Apocalypse Now

Viewing the Movie : Technique and Meaning

Apocalypse Now, Francis Ford Coppola, 1979 / Adapted from Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness (1902) and Michael Herr’s Dispatches (1977)

The plot: Who? Where? When? What?

Outline the plot of the movie. Which are the main scenes/sequences in the movie? Why?

How to speak of the great scenes of apocalypse now without mentioning the most innovative and mythical scene of the film? This is obviously the Infernal Helicopter Ball that lasts seven minutes and intervenes after a big mid-hour. To access the river that leads to Colonel Kurtz's lair, Captain Willard is escorted by the helicopter fleet of Colonel Kilgore (Robert Duvall), who takes the opportunity to conduct a raid on a Vietnamese village. At the approach of the village, he turns very loud "Wagner's Walkyries Ride ».

However, we must not forget the first scene on a black background guiding the viewer who understands that we are in the mental space of Willard thanks to the work on the sound (the blades of the helicopter). This internal point of view refers to the structure of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, whose film is adapted. Certainly it is not a breathtaking scene but essential for the understanding of the viewers.  And from that point we know the story is focused on Willard who evolves a lot during the film because of his mission. This is why the first sequence of the film is very important, it presents the character of Willard as fragile and troubled by the war. He is passive and locked in this room with his fears that visualize themselves. While at the end of the movie Willard goes up the river to Kurtz. We can see this winding as an initiation course, as a second birth, unlike the beginning Willard now has the image of a fighter, he has a makeup camouflage war and is on his way to achieve his mission : kill Kurtz.

That’s the reason why the first and the last sequences of the movie are very fundamental.  

Who are the characters? Determine who the main characters are and describe them in some detail.

Colonel Kurtz

 Apocalypse Now could be summed up in this quest of Colonel Kurtz: first, because the command of his assassination starts the journey of the main character, then because the whole work tries to discover who he is. Formerly a man of wit and humor, he would have reached his "point of no return" in the heart of the war, and would have become a human being on which evil triumphed.

Lt. Colonel Bill Kilgore

Much more than a simple character of flesh and bones, it is at the same time a projection of Willard, an allegory of American violence, a momentum towards victory and finally the symbol of the failure of a nation. For this character, Coppola was clearly inspired by the figure of General Patton. Known for his unwavering courage, Patton was shown standing under the bullets while his men were very quickly under cover. In the manner of the general filmed by Schaffner, no ounce of fear can be seen on the face of Lieutenant Colonel Kilgore.  Captain Willard

Willard completed one tour of Vietnam and then returned home to the United States, where he was unable to re-adapt to his normal life. He is clearly unsettled at the beginning of the film, completely drunk and high in a Saigon hotel room. Over the course of the film, Willard is only able to address the darkness in his own heart as he gets closer and closer to Kurtz. His character is loosely based on Charles Marlow in Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness.

Where does the action take place?

The film revolves around a river journey from South Vietnam into Cambodia undertaken.

When does the action take place? What is the time span of the story? Is the action linear, or not?

In 1969, during the Vietnam War. According to the real fact that in 1969–70 are the years in which Green Beret Colonel Robert Rheault, commander of the 5th Special Forces Group, was indicted for murder and President Richard Nixon authorized the secret Cambodian Campaign. This film is considered as a river-movie. Inspired by the novel Heart of Darkness, the story is simple and linear. It ends with the initial goal: the elimination of Kurtz.

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