 Francis Ford Coppola's stunning vision of man's heart of darkness revealed through the madness of the Vietnam War. Lieutenant Willard receives orders to seek out a renegade military outpost led by the mysterious Colonel Kurtz. Willard's mission: "Terminate with extreme prejudice." One of the most powerful films of all time, Apocalypse Now was nominated for eight Academy Awards and won two for Best Sound and Best Cinematography. Captain Benjamin Willard journeys past the Cambodia border on a U.S. patrol boat to "terminate with extreme prejudice" renegade Colonel Kurtz, a Green Beret who has set himself up as a god among a local tribe. Director Francis Ford Coppola's revamping of his Vietnam epic, Apocalypse Now, with 49 added minutes has significantly improved the troubled blockbuster. The film now seems both mellowed and revitalized. Capt. Willard's (Martin Sheen) experiences on his famed upriver journey have received a richer thematic exploration with four major additions in the Apocalypse Now Redux. Storyline: It is the height of the war in Vietnam, and U.S. Army Captain Willard is sent by Colonel Lucas and a General to carry out a mission that, officially, 'does not exist - nor will it ever exist'. The mission: To seek out a mysterious Green Beret Colonel, Walter Kurtz, whose army has crossed the border into Cambodia and is conducting hit-and-run missions against the Viet Cong and NVA. The army believes Kurtz has gone completely insane and Willard's job is to eliminate him! Willard, sent up the Nung River on a U.S. Navy patrol boat, discovers that his target is one of the most decorated officers in the U.S. Army. His crew meets up with surfer-type Lt-Colonel Kilgore, head of a U.S Army helicopter cavalry group which eliminates a Viet Cong outpost to provide an entry point into the Nung River. After some hair-raising encounters, in which some of his crew are killed, Willard, Lance and Chef reach Colonel Kurtz's outpost, beyond the Do Lung Bridge. Now, after becoming prisoners of Kurtz, will... Written by Derek O'Cain Cast Notes: Marlon Brando (Colonel Walter E. Kurtz), Robert Duvall (Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore), Martin Sheen (Captain Benjamin L. Willard), Frederic Forrest (Chef), Albert Hall [I] (Chief Phillips), Sam Bottoms (Lance Johnson), Laurence Fishburne (Mr. Clean), Dennis Hopper (Freelance Photographer), G.D. Spradlin (General), Harrison Ford (Colonel G Lucas), Jerry Ziesmer (Civilian), Scott Glenn (Colby), Bo Byers (Sergeant MP #1), James Keane [I] (Kilgore's Gunner), Kerry Rossall (Mike from San Diego). User Comment: Cinema_Hound Salt Lake City, Utah • As I peruse through the hundreds of comments that loyal readers of the IMDB have posted on this film, I find it very interesting how few ,"middle of the road" comments there are. Everyone either loves it, or they hate it. Having seen Apocalypse Now approximately 30 times, and having recently dissected it on DVD (how did we ever live without those magical digital machines?????), I can say without hesitation that I am one of those who have a very special place in my heart for this film. "Why would you like a film that's so confusing?" ask many of my associates. The answer is this: Forget the war, forget the brutality....This is a classic story of society protecting itself from those that refuse to fall in line with the status quo. Brando represents the individual that has his own way of getting the job done. They (Big Brother) sent him out to do the job, he does it too well, without adhering to the accepted "standards" of death and destruction (Am I the only one who's troubled by the fact that we have 'standards' for death and destruction????), so they send the "Conformity Police" out to eliminate the individual. Hmmmmmm....Draw any parallels between this and things you see every day? With the deepest respect to Mr. Coppola, whom I believe is one of the best directors of all time, I think he transcended his original intent of the movie, and probably didn't even realize it until after the movie was released. The subtle sub-text that permeates the entire movie has way too much to it to have been planned and portrayed; instead, it seems to have 'grown' itself, like some wild flower in the middle of a vegetable garden. Again I must reiterate: I think FF Coppola did a bang-up job on this entire production, as did the cast and crew, but the sum of the movie exceeds the individual efforts ten-fold. So if you haven't seen the movie, rent it, watch it, then watch it again, and maybe a few more times, and look for all the generic parallels to everyday life. Only then make a judgment on the quality of the film. Those of you that have seen it, watch it again with the mindset previously described. I think you may just have a whole new appreciation for the film. Or maybe not! No matter whether you love it or hate it, be sure and give credit to Coppola for his masterful story-telling style! Summary: You love it, or you hate it.... IMDb Rating (07/24/14): 8.5/10 from 346,585 users Top 250: #44 IMDb Rating (10/15/07): 8.5/10 from 109,857 users Top 250: #35 IMDb Rating (02/24/07): 8.5/10 from 92,342 users Top 250: #36
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