This is one of my favorite films of the 70's. . .but. . .

. ..but. . .

on a 'groovy' list? There are many adjectives for "Apocalypse Now"-

Groovy isn't one of them.

At first,I thought this addition to the "70's" category was a mistake.I couldn't believe it was THAT long ago I first saw this cinematic masterpiece! From the opening scene,where Stone aptly used the Doors song "The End" to set the mood of meloncholy and madness that pervades the film (BTW,Stone went to the same UCLA film school as did Morrison),I was under it's spell.Sheen gave a fine performance as the man to witness the brutality and senselessnes depicted throughout.This is probably the first movie about war I can recall that chose starkness over glorification,although many were to follow (Platoon,Full Metal Jacket).The soundtrack helps bring us back to the era,witnessing the awful reality the soldiers saw in Nam as contrasted to the one going on back home in the US.As we descend with Sheen and the crew of the boat deep into the jungle and the tortured psyche of Brandos character,the film delves into the surreal.Many people don't know this film was based on the Conrad novel "The Heart of Darkness",which was an excellent read.It takes place much earlier in history,but after reading it and re-watching the movie,It deepened my appreciation."Groovy" is an odd way to describe it,I guess it's groovy in an existentialist,Sartre cum Death Metal sort of sense.Brandos final line sums it all up,and is the one that stayed with me the most : "The Horror.The Horror."

The film has actually matured and grown in stature as the decades have passed since its original release and since the era of the subject. It was one of the first films to actually deal with the Viet Nam war from the perspective of the front lines as opposed to the home front. It was also one of the most bracing representations of the madness of war ever produced at the time and had a substantial impact on the genre and cinema in general.

If you are looking for a tight and satisfying narrative you will be confounded. A lot of criticism of the film deals with the pacing and editing. It defies the traditional first, second, third act structure. It goes from moments of brutal intensity, to relative boredom, to spots of heightened tension that never resolve. I'm pretty sure that was what the film maker was trying to present.

It contains a surreal balance of harsh reality and delusional madness. It makes as clear a statement without the benefit of a concise narrative the way the cinematic audience has come to expect.

All of that crap aside, it is one damn cool movie full of high impact scenes, characters and dialogue. There isn't a movie fan alive that doesn't know the lines "I love the smell of napalm in the morning", "If is the middle word of Life", "Never get out of the boat" "Charlie don't surf!” Robert Duvall owns the screen whenever he's on it, but so does Dennis Hopper, Albert Hall who plays the boat's skipper Chief, and Brando in one of the most weirdly compelling understated performances ever. Martin Sheen's minimally played, stoic observationalist performance puts you right in the boat, and the jungle in every scene.

It's hard to believe that this movie was made so long ago because it doesn't seem dated at all, and it was Martin Sheen at it's best and came up with that classic line-"I love the smell of napalm in the morning...."

(Sniffs)
I love the smell of Napalm in the Morning.

Probably one of the best movies of the 1970s, but not the type of movie that will leave you with visions of sugar-plums dancing in your head.

I will always recall it as one of the more devastating movie going experiences of my life.  It was an evening showing, large theater and pretty well packed.  I've never heard silence in theater setting quite like this before. Brilliant, stunning, strange and depressing all at once.