Apocalypse Now (1979)
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A soldier is sent on a perilous mission into the heart of the Vietnam War to eliminate a rogue officer.
The story
In 1969, during the Vietnam War, Captain Willard is tasked with a secret mission to find and eliminate Colonel Kurtz, a renegade Special Forces officer who has gone rogue and is operating without authorization in a remote jungle outpost in Cambodia. Willard joins a Navy river patrol boat to navigate the Nùng River toward Kurtz's location. Along the way, they encounter a helicopter-borne air assault unit and face increasing tension as the mission's gravity becomes clear. The journey serves as a perilous trek into the unknown, where the lines between military duty and the psychological toll of war begin to blur as they approach the heart of the conflict.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
During the Vietnam War, Captain Willard is ordered to eliminate Colonel Kurtz, a rogue officer and presumed insane leader of a militia in Cambodia. Willard travels by boat up the Nùng River, accompanied by a crew and a helicopter-borne unit led by the eccentric Lieutenant Colonel Kilgore. As they progress, the crew faces various dangers, including a tiger encounter and the loss of members to enemy fire and internal conflict. Upon reaching Kurtz's outpost, Willard finds a site of worship and destruction. He eventually finds Kurtz and, after a tense confrontation where Kurtz shares his views on the brutality of war, Willard attacks and kills him. The film ends with Willard and the remaining crew departing the outpost, while Kurtz's followers bow to Willard as he carries Kurtz's writings.
- First release year
- 1979
- Runtime (minutes)
- 147
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Francis Coppola
- Writers
- Francis Coppola · writer; John Milius · writer
- Cast and characters
- Marlon Brando · Colonel Walter Kurtz; Robert Duvall · Lieutenant Colonel William "Bill" Kilgore; Martin Sheen · Captain Benjamin L. Willard; Frederic Forrest · Engineman 3rd Class Jay "Chef" Hicks; Sam Bottoms · Gunner's Mate 3rd Class Lance B. Johnson; Laurence Fishburne · Gunner's Mate 3rd Class Tyrone "Mr. Clean" Miller; Dennis Hopper · American photojournalist; Harrison Ford · Colonel G. Lucas
- Genres
- war
- Themes
- war; insanity; moral ambiguity
- Tone and mood
- epic; tense
- Premise and plot tags
- war; military; journey
- Source material / true-story basis
- Heart of Darkness
- Reception
- The film was considered a masterpiece by some, while others found its handling of themes anticlimactic. It was praised for its cinematography and is considered a significant work in film history.
- Awards and nominations
- Palme d'Or · Cannes Film Festival · win; Academy Award · Best Cinematography · win; Academy Award · Best Picture · nomination; Academy Award · Best Director · nomination; Academy Award · Best Supporting Actor · nomination
- Production trivia
- The film was based on a novella and set in the Vietnam War.; The film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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