Data
Title: Apocalypse Now
Year: 1979
Length: 153 minutes (original version)
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Writers: John Milius & Francis Ford Coppola, with Michael Herr, loosely based on a novel by Joseph Conrad
Starring: Marlon Brando, Martin Sheen, Robert Duvall, Frederic Forrest, Sam Bottoms, Laurence Fishburne, Albert Hall
Music: Carmine Coppola, Francis Ford Coppola (and non-original music)
Distinctions: Oscars for Best Cinematography and Best Sound; Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor (Duvall), Best Art Direction/Set Decoration and Best Editing; currently #38 on the IMDb's Top 250
My reaction
Synopsis: a soldier is sent into Cambodia during the Vietnam War to assassinate a mad colonel.
How I saw it: on video (rented from Netflix), yesterday
Concept: Great.
Story: Great.
Characters: Great.
Dialog: Good. "The horror..." Seriously? The voice-over narration is great, though, and turned what might have been an unbearably slow movie into a quasi-noir thriller.
Pacing: Good. I really was not expecting a 2½-hour Vietnam movie to hold my interest, but it totally did.
Cinematography: Great.
Special effects/design: Great.
Acting: Good. Most of it is great. But then there's Brando, taking a crap all over this movie. Dude just didn't care anymore.
Music: Bad.
Subjective Rating: 7/10 (Good). Most of the movie is a solid 8/10. The ending sort of falls apart, though. [spoilers ahead] The movie builds and builds an increasing level of horror, all the time promising us the Mad Genius yet to come. But all we get is a sad, mumbling man and a crowd with spears. And a very annoying Dennis Hopper.
Objective Rating: 3.2/4 (Very good).
Ah man, I thought the ending was perfect. I love how he's just a sad, mumbling man. Truthfully, I think that presents more horror than anything. Glad you saw this though - one of my favs.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's just that the ending is so different from what I'd been expecting, and I'd like it better if I watched it again. (But as good a movie as it is, I don't see myself doing that anytime soon.)
ReplyDelete