"Charlie don't surf!"

So, Apocalypse Now, where to start?

Well I think the first thing that stood out was the overall acting of EVERYONE. First off, Martin Sheen. I am soooo used to seeing him as being aged that seeing him young puts a whole new light on his already immense acting talent. He played the role of a strung out soldier amazingly. Add to that mix Robert Duvall, Lawrence Fishburne, and of course Marlon Brando (course he had to be the second biggest part, as fat as he was). Even the lesser known actors did a phenomenal job. Also a surprising cameo by Harrison Ford.

The plot itself was just amazing. Too many war films today show war as something that is justified, easy, and even beautiful. Apocalypse Now took everyone of those presuppositions and dashed them to the wind (ironic because it was one of the first Vietnam movies made). They made war not only something that was full of death, but something that was full of actual psychological issues.

The cinematography is another big feature of the movie. The two things that I picked up on the most was the use of pitch black and a little light, and the use of picture on picture. The scene where Brando is talking about the "perfect" soldier is haunting, just by having his face in and out of the light at times. Towards the end, when Sheen is leaving on the boat, you can see his image on top of the image of the city. It just is perfect how centered it is. It almost seems to say, you are these people.

I found it funny while watching the movie, that i was finally understanding all these pop culture joke references. There is actually a whole episode of Animanics that follows the whole story of Apocalypse Now. I also think there were a few references in The Simpsons.

All in all, amazing

clip taken from youtube