Apocalypse Now

Conrad's Heart Of Darkness retold in the madness of Vietnam replaces British colonialism with American hegemony. Coppola aided with a story by Lucas and Milius' flare for the flamboyant (Kilgore is the ultimate Milius hero), between them created the ultimate movie-brat feature.
The story of the making of Apocalypse Now is well documented in the excellent Hearts Of Darkness; heart attacks, civil war, drugs, all contibuted to Coppola's best work. From the napalm dissolves, to the Air Cav attack, through to the Playboy fiasco; he paints a canvas so rich, so arch that no other movie can quite match it's enigmatic grandeur. And infecting every frame is the lure of Kurtz-and Brando.
We are constantly reminded through snippets of Sheen's deadpan narration, files, muffled tape-recordings and service photographs that a confrontation between Sheen and Brando will come; but in a form that will disarm and frustrate the audiences' genre expectations.
For that reason alone… more »

Conrad's Heart Of Darkness retold in the madness of Vietnam replaces British colonialism with American hegemony. Coppola aided with a story by Lucas and Milius' flare for the flamboyant (Kilgore is the ultimate Milius hero), between them created the ultimate movie-brat feature.
The story of the making of Apocalypse Now is well documented in the excellent Hearts Of Darkness; heart attacks, civil war, drugs, all contibuted to Coppola's best work. From the napalm dissolves, to the Air Cav attack, through to the Playboy fiasco; he paints a canvas so rich, so arch that no other movie can quite match it's enigmatic grandeur. And infecting every frame is the lure of Kurtz-and Brando.
We are constantly reminded through snippets of Sheen's deadpan narration, files, muffled tape-recordings and service photographs that a confrontation between Sheen and Brando will come; but in a form that will disarm and frustrate the audiences' genre expectations.
For that reason alone Apocalypse Now deserves regular visits from anyone remotely interested in film because it's like comes around only once in a generation.