Rating: 
Summary: Comes up short...
Review: Back in its day, this movie may have bid well. Unfortunately it is too tame for the modern day "insane from war" image. By the time the viewer finally meets Mr. Lunatic the movie has grown very disinteresting. One can enjoy the countless smoke effects and constant citing of poetry, if interested in that canned garbage, but otherwise they just dont care. The builidup is too minimal for what is an unusual and quite a disconcerting payoff. This seems to be my only qualm though, as the case may have it, because otherwise I enjoyed the characters. A surfing general, who of course, classicly states "I love the smell of napalm in the morning". Some of the outlandishness is enjoyable to no end, and you dont get tired of it, but as a war movie based on lunacy and mindlessness, it's outdated.
Rating: 
Summary: Cool, But Weird movie...
Review: This movie was great for the first hour and pretty funny in parts, especially the part when they are envading. After that it kinda gets boring and very weird, I found it hard tring to stay awake. But that is just me, my dad and brother love the movie. Its weird but worth watching. HOO-YAH! Thank all war Verterans.
Rating:
Summary: Never Better
Review: What a great transfer of a fantastic and classic film. Evertime I've ever watched this movie before (and it's been many times) I never really saw it. This transfer is crystal clear and beautiful with only a little bit of visual noise, but it simply looks amazing, especially for it's age--this movie should only be viewed in widescreen! The real triumph however is the 5.1 soundtrack--I've never heard one this well done. The helicopters circle one's head and move from sided to side, explosions happen three hundred and sixty degrees around the viewer, the split surround is monstrous. The dialogue is crisp and clear, but doesn't always stay in the front, it too travels around when the characters do, and the narration (unlike in many other movies) is well-balanced, sharp and not overpowering. And, of course, the music is unlike I've ever heard it--The Door's "The End" just soaks through you, and also the transfer splits the music into the back speakers while the sound effects remain in full surround, creating a fully envolping sonic journey--a MASTERPIECE! Apocalypse Now was more than any other movie, made for DVD, even if I didn't love the movie (which I do), I would enjoy watching it in this format.
Rating:
Summary: The Greatest Movie Ever.
Review: Claiming that Francis Ford Coppola's "Apocalypse Now" is the greatest movie ever would seem to be a bold statement to anyone not acquanted with the movie. But believe me, once you watch this movie, your life will never be the same. Sure, a movie probably won't change your life as much as say, reading "Les Miserables", or "For Whom the Bell Tolls", but it will definitely make an impression on you at the very least.I would definitely enjoy giving a description of the movie's plot, and principal protagonist, and antagonist, but that would spoil what would be a magnificent movie. I think the cast, director, and soundtrack should indicate "why" this movie is great. The movie stars Martin Sheen, Laurence Fishburne, Harrison Ford, Dennis Hopper, Robert Duvall and the legendary Marlon Brando(of course you didn't forget Vito Corleone[AKA the Godfather], did you?). In addition, it is directed by Francis Ford Coppola, the director of the Godfather Trilogy, and many other excellent movies. And the soundtrack is composed by Carmine Coppola, and features Jim Morrison's "The End"(a rendition of "The End" that will almost certainly leave a "lasting impression"!). Simultaneously, the fact that it was nominated for eight Academy Awards, should almost certainly speak for itself. To conclude, if you only have the opportunity to purchase one DVD or VHS, I would highly recommend that you purchase "Apocalypse Now", it is easily the most remarkable movie that I have ever seen, and believe me, I have seen an abundance of movies.
Rating:
Summary: One of the all-time great films.
Review: This is the kind of film that DVD was made for. Beautiful, breathtaking and brilliant, "Apocalypse Now" shattered any doubts we had about the insanity of Vietnam and continues to do so until this very day. Quite simply, one of the greatest war films of all time, comparable to "Platoon" and "Saving Private Ryan". This modern day take of Joseph Conrad's brilliant book "Heart of Darkness" shows us Francis Ford Coppola's vision of hell. A time and place in the world where insanity seems unable to be measured and where scenes of violence and mayhem play like pieces of classical music they seem so beautiful. Where one man, who attacks a particular town for great surfing, is considered sane, while another, who kills a few people, is deemed insane. And by who? The army. Why? Because one's insanity helps the army, while the others doesn't. The film is terrifying, exciting, satiric and thought provoking all at once. It takes all sorts of elements of war (insanity, violence), plus absolutely beautiful imagery and throws it all into a pot until it seems so overloaded it will explode. Only one part of the film fails to deliver and that is the slow, murky part where Willard listens to Kurtz in his compound but the rest of the film more than makes up for it. The story is about a Captain Willard (Sheen) who is sent up a river in Vietnam to kill a Kernel Kurtz who has gone insane and is controlling his own, unauthorized city in Cambodia. The film centers on Willard and his thoughts and views on the whole mission. He is in a boat with four other men, although most of them are just kids. Along their journey they go through many situations including a helicopter assault on a town, a battle which seems to be in the middle of no where ("Get the Roach!") and various assaults on their boat. When they finally reach Kurtz's compound Willard is forced to decide whether or not to kill the man he has grown to respect along the journey. The acting in this movie is among the best ever, with Robert Duvall as Killgore being the best in the movie. His character perfectly sums up the whole war. He is obviously insane but the insanity is useful to the army. In the greatest scene in the movie he attacks a Vietnamese village with helicopters and the main reason: the beach there has six-foot high peaks that go both ways; perfect for surfing. He blares Wagner from the choppers as they attack and makes men surf in the midst of a battle with explosions all around them. And in the most famous line in the film (and perhaps ever) he sums u the whole war in one line of insanity: "I love the smell of napalm in the mourning." And proceeds to say that "Someday this war is gonna end," with almost a glint of remorse in his eye. This performance along with Sheen's as Willard, are quite simply some of the greatest ever. The directing is stunning. The scenes as they go up the river are so creepily beautiful that you find yourself gasping in amazement and waiting in anticipation for what the river is going to reveal next. Battles are shown as some sort of apocalyptic work of art, full of beauty and violence. One of Francis's best, along with "The Godfather" 1 and 2 and "The Conversation". The film has never looked so good as on DVD. All of the images are vibrant with colour and clarity. This is how the film was meant to be seen. Thanxs...
Rating:
Summary: Beyond Masterpeice
Review: This is without a doubt my favorate movie of all time.One thing that I find interesting is that I think that many veiwers are missing a very important layer of this film.Yes,it is about The tragic war in Vietnam.But more than that,I think that Coppola's impetus for this film was to resolve an inner conflict within himself.He was working through his own opedial complex.If one was to look at this movie from the point of view of Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell,this film is filled with archetypical and mythic motifs. In a sence he was going into himself and laying to rest a demon born of childhood pain.Note when Kurtz describes the event that changes him,when he saw the "pile of little arms"of the children he and his cadre had earlier innoculated for polio.I could go on ad nauseum about this but I think that the subject of this film goes beyond Vietnam.I think it explores the darker realms of the human condition and its resonanse is as timeless as anything by Sheakspeare.Note that the films Coppalla made before "Apocalypse Now"(Godfather 1 and 2,"The Conversation")had a dark cynism to them,as opposed to The films he made after which had a much lighter ambiance.
Rating:
Summary: Greatest War Movie
Review: This is a visionary film. Rather than showing you the loss of innocence or youth (Platoon/ Full Metal Jacket), this movie begins in madness. The madness of a soldier who has seen too much, and been in the War way too long. Everyone's performances in this movie are incredible. Sheen is brilliant in the lead role. Duvall, Brando, and Fishburne are equally impressive, but it is Hopper who gives the final section of the movie its bizarre manic state. I can understand why Apocalypse Now is not always ranked above other fine Vietnam war movies like Platoon. It is simply too horrific. It's so far detached from what civilians thought happened in Vietnam that this movie almost appears as a Fantasy. It's a hard movie to watch but definatley a true cinimatic masterpiece.
Rating:
Summary: The Heart of an Immense Darkness
Review: Because I will be teaching Conrad's HEART OF DARKNESS to a group of advanced seniors in high-school in the spring for the first time, I decided to revisit Coppola's Vietnam version of the story after having reread the original. Although I did not serve in Vietnam, I was an impressionable child who remembers vividly the LIFE MAGAZINE Decade-in-Review issue from 1970, flush with images of the war; the six-o'-clock television news footage of combat; the daily "casualty" count; and all the rest. (If you lived through the period yourself, you know just how much more there was.) For me, APOCALYPSE NOW captures brilliantly the mood of the time of the Vietnam War. It captures the feelings I used to get reading about Me-Lai or the Tet Offensive, or the feelings from just listening to friends talk about their brothers' experiences when they returned home. It reminds me of W.D. Ehrhart's brilliant memoir VIETNAM-PERKASIE, of Michael Herr's DISPATCHES, etc. And it truly is faithful to the spirit and structure of Conrad's river-journey narrative. Students today are several steps removed from the horror which is war. APOCALYPSE NOW preserves the spirit of that horror. We must not forget; we must not repeat.
Rating:
Summary: A Recommended Journey
Review: Very few movies leave me with a sense of awe and deference to the makers of the film. This one did. The questions prompted by Heart of Darkness spring to life in this film. Many characters are the personifications of unseen, but very much felt forces. This aspect is clearly depicted when Martin Sheen's character (Willard) asks a soldier, who has just fired a supernaturally accurate shot, if he knows who is in charge here. The soldier stoically replies with a simple "yes" as if to imply, "how else do you think I could have made that shot?" In many ways, this scene can be seen as a border crossing. Willard has just entered into Kurtz's realm and different forces are now in power. Willard must learn to recognize and, perhaps, accept that. The pivotal question confronts the viewer in its entirety when Kurtz reveals the epiphany he's had that explains his actions and, consequently, the reason Willard is there. Coppola also takes his chance to offer a commentary on the Vietnam War (which he might also classify as American aggression) when helicopters attack a Vietnamese village to the music of Richard Wagner (a favorite composer of Hitler). The parallel drawn is obvious. This aspect could also prove important for understanding the situation the film depicts. This movie is quite simply a masterpiece. It is worthy of any and all praise it receives. Apocalypse Now ranks as one of the very few movies that is a "must see" for everyone. This work presents and analyzes a question that is essential to ask in the attempt to better understand the human experience. If you haven't yet seen it, put it on your list of things to do.
Rating: 
Summary: war not sleep war waiting
Review: music and film - the best
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