The stories behind it are almost as out there as the movie itself. For example, the entire introductory breakdown scene was not scripted -- Martin Sheen really had a breakdown. After shooting it, he wandered off set, collapsed in a ditch and had a heart attack.
In answer to your question - why are the civilians shooting? - they are defending their homeland against a foreign invader. If the USA had not intervened the civil war would have ended quickly with the North defeating the South easily with relatively few casualties.
this, and more to the point, if we wanted a non cominist gov in vietnam, we should have helped them gain independance from the french after ww2, instead, to avoid pissing off an alli, we told them to f- off, so they sought help and munitions from the soviets
@@genericnpc6379 i think that's true. But at the same time why get involved at all it's a civil war. I f the socialist north are going to win anyway, why bother? Also I lived in Vietnam for a couple of years and it's a weird mix of mad capitalism at street level and the old socialist dictatorship at governmental level... but nowhere near as bad a s China! as a foreigner i was trying to live and work the best I could I found the Vietnamese very friendly despite the cultural difference, a lot of fun!
@@HelloMellowXVI Hi. Since you ask - then I clearly I didn't understand why you said that. Perhaps you could explain what you meant. I'm also not sure what you mean by 'face value'. I'm happy to be corrected if I got something wrong.
I've seen this movie a million times but your reaction to Clean's death really made me realize what a gut-punch it is to have the youngest crew member die first.
You don't understand why those civilians do "stuff like that"? what about their country being invaded for nothing?... because that's what Vietnam was all about, from the French to this. An that's why americans were defeated, it's a different animal fighting because you're commanded to do so, and fighting to defend your home. And that's why the poor fellow that didn't want to go out from the chopper was a poor fellow, cannon fodder he was in the movie, like many others in real life... that's what this movie is all about
If you’re a civilian you still don’t have to do things like that and if you do dont be outraged or shocked when you get shot because in any war doing something like that is asking for it and all of those people who had to get off the chopper go through this bullshit are poor fellows you still have to get of that chopper with your men
Everyone says that. Maybe it’s because I haven’t lived the most sober life, in particular when it comes to psychedelics, but I kind of settled into its ouvre. It starts making sense as soon as it stops making sense, to my mind. To me, Deer Hunter and Platoon were way bigger mindfucks. In part, I think, because at a certain point the surreality undercuts the attempted viscerality.
"I didn't know they did the whole horn thing in Vietnam." As best as I remember my history, bugle calls in the American military became less a war-time tool and more of a garrison (non-combat area) tool for keeping time and giving orders during parades right around the turn of the century (1900-ish). Of course, exceptions to the norm do occur. Given that this cavalry colonel is very eccentric I wouldn't have been surprised if he did continie the bugle calls in war time.
Pretty sure Army cav still uses the bugle calls for ceremonial purposes. Can't say if they still do in the field in battle or not I'm sure they might. I'm in the Navy so can't speak for the Army.
@@kaijudude_ i'm currently in the Army (combat arms, 16+ years) and bugle calls are almost never used today in the field/combat environment. I say "almost" because you never know if there is some insane colonel out there who makes his unit do bugle calls while in the combat zone.
The stories about how this movie was made are as fascinating as the movie itself. This movie seems to be one of those movies where they really didn't know what they were making until after they started editing it together. To me, Vietnam is just the setting for this story. I don't see it as a war movie. This is a surreal character study, done in a European art film style, with the war movie ambience making it relatable to general movie audiences. You COULD just watch this as a war movie and be entertained, or you could dig deeper.
He's also in the movie, seen from the back. Martin Sheen had a heart attack during filming and they brought Joe in as a body double while he was recovering.
It's interesting that nearly every reactor to this film that I have seen, especially reactors in the movie business, talked about the cinematography and the sound, and they were the two things that it won Oscars for.
This movie suffered a lot of production problems, and I mean A LOT: Martin Sheen got drunk and broke a mirror, cutting himself with a piece of glass, as seen in the opening. Martin Sheen suffered a heart attack during filming. Marlon Brando, Kurtz, arrived grossly overweight and said in an interview he hated working for Coppola, calling him "a cocksucker to work with." Half the cast and crew got high on drugs and got drunk during production. Tigers were seen prowling around the set of the movie Francis Ford Coppola wanted to kill himself rather than finish the film. Dennis Hopper got high on cocaine while filming his scenes. A hurricane hit near the set of the Movie. It took Coppola 3 years to edit the film. Most of their equipment was stolen before filming had commenced.
They had to loan helicopters from the local military who kept recalling them into service with no notice. At one point, everybody had their passports temporarily yanked.
The scene where Michael Sheen is drunk in his underwear alone and punches the mirror was real. He was actually drunk, and he actually punched the mirror. Cut his hand bad enough he needed stitches
What the f*** are you talking about snowflake this is your typical type of war this season even close to the actual type of war that you would experience what the f*** are you talking about you have no understanding this isn't typical type of war what what what are you even what what are you even explaining you have no understanding typical type of war what the f*** are you talking about what's a typical type of f****** war that you're wanting to f****** deal with you hear me please explain what's the typical type of war that's what I want to know please post it
Please any of you post the typical type of war that you're trying to comment on not any of you I have any understanding or commenting of any comprehension of what the f***** going on in the war there's nothing typical and just like the guy who posted this video there's nothing typical there's no typical war it's not how it happens it's a f****** war you might want to recant and rethink how the f*** you're talking about the war it's a war people die innocent civilians die or they get covid-19
@@zombielover317able adjust your meds dude, I said this isn’t your typical war movie, it had nothing to do with COVID or how Hollywood usually portrays war.
So many great things about Apocalypse Now. One of the greatest things is that there's no CGI anywhere--the sheer physicality of real props, sets, and effects is mesmerizing.
"It's a little cocky don't you think playing music like this, to let them know you're coming." Have you never heard what one helicopter sounds like flying nearby? They are loud and can be heard long before they are seen. Now multiply that sound by a dozen or more helicopters. The enemy already knows they are coming. They would hear the helicopters long before they hear Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries.
@@MrGrifter123 I love near Joint Force Base Andrews. While it's not as bad as a commercial airport. Because there are less flights acoming and going. You still get military aircraft flying at all times of the day and night.
@@HelloMellowXVI loud music is often used in combat. Usually as part of PsyOps but sometimes just for the morale of the troops. Just watched a documentary about the the Desert Storm tank battle. As the US tanks crossed the border to begin attacking the Iraqi Army. The PsyOps unit was ordered to play Flight of the Valkyries.
@@HelloMellowXVI I'll give you one that is completely cocky. Watch 'Kelly's Heroes'. Donald Sutherland plays an insane tank commander who has loudspeakers fitted to the tanks in his platoon because 'we play music very loud... it calms us down.' Absolute phenomenal movie and a cast you wouldn't believe: Clint Eastwood, Telly Savalas, Donald Sutherland, Don Rickles, Carroll O'Conner, Harry Dean Stanton. There's even a Spaghetti Western showdown with a Tiger.
My interpretation : the movie shows the descent into insanity. The scenes with Kilgore show step one - degradation of the enemy (all the racial slurs and contempt). The USO show is step 2 - degradation of your friends/allies as the soldiers fight the innocent and each other. The bridge at Do Lung is step 3 - degradation of self. Beyond the bridge is where few venture - true insanity. Those who don't give in to the darkness are killed (Clean, Chief, Chef). Those who do give in get to live (Lance in his reversion to a childlike state of mind, and Willard as a clear-thinking man who loses all sense of judgement).
1:22 You heard he's Nicolas Cage's uncle? Cage changed his name to not get famous because of his relations. 4:36 So, "The Godfather" should go on the to-watch list then. Probably didn't need to mute the big helicopter scene, since pretty sure "Ride of the Valkyries" is public domain.
Killgore, when he stands on that beach with all that explosions, he reminds me of my niece. She always says "If God wants me to die, I'm gonna die.". This girl has some balls. I love her, even she is probably a psychopath. Give me an army of these and every war would be ended pretty soon.
@4:39 I think that you may be mixing up two notoriously difficult actors here? Marlon Brando was renowned for never learning his lines before filming and would have cue cards held off camera for him to read from XD while Orson Welles was the one I think who would re-write his lines and make similar demands from his directors much to their annoyance XD Also you will no doubt get many comments saying that this film is an adaptation from a book called Heart of Darkness and while that is technically correct, this film was much more heavily inspired and influenced from a film by Werner Herzog called Aguirre, the Wrath of God. Which clearly is where Coppola got the visual style and tone from especially the journey from civilization into the depths madness and insanity.
I love how the film descends from jet bombers to choppers to machine guns to arrows to a spear to a man being hacked to death. The jungle always wins. Heart of Darkness + The End = Apocalypse: Now.
12:25 ....That's because she wassn't a civilian, she was a Vietcong.... Vietcong army didn't fight the regular type of war, they do the guerrilla type of war, wich include dressing lika a civilian and strike their enemy however they can, causing the most amount of damage posible....That's why in many vietnam movies, you see stuff like this and worse....
he also said he's never seen Harrison Ford in a "serious movie" so I'm worried lol. Just playing around though, we all discover them in our own time. I say start with the one that broke him out of the "star wars/indiana jones" mold "witness" and go from there lol.
Finally saw this on a big screen I think in 2019 for the anniversary. Saw it many times on tv growing up (was too young when it was first released). It was an incredible experience on the big screen.
You need to see The Godfather trilogy is practically obligatory viewing if you want to continue see great cinema. Also The Deer Hunter (1978) a Vietnam war movie classic that won 5 Oscars starring Robert DeNiro and Christopher Walken. It has one of the most shocking and intense sequences of all cinema. They should be on your top list.
Dont be so hard on Part 3 its imperfect and Sofia Coppola really does the job...WRONG! But it shows the endline of Michael Corleone's life and how his wrong doings made him fall at the end..its a very suitable final journey for a troubled corrupted individual. He paid for his sins in Part 3 and it was for me sad and joyful at the same time to see Michael fall and suffer for his sins. Part 3 is a must watch but still not even close to the level of artistry of Part 1 and 2.
"The man is standing around as if there was no gun fire happening." This is more a British officer trait than an American one. He is apparently an exception to the norm (either because of an extreme case of Fatalism....or just plain stupid).
Saw this when it first came out, blew me away. You are right that it didn't have any credits which Coppola thought would detract from the movie. Instead, we were given a booklet with full credits, and other things like the shooting schedule. I recall it even said how many thousands of gallons of gasoline were used in the simulated napalm drop! Damn, I wish I had hung into that thing!
The boat chief actor also played Banes from Malcolm X. He was the guy in prison that first introduced Malcolm to the Nation of Islam. "I'm telling you brother, this ain't no con". Banes
One thing you should consider. You mentioned how this movie had obligatory helicopter scene. This was THE FIRST post-Vietnam Vietnam movie. Everything that came after (Platoon, Tour of Duty, Casualities of War). So this set the script for everything that came after. Even the character in Tropic Thunder who is a guy pretending to be a guy but is actually a different guy. That points to the deeper meaning to the movie you are trying to express. THEY SENT A GUY TO KILL A GUY WHO IS HIMSELF. That is the whole point/plot in one sentence. Everything else is secondary but beautiful.
Dude if you can track it down, check out The Boys Company C, it’s the most underrated Vietnam movie ever. It also has R. Lee Ermey in his first major role, playing a similar character to his in Full Metal Jacket.
The watch worn by Martin Sheen is a Seiko 6105 series watch which was actually available for purchase at the US Army Postal Exchange during the war, Martin Sheen's watch is the Seiko 6105 8110 which has since become known as the Captain Willard. I wear it's slightly older brother the 6105 8000 which I bought off a vet who was stationed in Saigon in 68, he shared alot of crazy stories about his time in Vietnam
This film was inspired by the novel Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, published around the beginning of the 20th century, before World War I. The basic plot is the same, with the river in the novel being the Congo. There is a documentary about the making of Apocalypse Now called Heart Of Darkness.
Absolutely mind blowing film. The Redux is the best cut imo. The extra scenes add a certain something its hard for me to pinpoint. Ive watched it probably a dozen or more times. The movie as a whole is a haphazard masterpiece. Certain scenes like Do Lung Bridge and the Death of Kurtz are hypnotic sermons of dread and animalistic rage. Kurtz's monologues are extroardinarily profound, especially if one is a student of military history. A type of insanity so pure as to become sanity, a dangerous mind in a dangerous world becomes a healthy mind. The set pieces revolving around Killgore and his First of the Ninth Air Cav are raw and exhilarating, some of the most intense and memorable action cinema ever put to film. If you couldnt tell I fucking love this movie.
I agree, Redux is the best cut. It's the actual entire movie how it was supposed to be. They cut out 45 minutes of the story so that It would be shorter for theatrical release. I only watch the Redux version. I think they are important scenes, but they were scenes that were sacrificed.
War is Hell! So many war movies might allude that war is hell but... this? THIS! This pushes your face right into the open wound writhing with maggots!
Just the stories I heard about what they had to put up with in regards to Brando was insane and considering the drama that went into filming this movie that is saying something. As some mentioned the reason why he was in shadows so much is because Brando gained a lot of weight and looked nothing like the dangerous solider he was supposed to be so it was to hide his physic as much as possible. And the fact the fact they got all that philosophical stuff to sound coherent is impressive when you account for the fact he refused to read the script and just rambled whatever random stuff game to mind. Honestly considering the issues Brando gave Coppola when filming the Godfather (once again refused to read his lines and they had to tape them to the shirts of other actors including Duvall for example) I am surprised Coppola was still willing to work with him for this film.
Part of why this film functions as such a unique take on Vietnam is because it’s a thematic adaptation of Conrad’s novel Heart of Darkness, which predated the conflict by many years.
Chef gave himself away when he broke radio silence early and did the radio check. The Colonel probably had people monitoring the airways. The Colonel was smart enough to know what would happen if sheen didn't come back within a certain time. They were up river in Cambodia, no longer in Vietnam. The arrows were from primitive mountain people like the ones The Colonel had following him,, thats why they used them when the chief got speared.
I did not expect the method actor crack lol. I also snorted when you mentioned King Kong. XD Honestly, I think this is definitely on my “greatest movies” list. Cool adaptation of the novel about colonialism Heart of Darkness. To me the depressing aspect is more the, well, “heart of darkness” aspect. It’s more absurd than heart-wrenching, but as others have said, there’s something haunting about a psychedelic take on war. There’s no figure of hope. Everyone is dissociating and trying to survive hell. The one who followed the rules the most, the boat Captain, also got them into some of these messes. He did the routine check that resulted in innocent civilians being harassed and gunned down over a puppy. He ordered them to fire on the arrows, which might not have escalated to spears if they hadn’t retaliated with outsized force. The rules were far less consistent and sensical than Kurtz’s barbaric take on war and humanity.
Dennis Hopper is lowkey the MVP of all the cast. He's the only one who actually read Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness and you can really tell, because he plays his character like a clown (which is what his character in the OG book literally is). He even ad-libbed dialogue from the book that wasn't in the script.
a gothic clown? it's called camouflage my man lol nice reaction! Maybe they thought the water buffalo getting slaughtered would depress you or something, although its the internet so maybe they were just exaggerating too. Laurence Fishburne AND Harrison Ford look so dang young! good film, a must see for sure
@@technopirate304 yikes 11 years old. I was around 16 or 17 when I first watched it. I was a little bit desensitized from the internet by 16, but I was pretty fresh and innocent at 11 lol
In college I studied this film with Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness (among other books and films). It blew my mind. When I traveled to another land, and the tech sergeant told me that they called it the "Land of not-quite-right". The next couple of years, I understood what he meant. You gotta try to understand or you'll break. The final scene was foreshadowed in the beginning scene... Jim Morrison is singing "This is the end", as the napalm strike was coming in.
You rent this on iTunes? This print is looking really overexposed, usually it’s not that bright. Not your fault obviously. Either the site or Coppolas fault. But yeah, part of the brilliance of the film is that Coppola made an anti war film that directly mirrored the American narrative. In Kilgores chopper attack, they make war look like the most exciting shit, and Kilgore himself a surfing rockstar. Makes you think
Fun facts and curiosities: 1) Jim Morrison, the frontman, singer and song-writer of THE DOORS, who wrote "The End", and Francis Ford Coppola were study fellows at the Faculty of Filmmaking at the UCLA in L.A. 2) Al Pacino was initially starred, in place of Martin Sheen, for the role of Captain Willard 3) The movie is a cinematographic transposition of Joseph Conrad's HEART OF DARKNESS 4) For the 90% of all the time Marlon Brando is framed during the movie, he is framed in semi-darkness, precisely because he was already, somehow, on his way out in his acting career. Moreover, it is said that the monologue about "the horror" is performed from the side with Brando literally reading his lines on a script attached on a wall.
This movie left a impact on my life when I saw it in the theater with my dad, it's really horror and war, the best movie's that kick started the whole war movies era... hand's down the other would be Full Metal Jacket with the boot camp stuff...
Probably the most perfect film I've ever seen, & a beautiful adaptation of Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness". Fun fact, because there's no titles, they had to use Dennis Hopper's handwritten "Apocalypse Now" on one of the boulders as the title because it had to be shown somewhere in the film.
Brando was shot only in the dark because he turned up late, didnt read the script and was massively overweight ... FFC had to change the ending to accommodate Brando who was embarressed by his weight, it changed the tone of the ending, probably for the better. You should follow this up immediately with Hearts of Darkness: a film makers apocalypse, its a documentary about the making of the film which is an epic story in it's own right, mired in production hell, with everything going wrong that could possibly go wrong. It's a brilliant story and despite everything, they got an epic, epic film out of it.
I’d love for Mello to tackle more Coen Brothers. Not my favorite (That’ll always be O, Brother. I’m also a pretty big dark horse fan of Burn After Reading.) but the one I think would be funnest to see Mello tackle is Barton Fink.
Oh brother, you are about to learn how far down a rabbit hole goes before it turns into insanity. --- Post Watch Comments ----- Your "there is that helecopter shot that is in every vietnam movie." This movie did it first, this movie did it grittier. AND helecopters ARE vietnam as much as crawling through jungle.
Music has been used over the centuries to psych out armies of a approaching army. There were units that did use music in Vietnam. My dad said a lot used country music.
Coppola did a masterful job in creating a cathartic experience of confused madness. And confused madness would also be a good description of the War in general. John Milius’s screen play for the movie was Inspired by Joseph Conrad's. "HEART OF Darkness”; which by the way is a very good read. But overall the film does a brillant job of creating that sense of unease, which kept my stomach in nots throughout the movie. Well deserved classic
If you haven't seen many Marlon Brando movies, check out A Streetcar named Desire (1951), On the Waterfront (1954) and of coarse The Godfather (1972)!!
Remember when Major Payne was stretching and stuff In his apartment room that was a reference to Apocalypse Now when Martin Sheen was stretching and stuff in a Apartment Room.
Francis Ford Coppola damn near went legit insane while filming this movie. Anything that could go wrong with filming a movie ended up happening. The original lead was Harvey Keitel, who was fired after about two weeks. Martin Sheen replaced him. Martin Sheen then had a heart attack and had to return to the States, delaying production for about six months. A typhoon destroyed multiple expensive filming sets. The Philippine government was in the middle of fighting rebels and constantly had to recall equipment like helicopters that were loaned to the production for filming. Uncountable amount of production delays and cost overruns occurred, even petty theft was a problem on the sets. A safe or lockbox containing the payroll for the crew was stolen. Marlon Brando showed up on the set months late and up terribly overweight, forcing nearly all scenes of his to be shot from the shoulders up. He also hadn't read the book (which was required by Coppola), ended up arguing over the script and threatened to walk out and keep his $1 million salary, which was a huge amount back then (Brando was a notoriously difficult actor to work with apparently. A real prick, despite his legendary status) Coppola ended up dumping tons of his own cash into the movie. I think all told, it was the better part of a decade for this project to come to life from paper to screen. With 2 years of filming alone.
WANT TO GIVE A SHOUT OUT TO "PAUL MARTIN." For The Superchat.
I Was Going Insane So Much With This Movie I Could've Been In A Mental Asylum. Please Share And Like The Video
Hey Mello, curiosity question came to mind when you thought out loud "I don't understand why civilians would do stuff like that." When the young woman threw a grenade in the chopper. If say the United States was invaded and you had foreign soldiers carrying out raids like that on your town/city. Would you fight back? This is just like a "put yourself in their shoes" kind of question I guess. Love your reactions man. Truly one of my favorites. Much love.
Never get out the boat!
Coppola, in a documentary on the film, would emphasize the plot being used as a metaphor of the War itself. The Vietnam War was basically BS from start to finish. Invasion and massacres, and murders. The Govt. fed one story to the public about it, the real story they kept to themselves until it was exposed. The Pentagon Papers(Ellsburg) being one of the first publications to do so. When Kerts says "you're an errand boy sent by grocery clerks to collect the bill", describes The US Governments role in the War. In the Redux version(very highly recommended) there's a scene with a French Family. In which the real motives for the War were realized. And on the subject of Coppola, Duvall, and Brando. The Godfather has to be in the plans at some point. An Offer you can't refuse.
"Born on the Fourth of July" would be a good follow-up to this, or "Platoon." "Forrest Gump" would also fill the bill, if you want a bit of comedy to balance out the sadness.
Also, if you're just discovering Coppola, ya gotta watch the _"Godfather"_ trilogy.
It's about 3 hours a piece, but those 9 hours of your life are worth it.
The novel Heart of Darkness that inspired this movie took place in Africa, they moved it to Vietnam. It was about how "savage" and "civilized" people were not so different, it touched many subjects.
"Land in a swamp, march through the woods, and in some inland post feel the savagery, the utter savagery, had closed round him,-all that mysterious life of the wilderness that stirs in the forest, in the jungles, in the hearts of wild men. There’s no initiation either into such mysteries. He has to live in the midst of the incomprehensible, which is also detestable. And it has a fascination, too, that goes to work upon him. The fascination of the abomination-you know, imagine the growing regrets, the longing to escape, the powerless disgust, the surrender, the hate."
"They were conquerors, and for that you want only brute force-nothing to boast of, when you have it, since your strength is just an accident arising from the weakness of others. They grabbed what they could get for the sake of what was to be got. It was just robbery with violence, aggravated murder on a great scale, and men going at it blind-as is very proper for those who tackle a darkness. The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it away from those who have a different complexion or slightly flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look into it too much. What redeems it is the idea only. An idea at the back of it; not a sentimental pretence but an idea; and an unselfish belief in the idea-something you can set up, and bow down before, and offer a sacrifice to...."
- Joseph Conrad, _Heart of Darkness_
Glad you read it that way, I had to do an essay for uni evaluating Chinua Achebe's scathing review of it where he goes on about how racist it supposedly is. Amongst other things, he didn't draw the double meaning from the title.
Yes, Heart of Darkness was written by Polish -English novelist Joseph Conrad Korzeniowski in 1899.
@@EpicMRPancake Holy shit I had a professor in college that went on that exact same stupid tirade like 20 years ago.
@@EpicMRPancake Most people critiquing classics and accusing the authors of racism are complete MORONS who have no clue what the said classics really mean or are trying to convey. The really stupid thing is trying to read the classics from todays point of view. I don't waste my time on people like that. Just read Jack London's "A Son of the Sun."
Trivia: Martin Sheen was really drunk when he shot that opening scene, and he actually cut his hand on that mirror.
And a lot of the staff was high. Lance really dropped speed at the bridge scene.
Heart attack too
There’s method acting and then there’s meth acting.
Everyone on the set had lost their minds actually.
Dennis Hopper was entirely on coke whenever he was on camera for this flick and he was absolutely amazing.
It's a film about a man who understood war, not theoretically, not academically, but literally and remained sane.
and they called him crazy and had him executed
@@jayeisenhardt1337 Yeah, because he was committing war crimes.
If you keep committing crimes in war, you’re most likely gonna get in big trouble.
Kurtz *was* insane.
It’s a film about a man who understood war, not theoretically, not academically, but literally, and it completely tore him apart.
I don't recall seeing much sanity in this movie..
@@PapaEli-pz8ffit’s not about Kurz being a sane guy but the higher ups treat him like an insane lunatic when he just sees the reality of it all regarding war and vietnam.
Dennis Hopper didn't DO cocaine; Dennis Hopper WAS cocaine.
Cocaines a helluva drug
Kinda sad that the actor coked out of his mind still managed to be more professional on this set than Brando.
Dennis Hopper didn't do cocaine. Cocaine did Dennis Hopper.
Coppola to Hopper: "What do you need to get through the shoot"
Hopper: "About a kilo or two"
@@Carandini Surprising that despite Brando not reading the script, the book, arriving overweight and getting into a conflict with Dennis Hopper and Frances Ford Coppola, Brando still managed to give a legendary performance.
It's still amazing to me that Laurence Fishburne was only 14 when production began in 1976 (he lied about his age).
It’s where he first tried heroin :/
17
@@bettosanchez1909 he was 17 when the film came out in 1979, but was 14 when production started in 1976.
@ it’s been floated around, don’t believe he’s denied it
@@kds5895 you mean on set during production? that's crazy! I never knew that
This movie is rough once you've watched the entire thing. Like, after you've watched it you'll keep thinking about it. And then you'll rewatch it and and really pay attention closely while thinking about the actual war and our involvement in it. That's when the movie gets under your skin.
You're spot on.
I was born in 1968, and I remember when we pulled out and the fall of Saigon.
It's no wonder most vets don't talk much about their tour of duty.
The Major Payne scene was a reference to this film.
Also Sheen's scene was real...he was totally drunk and really cut open his hand .....but they kept filming. Now thats Directing!!!
Also, the "iconic" helicopter scene isn't imitating anything, this _is_ the icon so to speak. I think these reaction channels would enjoy the movies or music more if they take into account chronological order. Music especially, but entertainment from the 60's to the 90's was wrapped up in the technological changes. No need to wonder if a scene was CGI from the 70's, none of it is.
I genuinely believe Coppola had, pound for pound, the best run of films in the 1970s, over any other director. In one decade we got The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, The Conversation and Apocalypse Now. Each film a masterpiece and each one a defining film in their genres. His impact in the 70s is nothing short of legendary!
Agreed. As soon as the 70s started it was over for other directors. He was the king no doubt
Can’t refute that
every other war movie you announced are the depressing ones, this one is just a psychedelic, existential viewing of war and death, where we pretty much witness Martin Sheen’s character experience ego death lol
Only One That Was Depressing To Me Was The Pianist
Watch it on psilocybin (shrooms) you will come to the same conclusion for sure. A lot of spiritual symbolism In the last act. Notice that KJV Bible on Kurtz' shelf directly next to Faust by Goethe.
Never seen Harrison Ford in a serious movie? Try Blade Runner. Epic movie bro.
He has a ton of serious movies more than blade runner.
Presumed Innocent.
Indiana Jones is serious...sorta lol
'What Lies Beneath' is a heart stopper.
The fugitive
Man, you must watch Godfather Saga, at least 1 and 2.
A freaking Masterpiece. You will enjoy them.
There is no third movie.
Godfather Part 3 isn't as good as the first two, but it's worth having.
There is no third movie, just like the Dark Knight duology.
@@porflepopnecker4376 No, it's not.
You start talking Godfather 3 to real Godfather fans, and you'll only be triggering aneurysms.
I can't believe he has never seen The Godfather shocked me. One of the greatest movie all time.🤔
Harvey Keitel originally had Martin Sheen’s role but Harvey clashed with Coppola’s directorial style. Basically, Harvey is an actual Army vet who kept telling Coppola that’s not how it’s done. Coppola fired Keitel and Sheen became a legend.
Harvey Keitel is actually a former Marine, not Army. But otherwise you're right.
@@RetroClassic66 regardless,he’s a badass dude😎
You should also watch the Heart of Darkness documentary FFC’s wife made, not to react, but just to see the difficulties it took to film
Robert DeNiro in “The Deer Hunter”. Another Viet Nam masterpiece! 🤙🏽😎
The filming of this movie was insane, with one star gaining a lot of weight (Brando) one having a heart attack (Sheen). And to add to that sets being wrecked due to storms and having to pay off the local law and govenmment.
Wasn´t Brando already heavily overweight at this point? And Coppola had film him in these dark settings so people wouldn´t see it?
@@jahrolo He had gone from having middle age spread in in Roots: The Next Generations, to being almost immobile. They filmed Brando like you said as they could not afford to pay him for nothing, and re-cast the role do to the movie being way over budget.
Apparently someone put up a sign “Apocalypse Soon” because of the delays.
@@Justanotherconsumer There was a headline in a major US paper "Apocalypse, When?'.
There was a growing expectation in the media it would collapse into the biggest disaster in Hollywood history because of all the reported problems.
The music in the helicopter scene is Richard Wagner's "Ride Of The Valkyries."
The reporter at Kurtz's cult compound is played by Dennis Hopper (Easy Rider, Speed)
I don't know if you like documentaries, but I recommend "Hearts of Darkness" about the creation of this movie. The stories behind it are almost as out there as the movie itself. For example, the entire introductory breakdown scene was not scripted -- Martin Sheen really had a breakdown. After shooting it, he wandered off set, collapsed in a ditch and had a heart attack.
facts
In answer to your question - why are the civilians shooting? - they are defending their homeland against a foreign invader. If the USA had not intervened the civil war would have ended quickly with the North defeating the South easily with relatively few casualties.
this, and more to the point, if we wanted a non cominist gov in vietnam, we should have helped them gain independance from the french after ww2, instead, to avoid pissing off an alli, we told them to f- off, so they sought help and munitions from the soviets
@@genericnpc6379 i think that's true. But at the same time why get involved at all it's a civil war. I f the socialist north are going to win anyway, why bother? Also I lived in Vietnam for a couple of years and it's a weird mix of mad capitalism at street level and the old socialist dictatorship at governmental level... but nowhere near as bad a s China! as a foreigner i was trying to live and work the best I could I found the Vietnamese very friendly despite the cultural difference, a lot of fun!
Do You Even Know Why I Said That Though? I Wasn't Looking At It From A Face Value
@@HelloMellowXVI Hi. Since you ask - then I clearly I didn't understand why you said that. Perhaps you could explain what you meant. I'm also not sure what you mean by 'face value'. I'm happy to be corrected if I got something wrong.
I've seen this movie a million times but your reaction to Clean's death really made me realize what a gut-punch it is to have the youngest crew member die first.
Karma's a bitch.
You don't understand why those civilians do "stuff like that"? what about their country being invaded for nothing?... because that's what Vietnam was all about, from the French to this.
An that's why americans were defeated, it's a different animal fighting because you're commanded to do so, and fighting to defend your home. And that's why the poor fellow that didn't want to go out from the chopper was a poor fellow, cannon fodder he was in the movie, like many others in real life... that's what this movie is all about
If you’re a civilian you still don’t have to do things like that and if you do dont be outraged or shocked when you get shot because in any war doing something like that is asking for it and all of those people who had to get off the chopper go through this bullshit are poor fellows you still have to get of that chopper with your men
Do You Even Know Why I Said That?
This is the most disturbing of the "Vietnam" movies to me. It was a mind fuck of gigantic proportions
Everyone says that.
Maybe it’s because I haven’t lived the most sober life, in particular when it comes to psychedelics, but I kind of settled into its ouvre. It starts making sense as soon as it stops making sense, to my mind.
To me, Deer Hunter and Platoon were way bigger mindfucks. In part, I think, because at a certain point the surreality undercuts the attempted viscerality.
@@sinisterbunny7505 sobriety is overrated anyway
In a nutshell: War is Hell...and your going feel it (not just see it). A true masterpiece.
Man Coppola had such a good run through the Outsiders, and Dracula is one of the better adaptations
There were some production delays and it was argued that it should be “Apocalypse Soon.”
"I didn't know they did the whole horn thing in Vietnam."
As best as I remember my history, bugle calls in the American military became less a war-time tool and more of a garrison (non-combat area) tool for keeping time and giving orders during parades right around the turn of the century (1900-ish).
Of course, exceptions to the norm do occur. Given that this cavalry colonel is very eccentric I wouldn't have been surprised if he did continie the bugle calls in war time.
Pretty sure Army cav still uses the bugle calls for ceremonial purposes. Can't say if they still do in the field in battle or not I'm sure they might. I'm in the Navy so can't speak for the Army.
@@kaijudude_ i'm currently in the Army (combat arms, 16+ years) and bugle calls are almost never used today in the field/combat environment. I say "almost" because you never know if there is some insane colonel out there who makes his unit do bugle calls while in the combat zone.
The stories about how this movie was made are as fascinating as the movie itself. This movie seems to be one of those movies where they really didn't know what they were making until after they started editing it together. To me, Vietnam is just the setting for this story. I don't see it as a war movie. This is a surreal character study, done in a European art film style, with the war movie ambience making it relatable to general movie audiences. You COULD just watch this as a war movie and be entertained, or you could dig deeper.
Martin Sheen’s brother, Joe Estevez, did some of the voice over narration. Martin wasn’t available and Joe sounds just like him
He's also in the movie, seen from the back. Martin Sheen had a heart attack during filming and they brought Joe in as a body double while he was recovering.
President Davidson himself
It's interesting that nearly every reactor to this film that I have seen, especially reactors in the movie business, talked about the cinematography and the sound, and they were the two things that it won Oscars for.
This movie suffered a lot of production problems, and I mean A LOT:
Martin Sheen got drunk and broke a mirror, cutting himself with a piece of glass, as seen in the opening.
Martin Sheen suffered a heart attack during filming.
Marlon Brando, Kurtz, arrived grossly overweight and said in an interview he hated working for Coppola, calling him "a cocksucker to work with."
Half the cast and crew got high on drugs and got drunk during production.
Tigers were seen prowling around the set of the movie
Francis Ford Coppola wanted to kill himself rather than finish the film.
Dennis Hopper got high on cocaine while filming his scenes.
A hurricane hit near the set of the Movie.
It took Coppola 3 years to edit the film.
Most of their equipment was stolen before filming had commenced.
Atleast they got to finish the film
They had to loan helicopters from the local military who kept recalling them into service with no notice. At one point, everybody had their passports temporarily yanked.
Martin Sheen did so much coke during the filming of this movie that he actually had a heart attack.
Casualties of War, Good Morning Vietnam, Apocalypse Now and Platoon...so impactful.
Casualties of war is a movie not enough people talk about.
Also Heaven and Earth (1993)
The scene where Michael Sheen is drunk in his underwear alone and punches the mirror was real. He was actually drunk, and he actually punched the mirror. Cut his hand bad enough he needed stitches
Such a great movie, not your “typical “ war film, this is about madness.😎
Yep. Anyone who's read the novel will tell you that the Vietnam War setting was really just incidental.
What the f*** are you talking about snowflake this is your typical type of war this season even close to the actual type of war that you would experience what the f*** are you talking about you have no understanding this isn't typical type of war what what what are you even what what are you even explaining you have no understanding typical type of war what the f*** are you talking about what's a typical type of f****** war that you're wanting to f****** deal with you hear me please explain what's the typical type of war that's what I want to know please post it
Please any of you post the typical type of war that you're trying to comment on not any of you I have any understanding or commenting of any comprehension of what the f***** going on in the war there's nothing typical and just like the guy who posted this video there's nothing typical there's no typical war it's not how it happens it's a f****** war you might want to recant and rethink how the f*** you're talking about the war it's a war people die innocent civilians die or they get covid-19
All war is madness, so it is a good thing that war movies are too
@@zombielover317able adjust your meds dude, I said this isn’t your typical war movie, it had nothing to do with COVID or how Hollywood usually portrays war.
It´s based on the novel "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad - I like the movie more ;)
So many great things about Apocalypse Now. One of the greatest things is that there's no CGI anywhere--the sheer physicality of real props, sets, and effects is mesmerizing.
"It's a little cocky don't you think playing music like this, to let them know you're coming."
Have you never heard what one helicopter sounds like flying nearby? They are loud and can be heard long before they are seen. Now multiply that sound by a dozen or more helicopters. The enemy already knows they are coming. They would hear the helicopters long before they hear Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries.
You right about that.... Shit used to piss me off at Fort Benning
@@MrGrifter123 I love near Joint Force Base Andrews. While it's not as bad as a commercial airport. Because there are less flights acoming and going. You still get military aircraft flying at all times of the day and night.
Bro I Didn't Say That Because I Thought It Was A Stealth Mission. I Said That Because I Thought It Was Cocky Buddy..
@@HelloMellowXVI loud music is often used in combat. Usually as part of PsyOps but sometimes just for the morale of the troops. Just watched a documentary about the the Desert Storm tank battle. As the US tanks crossed the border to begin attacking the Iraqi Army. The PsyOps unit was ordered to play Flight of the Valkyries.
@@HelloMellowXVI I'll give you one that is completely cocky. Watch 'Kelly's Heroes'. Donald Sutherland plays an insane tank commander who has loudspeakers fitted to the tanks in his platoon because 'we play music very loud... it calms us down.' Absolute phenomenal movie and a cast you wouldn't believe: Clint Eastwood, Telly Savalas, Donald Sutherland, Don Rickles, Carroll O'Conner, Harry Dean Stanton. There's even a Spaghetti Western showdown with a Tiger.
Peak Brando was Along the Waterfront and especially A Streetcar Named Desire, gotta check those out
My interpretation : the movie shows the descent into insanity. The scenes with Kilgore show step one - degradation of the enemy (all the racial slurs and contempt). The USO show is step 2 - degradation of your friends/allies as the soldiers fight the innocent and each other. The bridge at Do Lung is step 3 - degradation of self. Beyond the bridge is where few venture - true insanity. Those who don't give in to the darkness are killed (Clean, Chief, Chef). Those who do give in get to live (Lance in his reversion to a childlike state of mind, and Willard as a clear-thinking man who loses all sense of judgement).
Absolutely right
some jungian shit dont cha?
1:22 You heard he's Nicolas Cage's uncle? Cage changed his name to not get famous because of his relations.
4:36 So, "The Godfather" should go on the to-watch list then.
Probably didn't need to mute the big helicopter scene, since pretty sure "Ride of the Valkyries" is public domain.
Cage changed his name after he filmed Fast Times at Ridgemont High, and everyone mocked him for bragging about being related to FFC.
Killgore, when he stands on that beach with all that explosions, he reminds me of my niece. She always says "If God wants me to die, I'm gonna die.". This girl has some balls. I love her, even she is probably a psychopath. Give me an army of these and every war would be ended pretty soon.
your niece sound like a cool person to drink beer and drive fast while listening to rock n roll!
@4:39 I think that you may be mixing up two notoriously difficult actors here? Marlon Brando was renowned for never learning his lines before filming and would have cue cards held off camera for him to read from XD while Orson Welles was the one I think who would re-write his lines and make similar demands from his directors much to their annoyance XD
Also you will no doubt get many comments saying that this film is an adaptation from a book called Heart of Darkness and while that is technically correct, this film was much more heavily inspired and influenced from a film by Werner Herzog called Aguirre, the Wrath of God. Which clearly is where Coppola got the visual style and tone from especially the journey from civilization into the depths madness and insanity.
Klaus Kinski. Maybe the only actor harder to work with than Brando. At least Brando wouldn't try to kill anyone.
I love how the film descends from jet bombers to choppers to machine guns to arrows to a spear to a man being hacked to death. The jungle always wins.
Heart of Darkness + The End = Apocalypse: Now.
Sheen had a heart attack during production which is why he spends a lot of time sitting down in the boat
12:25 ....That's because she wassn't a civilian, she was a Vietcong.... Vietcong army didn't fight the regular type of war, they do the guerrilla type of war, wich include dressing lika a civilian and strike their enemy however they can, causing the most amount of damage posible....That's why in many vietnam movies, you see stuff like this and worse....
so every civilian is vietcong? with your pov then every civilian in afghanistan fighting foreign invasion like americans are taliban?!
@@blackmetalcumbia I've never said EVERY civilian.
The greatest movie ever made.
That shot where they pass under the tail of the B-52 is one of my favorite shots in any movie.
Absolutely, eerie as hell.
Never watched Coppola? Never seen The Godfather movies? I thought everybody watched the Outsiders in school these days. Come on man…
He's not the only one that hasn't seen those movies, never heard of Outsiders and while I know Godfather is classic, never seen it in my 40+ years XD
he also said he's never seen Harrison Ford in a "serious movie" so I'm worried lol. Just playing around though, we all discover them in our own time. I say start with the one that broke him out of the "star wars/indiana jones" mold "witness" and go from there lol.
Finally saw this on a big screen I think in 2019 for the anniversary. Saw it many times on tv growing up (was too young when it was first released). It was an incredible experience on the big screen.
In the dark and with the explosions all around you... only way to see this film is in a theater.
You need to see The Godfather trilogy is practically obligatory viewing if you want to continue see great cinema.
Also The Deer Hunter (1978) a Vietnam war movie classic that won 5 Oscars starring Robert DeNiro and Christopher Walken.
It has one of the most shocking and intense sequences of all cinema.
They should be on your top list.
No… no Godfather 3, don’t do that to him.
As a friend of mine used to say, "what do you mean Godfather 3? There is no such thing. There were only two Godfather movies..."
Dont be so hard on Part 3 its imperfect and Sofia Coppola really does the job...WRONG!
But it shows the endline of Michael Corleone's life and how his wrong doings made him fall at the end..its a very suitable final journey for a troubled corrupted individual.
He paid for his sins in Part 3 and it was for me sad and joyful at the same time to see Michael fall and suffer for his sins.
Part 3 is a must watch but still not even close to the level of artistry of Part 1 and 2.
"The man is standing around as if there was no gun fire happening."
This is more a British officer trait than an American one. He is apparently an exception to the norm (either because of an extreme case of Fatalism....or just plain stupid).
For a great film with Harrison Ford in a serious role, and a meaty one at that, check out Regarding Henry for sure. 💯✌
Good pick! Also I'd recommend Peter Weir's 'Witness', and he had a good sinister turn in Coppola's 'The Conversation' too starring Gene Hackman.
lol "gotta get me some of that"
Never seen a Coppola or Brando film?! NONE of the Godfathers? No Superman: The Movie?!
Saw this when it first came out, blew me away. You are right that it didn't have any credits which Coppola thought would detract from the movie. Instead, we were given a booklet with full credits, and other things like the shooting schedule. I recall it even said how many thousands of gallons of gasoline were used in the simulated napalm drop! Damn, I wish I had hung into that thing!
The boat chief actor also played Banes from Malcolm X. He was the guy in prison that first introduced Malcolm to the Nation of Islam.
"I'm telling you brother, this ain't no con". Banes
Apocalypse Now is based on a old novel by Joseph Conrad called “Heart of Darkness”. The original story is set in 1800’s Africa.
One thing you should consider. You mentioned how this movie had obligatory helicopter scene. This was THE FIRST post-Vietnam Vietnam movie. Everything that came after (Platoon, Tour of Duty, Casualities of War). So this set the script for everything that came after. Even the character in Tropic Thunder who is a guy pretending to be a guy but is actually a different guy. That points to the deeper meaning to the movie you are trying to express. THEY SENT A GUY TO KILL A GUY WHO IS HIMSELF. That is the whole point/plot in one sentence. Everything else is secondary but beautiful.
Now, you can revisit your viewing of Tropic Thunder knowing it was based around the stories of the filming of this film.
Dude if you can track it down, check out The Boys Company C, it’s the most underrated Vietnam movie ever. It also has R. Lee Ermey in his first major role, playing a similar character to his in Full Metal Jacket.
I just watched the boys in company c on my firestick good movie
iconic chopper shot like all the other movies,,,,,,,,,this is where "other movies" learned it from
"I wonder what inspired him to make this movie"
Joseph Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness'. It's an adaption of that more than anything.
Plus Milius always wanted to be a soldier, and the anti war sentiment at the time, this was Milius way of doing both in his own way
The watch worn by Martin Sheen is a Seiko 6105 series watch which was actually available for purchase at the US Army Postal Exchange during the war, Martin Sheen's watch is the Seiko 6105 8110 which has since become known as the Captain Willard.
I wear it's slightly older brother the 6105 8000 which I bought off a vet who was stationed in Saigon in 68, he shared alot of crazy stories about his time in Vietnam
The iconic helicopter scene in every VN movie .... came from this movie.
This film was inspired by the novel Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, published around the beginning of the 20th century, before World War I. The basic plot is the same, with the river in the novel being the Congo. There is a documentary about the making of Apocalypse Now called Heart Of Darkness.
That part where RD says “someday this war is going to end” and he’s all deeply sad about it… I think that’s the most chilling moment in the movie
Absolutely mind blowing film. The Redux is the best cut imo. The extra scenes add a certain something its hard for me to pinpoint. Ive watched it probably a dozen or more times. The movie as a whole is a haphazard masterpiece. Certain scenes like Do Lung Bridge and the Death of Kurtz are hypnotic sermons of dread and animalistic rage. Kurtz's monologues are extroardinarily profound, especially if one is a student of military history. A type of insanity so pure as to become sanity, a dangerous mind in a dangerous world becomes a healthy mind. The set pieces revolving around Killgore and his First of the Ninth Air Cav are raw and exhilarating, some of the most intense and memorable action cinema ever put to film. If you couldnt tell I fucking love this movie.
The Redux is on Netflix, as of now! Just watched it for the first time a couple days ago...phenomenal
I agree, Redux is the best cut. It's the actual entire movie how it was supposed to be. They cut out 45 minutes of the story so that It would be shorter for theatrical release. I only watch the Redux version. I think they are important scenes, but they were scenes that were sacrificed.
YES! One of my Top 5 personal favourite films of ALL TIME!
This film was inspired by the novel 'Heart of Darkness,' by Joseph Conrad, a great book
Joseph Konrad random fact: He learned multiple languages in order to read and write literature in those languages like a native speaker would.
War is Hell!
So many war movies might allude that war is hell but... this? THIS! This pushes your face right into the open wound writhing with maggots!
You should watch "Come and See".
If you want another Vietnam War film (and a much more realistic one as well) check out We Were Soldiers from 2002.
"OH SHIT ITS A TIGER!" is what the dude said!
Just the stories I heard about what they had to put up with in regards to Brando was insane and considering the drama that went into filming this movie that is saying something. As some mentioned the reason why he was in shadows so much is because Brando gained a lot of weight and looked nothing like the dangerous solider he was supposed to be so it was to hide his physic as much as possible. And the fact the fact they got all that philosophical stuff to sound coherent is impressive when you account for the fact he refused to read the script and just rambled whatever random stuff game to mind. Honestly considering the issues Brando gave Coppola when filming the Godfather (once again refused to read his lines and they had to tape them to the shirts of other actors including Duvall for example) I am surprised Coppola was still willing to work with him for this film.
Part of why this film functions as such a unique take on Vietnam is because it’s a thematic adaptation of Conrad’s novel Heart of Darkness, which predated the conflict by many years.
Chef gave himself away when he broke radio silence early and did the radio check. The Colonel probably had people monitoring the airways. The Colonel was smart enough to know what would happen if sheen didn't come back within a certain time. They were up river in Cambodia, no longer in Vietnam. The arrows were from primitive mountain people like the ones The Colonel had following him,, thats why they used them when the chief got speared.
Robert Duvall, "I love the smell of napalm in the morning".
I did not expect the method actor crack lol. I also snorted when you mentioned King Kong. XD
Honestly, I think this is definitely on my “greatest movies” list. Cool adaptation of the novel about colonialism Heart of Darkness.
To me the depressing aspect is more the, well, “heart of darkness” aspect. It’s more absurd than heart-wrenching, but as others have said, there’s something haunting about a psychedelic take on war. There’s no figure of hope. Everyone is dissociating and trying to survive hell.
The one who followed the rules the most, the boat Captain, also got them into some of these messes. He did the routine check that resulted in innocent civilians being harassed and gunned down over a puppy. He ordered them to fire on the arrows, which might not have escalated to spears if they hadn’t retaliated with outsized force. The rules were far less consistent and sensical than Kurtz’s barbaric take on war and humanity.
Dennis Hopper is lowkey the MVP of all the cast. He's the only one who actually read Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness and you can really tell, because he plays his character like a clown (which is what his character in the OG book literally is). He even ad-libbed dialogue from the book that wasn't in the script.
When I first watched this film it was on a DVD but this film felt heavy to sit on man I call this the most heavy picture of all time
a gothic clown? it's called camouflage my man lol nice reaction! Maybe they thought the water buffalo getting slaughtered would depress you or something, although its the internet so maybe they were just exaggerating too. Laurence Fishburne AND Harrison Ford look so dang young! good film, a must see for sure
@@technopirate304 yikes 11 years old. I was around 16 or 17 when I first watched it. I was a little bit desensitized from the internet by 16, but I was pretty fresh and innocent at 11 lol
In college I studied this film with Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness (among other books and films). It blew my mind. When I traveled to another land, and the tech sergeant told me that they called it the "Land of not-quite-right". The next couple of years, I understood what he meant. You gotta try to understand or you'll break.
The final scene was foreshadowed in the beginning scene... Jim Morrison is singing "This is the end", as the napalm strike was coming in.
Witness, great Harrison Ford "serious" film
You rent this on iTunes? This print is looking really overexposed, usually it’s not that bright. Not your fault obviously. Either the site or Coppolas fault. But yeah, part of the brilliance of the film is that Coppola made an anti war film that directly mirrored the American narrative. In Kilgores chopper attack, they make war look like the most exciting shit, and Kilgore himself a surfing rockstar. Makes you think
Fun facts and curiosities:
1) Jim Morrison, the frontman, singer and song-writer of THE DOORS, who wrote "The End", and Francis Ford Coppola were study fellows at the Faculty of Filmmaking at the UCLA in L.A.
2) Al Pacino was initially starred, in place of Martin Sheen, for the role of Captain Willard
3) The movie is a cinematographic transposition of Joseph Conrad's HEART OF DARKNESS
4) For the 90% of all the time Marlon Brando is framed during the movie, he is framed in semi-darkness, precisely because he was already, somehow, on his way out in his acting career. Moreover, it is said that the monologue about "the horror" is performed from the side with Brando literally reading his lines on a script attached on a wall.
This movie left a impact on my life when I saw it in the theater with my dad, it's really horror and war, the best movie's that kick started the whole war movies era... hand's down the other would be Full Metal Jacket with the boot camp stuff...
Love your reactions! You gotta watch The Godfather, Coppola's best. But Apocalypse is an all timer too.
Probably the most perfect film I've ever seen, & a beautiful adaptation of Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness". Fun fact, because there's no titles, they had to use Dennis Hopper's handwritten "Apocalypse Now" on one of the boulders as the title because it had to be shown somewhere in the film.
Brando was shot only in the dark because he turned up late, didnt read the script and was massively overweight ... FFC had to change the ending to accommodate Brando who was embarressed by his weight, it changed the tone of the ending, probably for the better. You should follow this up immediately with Hearts of Darkness: a film makers apocalypse, its a documentary about the making of the film which is an epic story in it's own right, mired in production hell, with everything going wrong that could possibly go wrong. It's a brilliant story and despite everything, they got an epic, epic film out of it.
Jim Morrison of the Doors is a great opening Rock musician. Intense for the intense.
Mello! Can you check out *”No Country For Old Men” or (“Fargo” 1996)* Both By The Coen Brothers? Gems! 💯🔥✊😎
I’d love for Mello to tackle more Coen Brothers. Not my favorite (That’ll always be O, Brother. I’m also a pretty big dark horse fan of Burn After Reading.) but the one I think would be funnest to see Mello tackle is Barton Fink.
No country is good but Fargo is a piece of junk
Apocalypse Now, My favourite film of all time
Oh brother, you are about to learn how far down a rabbit hole goes before it turns into insanity.
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Your "there is that helecopter shot that is in every vietnam movie." This movie did it first, this movie did it grittier.
AND helecopters ARE vietnam as much as crawling through jungle.
And this movie did it all without CGI.
I was thinking the same thing when he talked about the helicopter shot.
They only shot Brando in the dark because of his weight. They asked him to get in to shape, he showed up weighing over 300lbs.
Music has been used over the centuries to psych out armies of a approaching army. There were units that did use music in Vietnam. My dad said a lot used country music.
"The West Wing," Season 1, Episode 1. Martin Sheen's entrance to the series was incredible!
Boy those were the days
Coppola did a masterful job in creating a cathartic experience of confused madness. And confused madness would also be a good description of the War in general. John Milius’s screen play for the movie was Inspired by Joseph Conrad's. "HEART OF Darkness”; which by the way is a very good read. But overall the film does a brillant job of creating that sense of unease, which kept my stomach in nots throughout the movie. Well deserved classic
I love the smell of uploads in the morning.
If you haven't seen many Marlon Brando movies, check out A Streetcar named Desire (1951), On the Waterfront (1954) and of coarse The Godfather (1972)!!
I do like his turn in 'The Missouri Breaks' alongside Jack Nicholson. 'That sound you heard was your throat being slit.'
Remember when Major Payne was stretching and stuff In his apartment room that was a reference to Apocalypse Now when Martin Sheen was stretching and stuff in a Apartment Room.
Francis Ford Coppola damn near went legit insane while filming this movie. Anything that could go wrong with filming a movie ended up happening.
The original lead was Harvey Keitel, who was fired after about two weeks. Martin Sheen replaced him. Martin Sheen then had a heart attack and had to return to the States, delaying production for about six months.
A typhoon destroyed multiple expensive filming sets.
The Philippine government was in the middle of fighting rebels and constantly had to recall equipment like helicopters that were loaned to the production for filming.
Uncountable amount of production delays and cost overruns occurred, even petty theft was a problem on the sets. A safe or lockbox containing the payroll for the crew was stolen.
Marlon Brando showed up on the set months late and up terribly overweight, forcing nearly all scenes of his to be shot from the shoulders up. He also hadn't read the book (which was required by Coppola), ended up arguing over the script and threatened to walk out and keep his $1 million salary, which was a huge amount back then (Brando was a notoriously difficult actor to work with apparently. A real prick, despite his legendary status)
Coppola ended up dumping tons of his own cash into the movie.
I think all told, it was the better part of a decade for this project to come to life from paper to screen. With 2 years of filming alone.
Mel - this is Steve. Thanks for taking my advice to review this. Next SHOULD be Deliverance, esp. since actor Ned Beatty just passed.