*Apocalypse Now* was a trip I’ll never forget | First Time Watching | Move Reaction
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- Опубліковано 3 жов 2024
- UM. This movie was incredible and also extremely hard to watch. I was pulled out a bit from some animal cruelty and unable to speak. I do understand why he shot that scene the way he did...symbolize the sacrifice. I just had no words and couldn't believe my eyes! I couldn't stop comment on the brilliance of the cinematography because it was outstanding work. There are a lot more things I picked up on editing that I may of forgotten on the first go - but I think that is normal with a movie like this!
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Original Movie: Apocalypse Now (1979)
Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favour of fair use. No Copyright infringement intended. All rights belong to their respective owners.
The Doors' "The End" during Kurtz's death is perfect.
Playing the end at the beginning. Looping what happens after the movie is over to fade into the intro.... that's a master stroke.
“We train young men to drop fire on people, but their commanders won't allow them to write 'fuck' on their airplanes because it's obscene.”
One of the most powerful moments in the movie because that statement is packed with TRUTH.
kind of like in the old vietnam era song called Eve of Destruction where it sings "You're old enough to kill but not for votin'" it is seriously messed up. in america you probably cant drink alcohol when you're 18 but government happily sends you to a war no problem.
@@johnnymclaneutahmodern first world society’s are the best they’ve ever been in human existence but war can never be modernised or sanitised but these governments try because of the rules outside of war like the drinking age for example does that matter if your country’s gonna get invaded or you are fighting for a reason, Vietnam was an issue because there was no reason for America to be there.
06:53 "he's so young" Indeed. Laurence Fishburne lied about his age to get the part and was only 14 when the production began
he was 26 when the film finished.
@@robertwood9532 lol
He was 17.
He was born in July '61, production began in March '76. Holy Crap.
Dennis Hopper as the whacked-out reporter/photographer is phenomenal.
Because Dennis Hopper was actually whacked out he dont even remember filiming this movie at all. Lol
The sacrifice of the cow was real because it was a real tribe in the Philippines that lived by that ritual. Like Native Americans, they eat and use every part of that cow after each sacrifice. In the documentary, Coppola was clearly disturbed, just like you, when he first witnesses that tribe doing that. But he understood that it was how they lived and could also see it as a metaphor for the brutality and cruelty of war. That's why he chose to film it later when they performed that ritual again.
Watching her almost cry over the puppy when they grabbed at it was sort of laughable... I wonder if she knows it was stored among all the other food items for a reason.
@@Mr.Ekshin It's not funny, it just makes you a condescending clown because you think it makes you smarter than she is and you think it's funny that people eat puppies. I really don't give a shit what you think because you sound like an idiot. Her reaction was fine.
@@PauloHernandezXD You're laughing at the sexual abuse of children, to clarify your idiotic and pretentious comments.
Well it is not a cow, technically, it's a water buffalo.
They still sacrifice water buffalo like that throughout many of those regions in southeast asia, the phillipines, indonesia, nepal etc.
IN Nepal they have a slaughter festival/ritual, in praise of Gadhimai -- the goddess of power. on the first day, they slaughter about 10,000 male water buffalo calves, on the 2nd day they kill about 150,000 goats.
@@USCFlash Right. Do they even have cows in the Philippines? My family is from the Philippines. I don't remember seeing any cows, like we have in the U.S., when we went to visit. Only water buffalo.
Fun fact: the "TV journalist" telling the captain and soldiers to "run through...act like you're fighting." was the movie's director, Francis Ford Coppola.
That is Correct! Back to insane...
I watched this for the millionth time last night and just noticed that lol
Captain Willard, had a heartattact.
..And cinematographer Vittorio Storaro
Really? you had to mention that?! LMAO
“There isn’t any animal cruelty in this movie, is there?” - 😬
Human beings have raised themselves above animal status. . Lol.
"I watched a snail crawl along the edge of a straight razor. That's my dream; that's my nightmare. Crawling, slithering, along the edge of a straight razor... and surviving." _--(Kurtz)_
Genius-level, both the writing, and the delivery of the line! You _feel_ that line, as if the snail is really one of the lobes of your brain, being sliced by that unforgiving metal edge. Surreal!
The delivery is terrible. Too much slurring by Brando in this movie.
To me the unsung hero in this film is the boat captain. I dont know who that actor is or where that accent comes from but as a veteran, I can tell you he gave the most authentic performance. His demeanor and attitude is exactly like that of a man who has authority and responsibility thrust upon him and is managing the best that he can under extreme pressure.
I saw this movie for the first time right after I was discharged and the boat captain left the biggest impression on me.
I had a MSG in the Army who was just like that. So professional and even at Battalion S3 everyone listened to him more than any officer.
Interesting.
In a way, every character is coping with this extreme experience in their own way. The way I see it, The captain is somehow the one that tried the hardest to keep his shit together while the rest of the crew is disassosiating in one way or another. Still ,in the end you can see that the captain's coping strategy, of trying to walk the line, is ultimately failing too. The disaster when they shoot up the family on the boat, is mostly the captain's fault because he insisted on following protocol, when it was obviously uncalled for. It was his attempt to regain some authority when his crew was degenerating. The search was objectively pointless, and everyone else knew it. After that point, he has lost the last of his authority, and you see even further disintegration of discipline.
The captain's fate can symbolize that you can't survive if you try to follow the rules, whereas Lance, who completely gives in to madness, is the one that makes it out alive.
This is of course the movies' standpoint. I can't say that it reflects reality in any way.
Yep, he had his shit wired tight at all times.
In terms of acting yes I agree.
It’s a Caribbean accent. Many Caribbeans were able to get US citizenship joining going to Vietnam. So, many sub stories in this film.
I used to talk to a guy online who was ex-Special Forces and had served in Vietnam. He had PTSD, so he'd never watched a Vietnam war movie in his life. One day he told the "chopped-off babies' arms" story as an anecdote of something he'd seen personally. When it was pointed out to him that the story was used in Apocalypse Now, he looked up the production team, and it turned out that a guy who was with his unit that day was a military advisor on the film... So, as far as I know, it was a real story...😧
Brando was suppose to be dying of malaria but when he showed up on the set he weighed 300 lbs, so they kept him in the shadows. The young black gunner on the boat was Lawrence Fishburne (Morpheus). There is a back story of many difficulties making this movies including some of them really getting malaria, rain, military needing their helicopters back, Martin Sheen was going through a real divorce (that he didn't want), so in the opening scene in the motel he broke down.
Yeah, Sheen suffered a heart attack on set and the mirror he punched was real glass, tearing up his hand in the process. 😬
I don’t think Martín was going through a divorce. He has been married to the same woman since 1961.
Ya they shot this movie in the middle of the Philippines Civil war
yeah, Brando was in the movie for 8 minutes. at a salary of $8 million, some have said Brando made a million dollars a minute.
"You're an errand boy, sent by grocery clerks, to collect a bill." Definitely one of my favorite lines! I have seen this movie many times(First time on VHS! 😆). Loved your reaction😊..You are very good at this! Sorry it made you feel unwell! I have terrible anxiety and depression issues since forever..I definitely need to be in the right mood and feelin well to put this film on. Someone should have warned you!😢
"Terminate with extreme prejudice." is one of my favorites. The only line the government suit says but very powerful.
"Charlie don't surf!" Has always been my favorite line from this movie. There was a similar line that was used when I was in the Marines. "Hadji don't surf!"
"Never get out of the boat. Absolutely God Damn right!!!"
Shit...Charging a man with murder in this place was like handing out speeding tickets at the Indy 500
The book its based on, Heart of Darkness, is also worth a read; its about a seaman going to the Beliguim-controlled Congo, in the 19th century, and telling of the horrors he seen there. The book also revolves around the mysticism of Kurtz and the narrator's obsession with him.
as is the making of the film of the same name hearts of darkness which nearly broke the director and actors
@markleitch9932 If I'm not mistaken, Martin Sheen did so much blow he had a heart attack.
One of the few honest US films! Especially when it comes to war.
The game Spec Ops The Line is also based on Heart of Darkness. The whole trio, book, movie and game are a trilogy of experiences that really complement each other.
Throwing in a slightly alternate take. Yes the basic structure of the film is Conrad's "Heart Of Darkness" but after watching it soo many times I was struck by the feeling that a lot of the atmosphere and tone is far more Lovecraftian in nature. A good mix of both.
“do you know who’s in charge here?”
“…yeah”
That scene goes so HARD
Interestingly, there is a book called Dispatches by Rolling Stone writer Michael Herr, who spent months in the siege at Khe Sanh. Herr later acted as a consultant on Apocalypse Now & the bridge scene is actual based on what Herr witnessed; the Marines were stranded with no leadership. In the book he describes a black soldier using an M-79 tiger striped grenade launcher to take out the enemy without even aiming.
I've seen quite a few reactions to this film but I can say, without question, yours is the best ever. You really thought about every step the film was taking and then you would express those thoughts so well.
A very real pleasure watching you watch this film. Bravo!
As we say in Texas; y'all be safe.
Agreed, alot of reactors while enjoyable do miss some of the undertones of this movie.
This girl was on it from the start and it was really cool seeing her experience it for the first time.
I just left a comment saying pretty much the same thing. Such a good reaction.
As a Navy-man: Never fucking Leave the Boat!
@@petrusinvictus3603 Yeah, for real.
I read the Book. About Kongo river...
Yes absolutely, the river and the journey is a metaphor for the descent both into madness and hell, the hell of war. For example at the Do Lung Bridge scene where the soldiers are wading through the water screaming for them to take them is a rendering of Homers odyssey by boat through Hades, there is a painting of the souls screaming and trying to get on the boat, out of hell. A number of occasions both Chef and Willard reference never getting off the boat. The boat is a metaphor for sanity and civilisation so getting off it means fully leaving your sanity behind - Willard say Kurts got off the boat, and split from the entire program, meaning once you cross a line you are never coming back - you are utterly destroyed as a human being by war and how obscene it is. Willard wonders what Kurts saw that sent him down this path, into insanity - then when he meet Kurts reveals the incident of they children's arms being cut off, thats the final straw where he loses his mind and humanity - he says he wants to tear his teeth out, his brain simply cant compute or cope with that horror and obscene cruelty - what happens is this turns him into the monster. But yet it is still not that simple because at every point we have seen women and children mown down and sliced to bits, schools and villages napalmed while soldiers surf, Playboy bunnies appear and Lances water skies behind the boat - is this not insane, isn't everyone insane who decides the lines of morality? Willard never entirely gets off the boat, he never entirely loses himself, he is irrevocably damaged but unlike Kurts he knows this and understands how war has changed him but holds onto humanity, he never entirely gets off the boat. This is what the opening scene is about, he is so torn and damaged by what he has done and seen but he is aware of this and is going towards self destruction but manages to hold on somehow, he certainly is unable to function back at home. This is required for the story because Willard is our moral conscious, as the narrator he has to explain the utter immorality of those in charge and their hypocrisy - what they require means the young men fighting are destroyed physically and mentally and emotionally, putting swear words on your jet fighter is bad but dropping napalm on children and civilians is good. By clinging and always returning to the boat on we hope Willard is able to return home and explain to Kurts's son what the war, the politicians and senior leaders did to him and what this meant - and hopefully in a small way prevent Vietnam or similar happening again, perhaps a shred of hope remains as a shred of humanity remains in Willard.
That intro with the Doors has honestly stuck in my head ever since I saw this back in the day
I love the song and I love the movie, this movie was one of my dad's favs and him and I watched it together many times. It's absolutely impossible for me to hear The End without picturing that opening scene and thinking about my dad. That song will always be synonymous with Apocalypse Now.
We'll never see a movie like this made ever again.
yeah, and think of the irony! in the book "Heart of Darkness" (from which the movie was made) the sailor in the book goes back to report to Kurtz's fiancee. in the movie, Kurtz wants the captain to report to his son. there was much more of the movie to be made! BUT with being over budget and long past the allotted time to be produced, the movie ends abruptly! at this point in the movie, don't the Doors sing, "This is the end...."....
Same here. When I first this film on HBO back in '83, the intro alone had me saying to myself: "What the hell kind of movie is this gonna be?"
Apocalypses Now is truly the ultimate war film. It captures to morality and psychology of war like no other film.
I saw this in theaters in is first run and it pretty crazy. It was in the early days of surround sound so the sound effects really were stunning. That freaking tiger attack sounded like it was coming from behind us and scared the crap out of everyone.
"Apocalypse Now!" Is painted on the rocks at Kurtz' camp to establish copyright. In order to establish copyright, the title of the movie has to appear in writing but Copola wanted to show the film without credits. That was against the rules of either the directors or editors guilde (i forget), which caused him to be suspended for a while. Instead they handed out a booklet, dozens of pages, with credits, and details of the filming. I wish so much that i had hung on to that!
The movie was filmed in the Philippines. The hardships were unbelievable. They rented helicopters and pilots from the Philippine military. They were fighting a guerilla insurgency at the time so they would have to paint the choppers each day for filming then repaint them for the military to go on missions. They built the village you see get attacked by the Duvall's company and the other sets. But most of it was destroyed by typhoon and had to be rebuilt.
The Part of Willard was supposed to be played by Harvey Keitel but when they got in site, Coppola realized he wasn't right for the role and got Sheen to step in. There are some scenes in the boat where it is Keitel but you can't see his face.
Sheen was really doing a lot of drugs and accidently punched the mirror, cutting his hand, but they kept filming. Sheen had a heart attack which delayed production.
Brando showed up way overweight, freaking Coppola out. He decided to shoot Brando in shadows to hide how big he really was.
This film is a cinematic MASTERPIECE which will be studied for years to come. It's also nice to see you taking the time after seeing the film to investigate it further on IMDB. The cinematography in this film is mind blowing. So many UA-cam reaction channels just move on to the next film and never really acknowledge or fully appreciate the people who make these films we hold in high regards.
Absolute cinematic masterpiece!! Life was imitating art, as Copolla was clearly losing his mind during the endless filming, as documented in his wife's documentary, Hearts of Darkness. I seen this in the theater twice during periodic re-releases and I felt kinda sad knowing that there will probably never be a movie made that looks this awesome on screen. I grew up right as Vietnam was ending, but I clearly remember seeing the trauma and anguish that many soldiers experienced both during and after the war. Copolla brilliantly captured the horrors of Vietnam with Apocalypse Now.
See Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmakers Apocalypse. It was a memoir on film created by Coppola's wife.
I second the motion. Hearts of Darkness is a great doc about the film ❤
Great MOVIE. I have spoken with a guy who was actually in the 1st Air Cavalry in Viet Nam. He said the movie was bullshit in that respect, but he liked the movie generally speaking.
“You’re in the a**hole of the world, Captain.”
{ “That doesn’t sound good…” }
😂
I watch that movie when I was a kid. Now seeing it again as a adult I understand it. Movies back then had meaning and hits you in different ways. War is dark. People change.
I watched this the first time when I was 18, I just thought “explosion, the horror! It’s so badass”
Now a decade later I understand how it really touches on how these conditions can destroy a humans psyche & soul.
Same here couldn't agree more
Movies nowadays still have meaning...
The "absurdity of this war", you hit on the essence of this classic film...
The cow slaughter scene was real. But Coppola did not direct it. He filmed it as the real tribe did the act. It is a real custom/tradition of the Ifugao tribe and the brilliance to include it made lots of people mad but it is an integral of the story. At the Cannes Film Festival in 1979, the acclaimed filmmaker famously said: “My film is not a movie. My film is not about Vietnam. It is Vietnam.”
I am deeply moved by the compassion and emotions you feel, for the hell that soldiers and veterans live and die with, whenever you watch a war movie. You cry for their pain, their fear, their loss and for the sacrifices that so many of them have made. You often acknowledge how much we owe to those in uniform. I am a veteran. And your genuine sincerity touches me more than the almost obligatory "thank you for your service" that people nowadays just blurt out like a conditioned response. For YOU, and people like you, it was my honor to serve.
Agreed, and the whole "thank you for your service" thing has ran its course. Please people, we're sure you mean well but I can't think of a single person that served who likes that phrase or even wants to hear it now.
The scene where he gets drunk in his room is legit. Martin Sheen was shit faced and FFC just kept filming him ... even after he cut himself hitting the mirror and bled everywhere :(
I heard he got a heart attack doing it too.
@@wetwilly01Being a cocaine addict didn’t help any. He was only 39!
Sheen was not acting, he had a nervous breakdown on-screen, the blood was real.
@@wetwilly01
Yeah he got a heart attack during the shooting of the film. Don't know if it was during this particular scene though.
Absolutely Goddamn right.
Was supposed to be directed by George Lucas, but we got lucky and that never happened.
Because he decided to make Star Wars instead.
Your reaction and reasoning feel beyond the average persons perceptions, being a veteran and having experienced this time in our history your ideas and reality comfort and warm my heart. Thank you.
Martin Sheen was indeed on something for real in the opening scene. One of the greatest films.
That opening scene was shot after the grueling struggle of shooting the entire film. What you are watching is a man having a complete and total breakdown on film with Coppola egging him on the entire time. And he really did cut himself on that mirror.
@@briannaamore1383 very interesting.
@@tigerwarsaw99 You should find the behind the scenes documentary "Hearts of Darkness".
Note the rigors of shooting this movie were two much for Sheen. He actually suffered a heart attack in the middle of shooting and had to take a lot of time off to recover. The start of the movie was filmed at the end. Sheen was completely drunk and while Coppola knew Sheen had injured himself he just pushed the crew to just keep rolling film. In addition to large amounts of alcohol, heroin and cocaine were pretty much available to everyone on the set all the time. Dennis Hopper (then 42 years old) actually pretty much pushed Laurence Fishburne (who was just 13 & 14 years old for most of the shoot, and never had any drugs before) into drinking and getting addicted to heroin. Sheen's bother, Joe Estevez, actually ended up doing some stand in work and the voiceover and post-production dubbing for the film; he was never credited.
He was drunk and they filmed it
Michael Herr wrote the voice over. As a reporter in Vietnam he wrote the book “Dispatches”. The book isn’t long, however, the experience of reading this book will not leave you.
Fantastic book, but not for the faint-hearted. The docu that Coppola's wife shot while on set when the film was made is just as fascinating as the actual film. I also recommend reading the Peter Biskin book "Easy Riders, Raging Bulls" that talks about Coppola and this as well as other films. The late sixties and the entire seventies were wild.
Cheers 🍺
And the photographer is based off Dana, I can't remember his last name. He was one of Mr. Here's friends while in-country.
Dispatches is a must-read.
@@McBrannon1000 Based off photographer Tim Page. There are a few elements from Dispatches in Full metal Jacket as well (trigger-happy helo gunner). Incredible book.
"You know, someday this war's going to end." - Robert Duvall Best line in the movie.
Vietnam was in our living rooms in a way that no longer happens. Enjoyed your reaction. Young Marlon (A Streetcar Named Desire, On the Waterfront, the Wild One) established Marlon as a leading man.
“I love the smell of napalm in the morning” is such a raw line.
My first year in college in the mid 80's in a semi rural town, i lived in student apartments and we only had reception for 2 local t.v. channels so we got a VHS player. We had only 2 VHS tapes and we had them playing nonstop all day long everyday whether anyone was watching or not so we basically had the 2 films memorized. The 2 films were Caddyshack and Apocalypse Now, two of the most quoted films for decades by the way.
All things considered, one of a handful of the greatest movies ever made. I think easily among the top five. I’m glad you chose this version. The extended cuts are an example of misguided effort. You really should react to Coppola’s ‘The Conversation’, which along with this one and Godfathers 1 and 2, are worthy of long indulgence and many viewings. And The Conversation is still quite rare among reactors.
This masterpiece was based loosely on The Heart of Darkness (a novella) and all of your observations were very insightful. I've seen it multiple times and I still notice or hear something new every time. I was impressed by your insights because you're so young and weren't present during the Vietnam era...or when guys were coming home from Vietnam (horribly wounded, disabled, psychologically destroyed), and we as a country completely dropped the ball on helping them....or even hospitable treatment of them in many cases. If you want to learn about the "causes", you have to go back further and study WWII, which led to the Cold War....which led to the West's determination to stop the spread of communism wherever they saw it, et al. I think Coppola does a superb job at immersing the viewer into the horror of true human nature at its most primal level, basically forcing your participation, if that makes any sense. Who is capable of "the horror"? Anyone and everyone. Civilized norms and behaviors are constructs that are very fragile, but we just largely take for granted at our own potential peril. Side Note: I don't know whether or not they had the strict laws about animal treatment at this time. I'm sure glad they do now.
John Milius was a huge influence on Francis Ford Coppola doing this movie. In fact during the Vietnam War when hippies were wearing buttons that said "Peace Now!" with the peace symbol. John Milius would wear a button that said "Apocalypse Now!" with a picture of a B-52 Bomber.
The documentary of the making is on YT.
ua-cam.com/video/pFYzVsrrPjE/v-deo.html
I'm sorry. I accept some cultures still sacrifice animals as part of their rituals. Unfortunately, I'm one of those annoying (yes, I realize we are annoying) animal lovers that hates to see them suffer. I realize this is hypocritical as the way they are treated and slaughtered in "civilized society" is so horrific. You can be sure, I hate that too.@@slightlySuperior
I was a battlefield of good and evil. The end was so confusing I didn,t care Ijust wanted it to end, I craved the end, though I expected to die. This is a good movie I don't need to watch. I lived it.The Kurts character was more sane than his superiors.
Some of this masterfilmmaker's greatest work.
No one seems to have mentioned, but the budget overrun was LEGENDARY, in fact, the schedule delays were so well-known that a parody called "Pork Lips Now" was made in the immediate afterglow of its release. Coppola was as out of his mind as Kurtz.
Evidently there was a lot of problem with Marlon because he was pretty well drunk all the time. Also the scene with the mirror was true and if I'm not mistaken he was drunk and that was his real blood.
And he had a Heartattack on set.
@@Sariz38 actually I didn't know that. Wow, thanks for the update.
Thank you for including the classic line..... "'I asked for a mission and for my sins they gave me one..."".... Thank you
Great Reaction! It's a shame that you didn't get to see this film as it was meant to be seen, in a darkened movie theater, on the Big Screen, in Surround Sound, with an audience around you sharing the experience. This film in a way, was like the final act of the Vietnam War, that the American Public had watched every night on the News for 10 long years. It helped the public understand why their Sons, Husbands and Brothers, were so damaged when they returned. One day they were in the Jungle fighting to survive, and some one would tap them in the shoulder and tell them, "Your orders came through, you're on the next chopper out." And it was over, 2 days later they were sitting on the couch in their childhood home.
I saw it at the movie theater, I came out shaking. I've tried to watch it on the small screen many times since, just doesn't move me the same way.
@@filton12 I saw it in the theater at 10 years old in 1980
@@filton12 Have you seen the "Redux" directors cut? I really liked the additional part at the French Plantation. I understand why they edited it out in the Original, it slowed the pace and would have made for an overly long movie with the other added scenes.
Coming home for most was worse than the war, to survive that nightmare and then come home to be hated, shunned, and scapegoated by a nation that projected its collective guilt onto the teenaged soldiers ordered to fight, in a no-win war, in an atrocity-producing environment, where the measure of success was measured by counting dead Asian bodies. I remember sitting on the couch after coming home, my mom had a welcome home party for me. The trouble was, I sat on the couch while the women talked around the dining room table while the men talked in the back yard. My father threw me out of the house when he found out I was against the war. America has never recovered from the Vietnam War.
@@davisworth5114 The WWII Veterans didn't make it any easier for returning Vietnam Vets, generally. Because it was not a "Declared War" but was considered a ,"Police Action" groups like the VFW didn't accept Vietnam Veterans as members. Veterans of Korea were also excluded. Vietnam vets spent a much larger by percentage of their time in actual combat than most WWII Vets. I was in the last Lottery for the Draft, and though the War had wound down and my year wasn't selected to go, it was something that was always in the back of our mind as a teenage Male. My Random Sequence Number was 56, so I knew I would be in the first group selected if the War continued or expanded into Cambodia, which looked like a possibility at the time
I was 17 when I saw this in the theater and I was just young enough to have missed the draft. This movie made a tiny portion of the real horror of war real to those of us that never served in combat. Especially combat in Vietnam. Every friend I had that had been to Vietnam had been changed and would never look at life the same again. They stood out in a way and those that i knew were the good 8nes.
Excellent reaction, Ames, as usual. I've seen this movie more than a few times and, for some reason, the one part that never fails to give me chills is Kurtz's letter to his son. On one hand, you have this soldier who, as thanks for his years of loyal service, is falsely accused of a crime and targeted for assassination by his own government, and the hypocrisy is infuriating. On the other hand, it's pretty clear by the tone of the letter that he's lost at least some perspective on who he is, or who he used to be, and you can't help but feel gratitude that his son will never have to read it because the disconnect is heartbreaking. This is a hard watch but thanks for putting yourself through it, because it was an awesome reaction!
A classic. There's a great documentary about the production called 'Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse' that is worth a watch. It was an intense production, injuries, heart attach and metal breakdown, and that was just Sheen.
Documentary is great
It's almost more crazy than the film it was documenting
Tears running down my face just hearing The End at the beginning of the film :(
you made some great point about Madness, in fact Coppolla himself almost has a nervous breakdown during the filming. It really was " a journey into madness"
From the standpoint of visual storytelling, set design, editing and cinematography, the entire scene at the bridge may be unmatched in movie history. It transported you into a hallucinatory nightmare.
Saw this in the theater at the time- been stuck in my head ever since.
You look like, in one sitting- got the lion share figured out.
You are quite perceptive!
'CinemaTyler' has been doing an awesome behind the scenes and making of series. Thanks for sharing your reactions! What a roller coaster. One of favourite movies.
The book this film was based on, Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, is even better. One of the most harrowing psychological journeys ever.
WOW!!! SUCH REACTIONS! WHAT REACTIONS! the man filming the documentary was Francis Ford Coppala! he placed himself in the movie. President Kennedy saw the hopelessness of the Vietnam War and was going to stop it. they didn't want it to end, so they killed him. Kennedy's murder divided America. the division has extended to the division of America we have today. you asked about the cost of the movie, it went over budget and Coppola used his own money to finish the film. Coppola had all of the cast read "Heart of Darkness" written by Joseph Conrad. it gives GREAT insight into this movie. it too has a river which gets narrower and narrower, and darker and darker to the main character of the book, a man named "Kurtz". Krurtz tells the author of the book to go tell his fiancee the real story of what was going on (just as Kurtz in the movie wanted the captain to tell his son what was really good on! the book "Heart of Darkness" was an English Literature Classic and really helps you understand the "Vietnam War". OH!!! and before I forget, at the end of the book, Kurtz's fiancee wanted to know, what were Kurtz's last words.
One of my favorite films. I have watched all of the reactions to this and yours is by far my favorite one. Your insights and feelings towards this masterpiece are spot on. Yes, it's incredible, horrifying, disgusting and disturbing and that is exactly what Coppala was intending. Congratulations on just a fantastic reaction !
Apocalypse Now is the greatest film ever made, in my eyes. The brilliance of the script, the amazing acting performances, the mind-blowing cinematography and rich sound design. it's just a visual and story telling masterpiece. I really enjoyed your reaction and analysis of the film - you are very observant and that really makes your content enjoyable.
To appreciate this movie read Joseph Conrad’s novel, “The Heart of Darkness,” upon which this is based. Duvall’s character is based on Col. Dave Hackworth (see, “About Face”). Kurtz was drawn from the character of Kurtz in the novel and Hackworth.
You might also consider watching, “Apocalypse Now Redux,” which is longer and contains footage cut from the theatrical release.
Huh how does it make us appreciate the movie? Or just wanted to sound smart?
There's actually 3 versions of this movie, the original, redux and the complete Dossier.
All three need to be watched.
@@jefflewandowski7559amen! Absolutely true… ❤
@@slightlySuperior No it's not. The original is easier to digest (i.e. more pleasant to watch), but the overall effect of the REDUX version on the brain reflects the madness of reality much better. And that is the main focus of this movie.
@@jefflewandowski7559 I am not convinced that every beeing on this planet needs to watch every single one of the three versions 🙂 But I have to check out this "complete" thing and if it's available in my language.
Honestly, your reaction to Apocalypse Now is the best I've seen so far. Indeed, there are many philosophical topics and questions that this film raises, such as the question of human nature. The horror that Kurtz refers to is our dark side, which emerges in a hostile and violent environment such as war. That is why he expresses his admiration for the villagers who cut off the arms of the inoculated children. We can say that Kurtz took that idea to the extreme.
This movie is definitely a masterpiece. The cinematography and music match the dark and ominous tone of the story perfectly.
Echoing others here, the documentary of this movie is phenomenal as well and a must see for filmmaking buffs.
Movies at that time dared much.
The German movie "The Tin Drum" ("Die Blechtrommel") did share the "Palme d'Or" with "Apocalypse Now" in Cannes 1979 - and is a wild ride as well!
Oh! About Robert Duvall: If you haven't seen them yet, I recommend the movie "Open Range" and the Western series "Lonesome Dove." I am a huge Robert Duvall fan and HIGHLY recommend them. You will also see some very familiar faces in those as well. Trust me.
Your emotional intelligence, and sense of empathy are impressive. You're very smart, and it makes the reaction.
Martin Sheen had been drinking all day in preparation for the "Saigon Hotel" sequence. He really was nearly unable to stand up while doing his martial arts kata in front of the mirror, with Director Coppola egging him on to a very dark place. Sheen truly struck the very real mirror which actually did split open his hand. That blood everywhere was actually Sheen's blood.
Coppola yelled cut and called for a doctor, but Sheen insisted they keep going. He literally had a nervous breakdown letting out a lot of demons he was experiencing- all caught on camera. The tension became so high the crew had no idea what Sheen would do- at one point he looked as if he might attack the cameraman or Coppola himself.
The next day Sheen told everyone he didn't remember a thing from last night's shoot. However in a 1990s documentary he admitted he remembered all of it.
As I recall hearing, Sheen was drinking because it was his birthday.
In my opinion greatest movie of all time, just insane how complete it is, from camp, jungles, river, french house to one of most epic visuals of ending tribal encounter... visual masterpiece. it felt like book reading, everything about this movie just class.
Great reaction to this movie. I believe you really got it. I was in high school when this came out and remember hearing about all of the challenges faced by the production crew and director and anticipation for its completion was high. If you're interested in another war movie highlighting the surreal and maddening effect of war on soldiers I would highly suggest you consider Catch-22. It was a bit overshadowed by MASH, which came out around the same time. Really enjoyed this.
Academy award for the lighting effects and Martin Sheen had a heart attack during the filming
"Do you know that 'if' is the middle word in life? If you can keep your head when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you, if you can trust yourself when all men doubt you"
Joe Haldeman, the author of THE FOREVER WAR, served in Vietnam. One of the anecdotes I remember him talking about was about the bulletproof vests, or 'chicken vests.' Basically, the vests were too lightweight to stop killing shots, and any shot that could be stopped by them would usually only end up with a Purple Heart and a trip to Japan for R&R or even a ticket home, anyway. Therefore, only cowards - chickens - wore them.
I love that novel bruh...
@@viarnay One of the greats.
I don't know if you caught it, but the kid on the boat was a 17 year old Laurence Fishburne from "The Matrix" and "John Wick" and "What's Love got to do with it".
"Never get out of the boat" "I love the smell of napalm in the morning" classic lines
Robert Duvall - 1979 - "The Great Santini"
The Apostle, Lonesome Dove.
Tender Mercies
Apocalypse Now. The Godfather.
Open range
Fun fact: One of the helicopter pilots during the "Flight of the Valkyries" beach assault scene was R. Lee Ermy, the drill instructor from Full Metal Jacket. Ermy served in the Marines during the Vietnam war.
If you want more Duvall I highly recommend Tender Mercies!
This was the very Best reaction to a movie that I also watched 50+ times
This movie also explores the juxtaposition of how Kilgore fought the war and how Kurtz fought the war.
Kilgore used the beach parties and surfing to distract him from the horrors of war while Kurtz embraced the horrors and fought it like in his monolog; doing what had to be done, awake without judgment.
Kurtz also joined the Special Forces at 38 (which fought along indigenous troops, guerrilla style) after the "inoculation realization."
He likely felt it was the most viable way to win the war.
Thanks soo much for your comment! This movie is a trip
I felt the same way as you when I first watched it……the film is more relevant today than ever, sadly. I really enjoyed the thoughtful commentary. And glad to see you are such an animal lover like myself.
After I saw this movie, I became a vegetarian. I didn't think that I could eat animals anymore after witnessing the actual killing of the water buffalo.
@@davidgibson9405 - The water buffalo? How about the puppy that was stored with all the other food items in that sampan? This was Vietnam, and dogs are nothing but livestock there.
My personal fan-fiction: the puppy bailed out on the PBR and ran into the jungle, where she met the tiger.
And they became friends and had all sorts of wonderful adventures.
“Area Girlfriend Still Hasn't Seen Apocalypse Now.” - The Onion, 2000
2:11 - Martin Sheen was actually bleeding for this. The shoot was a nightmare, and lots of the cast were drinking and doing drugs to cope with the hellish environment. Sheen was one of them. He was drunk in this scene, which called for him to break down. Coppola didn't have a set vision for what the breakdown would look like, he told Martin to just go with the flow. So that's what a drunken Martin Sheen did. Eventually, he decided it would be a good idea to punch the mirror, which he did, slicing his hand open and dripping blood everywhere. It looked good, and it fit the breakdown idea, so they left it in.
It was also his way to celebrate his birthday in the Philippines during that hell of a production
Oh, the opening...Martin Sheen really did cut his hand open, but told everyone to keep filming.
Another good Vietnam movie about the battle that sort of defined helicopter warfare is We Were Soldiers Once.
I laughed out loud when she asked "we're going to go into the deep psychological side of things aren't we?"
That opening scene with Sheen wasted and cutting his hand, freaking out, cold shower to wake him up.......all real. Coppola went with the cut hand and all bc it allowed Sheen to really absorb the character and it seemed genuine....bc it was. Sheen was drunk off his head
Hey Ames, I'm so glad you finally reviewed this movie!
Thanks a lot!
It's a bit frustrating that she did the theatrical version, though.
@@SCharlesDennicon what's the other version?
@@menachem2521 Wait, am I actually speaking to someone who, at the same time, loves Apocalypse Now AND ignores that there are multiple cuts of the movie? :D You've never heard of Apocalypse Now Redux? The Final cut is recent, but this one has been out there for twenty years!
@@SCharlesDennicon lol.
I love the movie but I watched whatever came up on the website I was using. I'm not a movie nut, I just watch whatever I get my hands on.
@@SCharlesDennicon what are some of the differences?
Robert Duvall's very favorite part was Augustus McCrae in Lonesome Dove...it is am absolute career defining performance. Based on real events, you will not believe the things that happen in this story. Taken from the 800 page book the only Western ever to win a Pulitzer Prize, it had to be a miniseries so this is just for you if it's too long to put on here. With Tommy Lee Jones, once watched you never forget the story of their friendship, their love, for each other. An unbelievable movie that I really hope you'll treat yourself to. If you're a reader, this is book 3 in the 4 book saga of thede men's lives from the time they were young men to their old age. It's many peoples favorite movie of all time. You'll see why. I very rarely rewatch movies more than once but Ive probably watched this over 50 times!
He was awesome on joe kidd with clint Eastwood.
I have yet to see Lonesome Dove, but the book is outstanding.
Lonesome Dove is outstanding and a much watch
He was good in The Great Santini too.
Falling Down 1993 is good film to watch with Michael Douglas and Robert Duvall...
Duvall and Federic Forrest, one of crew members, were reunited in Lonesome Dove. Duvall first movie was To Kill a Mockingbird. Also recommended, Open Range.
Hi Ames! Another real good Robert Duvall movie is "Open Range" in it he stars a long with Kevin Costner. I highly recommend it to anyone.😀
I saw this in the theatre when it was initially released. I was 10 (yes, different times). At the film's end, I walked out of the theatre feeling heavy, like I was on that boat going through the journey and horrors of war alongside the crew. I didn't have all the wonderful insight you had after viewing it and didn't understand parts of it, but I have never forgotten that feeling after seeing it.
Thank you, great reaction. On this same topic, I recommend "We Were Soldiers", the story of the first use of helicopters in battle in Vietnam. Excellent video as always.
Lousy film, don't watch, read the book.
Spectacular reaction video, Ames. You have a vast knowledge of not only cinema, but historical events as well. One of the best Vietnam War themed films. My personal favorite of this sub-genre is Stanley Kubrick's 'Full Metal Jacket.' That one excelled on every single level for me, cast, direction, cinematography, soundtrack, etc.
How would you know which movie is best if you weren't even there??
robert duvall movie, try "falling down" also has michael douglas in it :)
A gorgeous disturbing nightmare.
And yeah, you really have to go through it multiple times for it all to start coalescing into something like a sensible story.
Amazing filmmaking, and one of the reasons I will watch anything Coppola ants to put in a movie. He's earned that.
‘Cruelty to animals?!?!?’ Of all the horrific wartime imagery and human chaos this film depicts? Unbelievable.
This is my favourite film of all time. I first saw it when I was 17, I knew about the film's reputation beforehand as one of the best films ever made and I was already a fan of Coppola's work in general, so I was hyped from the get go. The opening scene of the film completely blew my mind and I knew right there and then that I was going to love this film. I remember sitting watching in awe as the jungle blows up with Jim Morrison's vocals in the background and I think I actually just said "Wow" out loud, because I felt like I'd never seen a film open like that before ever. I don't think you need to have a lot of understanding about the Vietnam War, because I feel like this movie has as much to do with authentically portraying the Vietnam War as much as Star Wars has to do with the reality of space travel. Apocalypse Now is supposed to be a modern version of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, so the Vietnam War itself is just a backdrop for the main story which is the eventual confrontation between Willard and Kurtz as well as the descent into madness along the way (the latter of which does highlight a lot of absurdities about the Vietnam War). If you want a film that is much more grounded in the reality of the Vietnam War, I recommend Oliver Stone's Platoon which coincidentally stars Charlie Sheen in the lead role.
Robert Duvall is someone I've been watching for a very long time. His roles are very, very diverse. In the movie The Detective with Frank Sinatra, he played a real sob cop. In Days of Thunder with Tom cruise, he portrays a race team crew chief. In The Great Santini, he's a really conflicted Marine fighter pilot and family man. Lonesome Dove, and so many other movies.
He really is a very good actor. Well worth going through his body of work.
Martin Sheen is astonishing in this film. His voice over performance is one of the great narrations in any film ever made. Most voice overs are a crutch, but in the hands of a capable filmmaker like Coppola, it’s such a powerful tool for getting into a character’s head.
Don't forget his brother Joe Estevez who also recorded the voiceover as Captain Willard after Sheen's health issues on set prevented him from doing so.
@@newman7316 It sure was Joe Estevez. I always figured the reason that Joe did the voiceover parts was because of the cost, considerably less expensive than having Martin Sheen do it.
Crazy photographer was Dennis Hopper, he wrote, directed and starred in Easy Rider. Played the psycho Frank in Blue Velvet.
So the Vietnam War was a very strange war in terms of what and why the US was there.
After the stalemate in the Korean war the US felt it was loosing hold of the democratic stronghold in southeast Asia. They decided to try to rekindle some of the colonial era stabilization, not by creating colonies, but by influencing political uprisings and replacing them with puppet/pro-west leaders. Using a lot of the skills we learned from WW2 and Korea the CIA created a plan of covert action throughout the area.
It started by using Thailand as a major beachhead in which to organize operations. Then its setup programs to train rebel groups in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, etc. The difficulty came in getting them supplies and weapons. In a cold war you cannot just give weapons and supplies made in the US to rebels you are helping overthrow governments, you need to find other sources of weapons/supplies so that it doesn't look like you are directly interfering (this would be illegal under US law, and be seen as potentially acts of war). So we did the one thing we could claim to be innocently providing: transportation logistics.
The CIA setup shell companies and issued contracts to setup supply depots, air bases, ship harbors, road building, to transport goods for people cheaply under a guise of improving infrastructure for humanitarian aid and policing trade. A big one was Air America, which was a group of civilian pilots who flew helicopters and airplanes throughout the area.
Now one of the biggest industries to move mass amount of cargo for, besides supplies and weapons, happened to be the opium industry. So the CIA started by just looking the other way when shipping drugs around. But eventually it became more and more of an active role. This money from the drug trade would then go into recruiting more fighters, more weapons, more training, more bases to support them, etc. However the more we interfered in countries operations the more burden we placed on the normal people. So as this continued more and more of the local people started viewing the American trained rebels as the source of the problem, driving more people to just do anything to get us to leave. Most people in Vietnam stopped caring they just were looking for basic survival, and so there was no longer distinct sides, we were both suppling aid and killing the exact same people.
Eventually we kept failing so much in getting successful rebellions that the United States became committed. We couldn't really just disclose why we kept needing more money and having issues and what was going on there. So we convinced congress to allow the CIA "training advisors" to be accompanied by the US Military to continue policing activities. Eventually we kept facing more and more resistance as China and Russia were supplying the other side just as much. This then turns into the stuff revealed in the leaked "Pentagon Papers" which showed that the US felt it could not loose its pride by admitting another stalemate or defeat to communist forces. This then eventually lead to the president seeking a formal declaration of war from congress, and us drafting troops to cover up for our failed covert actions.
That is why the war is so controversial overall, we were sending thousands of Americans to their deaths to cover the shame of the covert forces, and to try to hide the fact that we were attempting to build empires without approval from congress and the American voter. This is also why there are so many covert actions here (secret assassinations, troops in countries we "are not in", secret armies in the jungle. Kurtz did what they wanted him to do, create an elite killing force that was actually committed to win, but in doing so he stopped taking direct orders and thus needed to be terminated.)
Saw a 70mm print of this in the theater once, totally mind-blowing. This is the most acid trip of a movie ever made.
Totally ! I will never forget it!
I love the smell of napalm in the morning😂. My 2 fave movies w narration overlayed are “Snatch”2000 and “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” ‘98. Worth watching if u haven’t seen.
Fear and loathing is phenomenal, Johnny Depp sound exactly like hunter Thompson.
Robert Duval's best performance, in my and many others opinion, is the role of Gus McCrae in the mini series Lonesome Dove - it was the part he was born to play and he thoroughly owns it in every scene. Definitely a must watch if you're a fan of him
Robert Duvall has many great roles. However, some of his best were not leading roles. I do recommend The Great Santini and if you are up for another miniseries, I cannot recommend Lonesome Dove highly enough. I think it's Duvall's best performance ever
Agree 110%. Never liked Westerns until I saw Lonesome Dove. Now I watch it at least once a year. Duvall and Gene Hackman make even mediocre or poor movies watchable.
I think his best cameo was "invasion of the body snatchers."
Were you really Mack Sledge? Yes ma'am...i guess i was
+1 for The Great Santini, also from 1979.
Doubt it is on any of the streamers, but absolutely worth running down.
Also recommend Open Range - Boss Spearman is the Omega to Col Kilgore's Alpha.
Somehow he is always 100% Robert Duvall and simultaneously 100% not Robert Duvall. The Duvall Paradox.....
Robert Duvall is one of my favs! He plays Frank Burns in the original movie MASH that the hit TV show was based on, a must see that I've not seen too many reactions to. Another underrated Duvall film is called the Great Santini but that a hard watch, impact of alcoholism on his family but so well done for anyone who has had to experience it first hand.
I feel like MASH has Ames written all over it. It would do her sensitive heart some real good. No movie has ever had me laughing and crying at the exact same time. Like the funnier the shenanigan's are the sadder the overall movie is. It's Incredible.
My girlfriend was raised by a Navy Commander who acted just like The Great Santini, including bouncing quarters on the bed and the white glove test. Her dad wanted boys, but got 3 girls instead, which he also called "sportsfans!"