Francis Ford Coppola is without doubt one of the most overrated directors of all time. More of an artisan than an artist, Coppola is one of the most studied directors in film schools because of his “technical” achievements in film. Apocalypse Now is the Italian American directors greatest film. At best the film is a dark odyssey of a man coming to terms with himself while searching for another man. At worst, Coppola spent way too much time, effort, and money on a film that is NOT the best war film ever made.
The Godfather series has influenced many morons to idealize the world of organized crime. With Apocalypse Now, Coppola has also convinced us that “war is bad.” A crazy surfer Lt. Colonel Bill Kilgore likes to kill gooks and have his soldiers surf rad waves at the same type. Coppola really shows us the absurdity of war in a fairly obvious manner. I personally thought Lt. Kilgore was a pretty cool dude.
Apocalypse Now also shows how poor black kids from the intercity died in the jungles of Vietnam for whitey. I wonder if there is a film about the Vietnam war that doesn’t bring this up. The liberal rule for war filmmaking is killing fascists = good and killing communists = bad. The Vietnam war was bad because America had Negroes and poor whites kill third world communists. World War II was good because Americans killed Europeans. Francis Ford Coppola even alludes to Nazism when Kilgore blasts Richard Wagner as he goes in for the kill on a village of backwards gooks. Francis Ford Coppola is a deeply philosophical man not to be questioned.
I have never thought of Martin Sheen as a tough soldier. Hell, I never thought of Mr. Sheen as even a man. His role as Captain Willard in Apocalypse Now makes about as much sense as his son Emilio Estevez playing a punk in Repo Man. Hollywood really likes to have men of weak physique playing the roles of heroic men for obvious reasons. I would have even preferred an overweight and aged Brando as Captain Willard. At least Brando looks like he went outside as a child.
Rumor has it that Francis Ford Coppola enjoyed himself with young teenage male prostitutes in Cambodia during the filming of Apocalypse Now. He had his convicted child molester friend Victor Salva (director of Powder and Jeepers Creepers) with him during the shooting of Apocalypse Now so it would be no surprise. For all the time spent on the making of Apocalypse Now, the result is less than “epic.” The film slightly horrified me as a child but now I see it as mild entertainment.
I give credit to Coppola for spicing up the film with some tunes by The Doors and a small role by Dennis Hopper as an eccentric American photographer. I take away credit from Coppola for re-releasing Apocalypse Now in it’s “Redux” form. Coppola can’t possibly think that the “redux” version is a superior cut. The original film cutout the “new footage” for a reason. Then again, Francis Ford Coppola isn’t much different from his fellow “film school generation” of film directors such as Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. Americans should leave it to the Europeans and Russians for war films.
The Godfather series has influenced many morons to idealize the world of organized crime. With Apocalypse Now, Coppola has also convinced us that “war is bad.” A crazy surfer Lt. Colonel Bill Kilgore likes to kill gooks and have his soldiers surf rad waves at the same type. Coppola really shows us the absurdity of war in a fairly obvious manner. I personally thought Lt. Kilgore was a pretty cool dude.
Apocalypse Now also shows how poor black kids from the intercity died in the jungles of Vietnam for whitey. I wonder if there is a film about the Vietnam war that doesn’t bring this up. The liberal rule for war filmmaking is killing fascists = good and killing communists = bad. The Vietnam war was bad because America had Negroes and poor whites kill third world communists. World War II was good because Americans killed Europeans. Francis Ford Coppola even alludes to Nazism when Kilgore blasts Richard Wagner as he goes in for the kill on a village of backwards gooks. Francis Ford Coppola is a deeply philosophical man not to be questioned.
I have never thought of Martin Sheen as a tough soldier. Hell, I never thought of Mr. Sheen as even a man. His role as Captain Willard in Apocalypse Now makes about as much sense as his son Emilio Estevez playing a punk in Repo Man. Hollywood really likes to have men of weak physique playing the roles of heroic men for obvious reasons. I would have even preferred an overweight and aged Brando as Captain Willard. At least Brando looks like he went outside as a child.
Rumor has it that Francis Ford Coppola enjoyed himself with young teenage male prostitutes in Cambodia during the filming of Apocalypse Now. He had his convicted child molester friend Victor Salva (director of Powder and Jeepers Creepers) with him during the shooting of Apocalypse Now so it would be no surprise. For all the time spent on the making of Apocalypse Now, the result is less than “epic.” The film slightly horrified me as a child but now I see it as mild entertainment.
I give credit to Coppola for spicing up the film with some tunes by The Doors and a small role by Dennis Hopper as an eccentric American photographer. I take away credit from Coppola for re-releasing Apocalypse Now in it’s “Redux” form. Coppola can’t possibly think that the “redux” version is a superior cut. The original film cutout the “new footage” for a reason. Then again, Francis Ford Coppola isn’t much different from his fellow “film school generation” of film directors such as Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. Americans should leave it to the Europeans and Russians for war films.
-Ty E
Ouch! Scathing review, Ty. I adore Apocalpyse Now! Psychopathic melodrama doesn't get much better than this. And I prefer the Redux cut for its dense, slower energy. It is one of those really sulky and schizo 70s commercial films, but I think that everyone pulls it off. If you had any young American director and any other cast, I don't know if you could have gotten a better version of this movie. Well, I hope one day you'll enjoy this sucker.
ReplyDeleteTy E is still a fan of Apocalypse Now. Ty E's review is taking a critical look at the film in comparison to his favorite war films like Elem Klimov's "Come and See" and "The Red and the White." Ty E still believes that Apocalypse Now is probably the best AMERICAN War film. Ty E grew up watching Apocalypse Now and had an early fondness for the film. Now Ty E is a bitter and critical old man. Ty E's perspective has changed.
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