Apocalypse Now

“You are an errand boy sent by grocery clerks to collect a bill.” --Col. Kurtz

There is a startling pro-war sequence in the opening moments of “Apocalypse Now” (1979). In this scene, while waiting in Saigon Willard (Martin Sheen) is summoned to appear in front of high-ranking military officials. He is bewildered but stays sharp throughout the interrogation. As the officials explain why he is in the room, Willard is bombarded with a series of specific and pointed questions about his past assignments. Soon, he is introduced to General Corman, who describes the real purpose of Willard’s new deadly mission as well as the rational of the war in question. With no choice, Willard undertakes the mission and is instructed by an unnamed senior official to “terminate with extreme prejudice.”

It is worth noting that Corman’s brief speech is the foundation on which the entire movie rests, and it sets the tone perfectly for things to follow. Not only is Corman’s conversation significant in the context of the story, it also brings to light the modus operandi prevalent in the Vietnam War. Here is a brief snippet of Corman’s verbal exchange with Willard: “Well, you see, Willard, in this war things get confused out there:  power, ideals, the old morality, and practical military necessity. But out there with those natives, it must be a temptation to be God. Because there is a conflict in every human heart; between the rational and irrational; between good and evil. And good does not always triumph. Sometimes the dark things overcome what Lincoln called ‘The better angels of our nature.’”

Before being apprised of the new mission, Willard appears disillusioned and drunken, trying to erase bad memories of the war. Looking at his emotionally cold face, you gather he is deeply troubled and that he has done some horrific things in the battlefield, like killing innocent people. Obviously, the war has consumed him and has deeply shaken his emotional core. Such was his predicament that when he was fighting, he wanted to be with his wife, and when he was close to his wife, he was desperate to get back to the jungle. Nonetheless, Willard’s ambivalent appearance symbolizes an image of a soldier who is willing to take the marching orders at any time, but is conflicted in every way about the war. In contrast to Col. Corman’s endorsement of the use of military force, Willard utters one of the famous antiwar lines: “Shit, charging a man with murder in this place was like handling out speeding tickets at the Indy 500.”

Willard’s statement highlights a remarkable divide about the perspective on the war. Corman believes that military force is justified, but Willard questions who we are to charge someone with murder when the war has killed many innocent lives on both the sides. After all, what is the criteria? But before he realizes it, Willard has become a military assassin. Nonetheless, Willard’s character is just a bona fide example of a patriotic soldier fighting on the battlefield.

Of course, as the film progresses, we see three types of soldiers in the battlefield: a trained soldier, a drafted soldier, and a renegade soldier living on the dark side. And this is apparently true for any war. The film raises an important question: Whose side are you on? As Willard’s journey takes him through the deep regions of Cambodia, he meets a no-guts-no-glory Colonel named Kilgore (Robert Duvall). His exuberance in destroying enemy fronts shows that the war has become a theater for his combat skills. He flies a helicopter that has painted on it the words “Death from above.” In an aerial strike, he remarks, “Bomb them to the Stone Age,” a statement grossly brimming with military superiority. But he, like others, hopes that the war will end someday. We are also introduced to the character of the Chef (Frederic Forrest), a soldier who is probably drafted in the army. The Chef just wants to go home after the war and is not keen to spend even a single minute on the battlefield beyond what is required.

Soon, Willard meets a diabolical renegade soldier, Col. Kurtz (Marlon Brando). In a style reminiscent of Baroque paintings, Kurtz emerges from darkness and makes his presence felt. Perhaps his character is a metaphor for breaking with normality and choosing the dark side. Kurtz has crossed a fine line between reality and fiction, and his actions have made U.S. generals unhappy. But is he really the traitor Corman made him to be? Or is he a by-product of the war? Could it be Kurtz had enough of the war and decided to help the natives, instead?

Bordering on insanity, Kurtz opposes the idea of force, although only in a rhetorical sense. He promotes grotesque sacrificial techniques in his camp and doesn’t back away from implementing violent methods.  The introductory conversation between Willard and Kurtz carries on in a usual good vs. evil way, with the ensuing discussion involving Kurtz’s methods. Indeed, Kurtz’s character is truly lunatic, and even though the narration gives insight into his past, his character remains mystical up until the end.

The dossier serves as a way for Willard to keep him informed on Kurtz’s background and on his military orders. But Willard soon realizes he is captivated with Kurtz’s past, and his desire to confront Kurtz increases with each passing day.  Is it really the desire? Or is it Willard’s way of coming to terms with his own probable face in the future? In the final moments of the film, Willard is presented with the scenario to be God, something Kurtz accepted years before. His camouflaged figure with a machete in one hand stands at an elevated angle in front of the natives, and for a moment he pauses, soaking himself with the thought of the “what-if” scenario.

To present its viewers with a unique viewing experience, Coppola decided to exclude the opening and closing credits of the film. In technical aspects, “Apocalypse Now” achieves something that other films could not do in the 70’s. The film excels in the surround-sound design department as well as in its usage of sharp editing techniques. Coppola always felt that the sound design was an important ingredient to the overall experience, and his team would spend hours synthesizing the soundtrack. Sound models were created, and sound sources were precisely designed and laid out to produce required sounds. Expensive and elaborate sets were created that convincingly helped in portraying the battle scenes but also added a grand-scale dimension to the film. And we should not forget Vittorio Storaro’s stunning cinematography, in which we see brilliant compositions building on challenging light conditions. In addition, Storaro successfully implements Coppola’s vision of superimposing Willard’s off-battle thoughts with the reality around him, giving the film’s palette a collage-like appearance.

Coppola, through the layered characterizations and Corman’s words, sets the stage in conveying his own thoughts about the war. “Apocalypse Now” presents us with a scenario of what has become of our past heroes, and what will become of the current generation in this war. More so, it is a deeply textured study of human lives on the battlefront. The interactions and the dialogue represent the overall mental anguish in the war-torn region of Vietnam. Each character lays the groundwork in presenting the multifaceted nature of the war. Indeed, Coppola’s war framework is still very much relevant in the context of the two wars the U.S. is fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq. And this what makes “Apocalypse Now” even greater now.

Video:

At the insistence of the cinematographer, Vittorio Storaro, the previous DVD releases of the film featured altered aspect ratios for both the cuts of the film. However, this time around for the film’s Blu-ray release, the original theatrical aspect ratios of both, the original and the redux versions, are presented in their unaltered original aspect ratios of 2.35:1, encoded in an MPEG-4/ AVC codec. Coppola’s “Apocalypse Now,” courtesy of American Zoetrope, received an extensive frame-by-frame restoration from a source scanned at 4K. The restoration cleaned up the dirt and specks and eliminated other anomalies from the print. However, on a few occasions, I noticed specks popping up, especially in the mission assignment scene. But this is only noticeable if you are viewing the film at a very close distance, and it is never distracting.

Nonetheless, the 1080p transfer looks absolutely crystal-clear, gorgeous, and vibrant, and for a moment you will surely think the movie was released recently. In addition, the new transfer improves on the color timing issue prominent in the previous releases; the colors are more accurate and more faithfully represented. The film has a number of dark scenes, particularly when Willard reaches Col. Kurtz’s compound. The entire movie from that point onward is shot during the night. In the nighttime scenes, the blacks are solid, with appropriate contrast levels. Similarly, the sharpness and detail leap off the screen in 1080p, and it is evident in the close-up scenes showing Willard’s and Kurtz’ faces. Likewise, the detail also holds up well for long shots, mainly in the helicopter attack scene.

Some viewers might complain about the reduction of the grain to abnormally low levels. But I found the level of grain to be appropriate, and it does give provide a film-like appearance to the transfer. In a nutshell, there are hardly any negatives about the new HD transfer, and “Apocalypse Now” is a beauty to behold in 1080p.

Audio:

Equally complementing the pristine 1080p transfer, we get a heart-pounding, lossless 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track. Similar to the restoration work in the video department, “Apocalypse Now” also received a broad cleanup of its audio elements. The result is one of the best-sounding lossless tracks on the market. In the famous helicopter scene, all the audio components are perfectly utilized: the 5.1 channels and bass are activated. You can hear the whizzing sound coming from the rotating helicopter blades; it starts from the center channel and gradually shifts from the right channel to the rear channels, thereby creating a full 360 arena effect.

In the battlefield scenes, the bass is thundering but never overly heavy. The bullets and rockets sound more realistic than ever and take you right into the battle. The track has mind-blowing sound clarity that is solid and consistent throughout the film’s entire duration. The wide sound envelope, the serene elements together with the atmospheric wildlife noises, adds necessary ambience during film’s silent moments. Indeed, the lossless track provides an unforgettable immersive experience that is an aural feast for the ears.

Extras :

Lionsgate has produced a comprehensive three-disc set for this movie that includes a separate disc dedicated to the bonus features and a third disc for the documentary “Hearts of Darkness.”

Disc One

On disc-one, we get two cuts of the film: the original and the Redux, the latter available through a seamless branching option. Director, Francis Ford Coppola provides a commentary on both the cuts.

Disc Two

The second disc is solely dedicated to the extras. Starting off, we have a conversational segment with Martin Sheen and Francis Ford Coppola. The duo talk about the script, the characters, and how Sheen got hurt on the set. Sheen remembers how he was hired by Coppola to play the role of Willard.

Following this, there is an interview segment with the writer, John Milius, in which Milius talks to Coppola about his fascination with the project, even at the cost of losing everything. Milius provides his thoughts on how the idea for the movie originated. Then, we have another interview segment with the casting director, Fred Roos, who provides his insights on the casting process of the movie. Even, Nick Nolte was considered for the lead role of Willard.

Following the interviews, there is an audio segment in which Orson Welles is reading “Heart of Darkness.” Marlon Brando reads T.S. Eliot’s poem, “The Hollow Men,” much of which was edited from the movie’s final cut. Here, we see the narration of the poem in the context of the natives and their war-torn regions. We also see the crew shooting the final scenes of the film.

Next is a deleted scene, “Monkey Sampan,” followed by a set of twelve additional scenes.

Then, we get a featurette, “Destruction of the Kurtz Compound.” Coppola talks about the controversy surrounding the film with respect to the film’s mysterious narration and the two endings to the film. He at length talks about the climax when Willard emerges from the room after confronting Kurtz. And finally, we get to see the opening and ending credits.

After this, we get a number of bonus features highlighting technical aspects of the film. First, we have a segment, “The Birth of 5.1 Sound.” Here, the editor, Walter Murch, talks about how Coppola wanted to show this film in only one theater with quadraphonic sound in the center of the U.S., probably in Kansas, and that the movie will run for ten years. Ioan Allen from Dolby Labs talks about the origin of surround sound and how in the 50’s the film industry faced some challenges from commercial TV.

Next, we have an extra focusing on the development of multichannel sound, “Ghost Helicopter Flyover.” Sound experts discuss how “Apocalypse Now” laid the groundwork for the 5.1 surround sound development in the industry. We are shown a graphical representation of the film’s acoustic architecture.

Following this, we get a text article by Bob Moong called “The Synthesizer Soundtrack” that was originally published in the January, 1980, issue of “Contemporary Keyboard” magazine.

Up next, a featurette, “A Million Feet of Film,” shows interviewees discussing the editing techniques used in the film. Coppola discusses how he liked the idea of using multiple editors for different segments of the film.

Next on the disc is a short featurette, “The Music of Apocalypse Now.” Here we learn how Coppola was influenced by a Japanese composer named Tomita, who focused mainly on producing synthesized sounds in classical terms. We also see how the sound for “Apocalypse Now” was synthesized.

In the featurette “The Sound Design of Apocalypse Now” we gather how Coppola wanted the sound in “Apocalypse Now” to be very sensual with the five channels. The post-production recordist, Randy Thom, says there was “a renaissance in movie sound, and filmmakers were thinking more about the sound.” Coppola discusses why he thinks the soundtrack of the film is a critical component.

“The Final Mix” shows how the entire team, consisting of the editor, sound recordists, and sound analysts, sat down and created the film’s final sound mix.

After the technical extras, we get an interview segment, “Apocalypse Then and Now.” Here Roger Ebert interviews Coppola and both discuss Coppola’s financial troubles during the filming process. Coppola provides his insights on the differences in the editing process during the 70,s and now, and why everyone wanted a shorter cut of the film.

Next on the list is an interview short, “2001 Cannes Film Festival: Francis Ford Coppola.” The segment opens up with Roger Ebert interviewing Coppola at Cannes in 2001. Ebert praises Coppola’s ambitious vision in filming “Apocalypse Now.”

Next, “PBR Streetgang” shows the actors who formed part of the PBR crew in the film reminiscing about the filming process, the script, and their characters. 

Finally, ending the extras on disc two, we get a featurette, “The Color Palette of Apocalypse Now.” Cinematographer Vittorio Storaro talks about the importance of the film’s visual aspect and how the darkness attribute formed a significant part in the climax.

Disc Three:

The third disc is dedicated to a feature-length documentary, “Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse” (1991). In 1982, an American director, Les Blank, created a documentary called “Burden of Dream” that showed Werner Herzog’s maddening fascination with his magnum-opus project, “Fitzcarraldo” (1982). The project almost destroyed Herzog, and it eventually became a huge financial burden for him. Indeed, both “Apocalypse Now” and “Fitzcarraldo” were the products of directors’ grand visions and passion for filmmaking.

Coppola’s “Hearts of Darkness” draws a similarity to Blank’s documentary, in which Francis Coppola, like Herzog, was at a point of losing everything. These two documentaries are elaborative in demonstrating the risks associated in exercising artistic control; and the only way you can achieve a full artistic control is to financially control your own project. Moreover, the documentaries also highlight the filmmakers’ obsession in pursuing ambitious projects, even when they are difficult to produce.

The documentary opens with Coppola addressing the audience at the Cannes in 1979 with “My film is not a movie. My film is not about Vietnam. It is Vietnam.” The opening montage of the documentary states, “Coppola’s wife Eleanor accompanied him and shot documentary footage covering the 238 days of principal photography. Eleanor also recorded a series of private conversations with her husband without his knowledge. These recordings were initially to be used only as a reference for her diary, which she kept throughout the production.”

Shot and narrated by Coppola’s wife, Eleanor Coppola, “Hearts of Darkness” takes viewers through a journey as filmmakers prepare to start shooting, “Apocalypse Now.” The majority of the film was shot in Philippines. We see Coppola assembling his crew as he prepares to design the sets for various scenes.  In an audio interview, Coppola utters: “My greatest fear is to make a really shitty, embarrassing, pompous film on an important subject, and I am doing it.” 

In 1938, Orson Welles decided to make his first motion picture, “Heart of Darkness.” Fearing that the movie might go over the allocated budget, studios backed out from Welles’s project, and instead, Welles made “Citizen Kane” with RKO. John Millius talks about how inspired he was to convert Joseph Conrad’ book, ”Heart of Darkness,” to the screen. Coppola wanted to make “Apocalypse Now” in the early 70’s, but the project was put on hold owing to a high budget need. In 1975, he revived his plans for the movie with Zoetrope after he became a millionaire following the sweeping success of “The Godfather I & II.” The initial budget was set at $13 million, and if it went over, then Coppola was responsible. As a result, Coppola’s house was kept as the collateral.

The documentary can also be viewed in a commentary mode with Eleanor Coppola. Apart from the documentary, we also get John Milius’s “Script Selections with Notes by Francis Ford Coppola.” Also included is a storyboard gallery, along with photo and marketing archives.

Parting Thoughts :

Is “Apocalypse Now” the greatest antiwar movie ever made? Probably not. But it surely belongs in the same group as “Paths of Glory,” “The Bridge on the River Kwai,” “Dr. Strangelove,” “Schindler’s List,” “Platoon,” and “The Deer Hunter.” What makes “Apocalypse Now” great is the inclusion of all-round terrific performances from Marlon Brando and Martin Sheen and its spot-on outstanding script. Moreover, the film scores in the technical department: the editing, the surround-sound design, and the color palette. It’s a brilliant motion picture that offers an effective case study on soldiers in a war.

Under Coppola’s masterful direction, “Apocalypse Now” soars immensely in entertainment value by portraying its message about the war. Lionsgate has assembled a terrific-looking package that includes meaty extras along with impeccable audio and visual qualities. What’s more, the package also includes “Hearts of Darkness,” the most sought documentary by the fans, thereby making this a complete package. This is definitely the release of the year.