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Apocalypse Now
Studio executives summary / pitch
Francis Coppola's Vietnam sojourn of discovery.
Short plot summary

Journey to find, and then kill artistically, mad Colonel Kurtz during Vietnam war.

What our panel of critics thought

"Marlon Brando, you badly lit wobble bottom."

"From the musical agent orange bombing, to the smell of Napalm in the morning? How can one possibly sleep during this masterpiece?"

"Wunderbarr! Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries offers a musical accompaniment offering no riposte. Oh helicopter - bringer of death tragicomedian - you naughty boy!"

"Crisply comic which goes at a good crack!"

"Is that a very young Harrison Ford as an officer in that movie? A triumph!"

"Is that the actor in the Chewbacca suit next to Harrison Ford in that movie? Wonderful!"

"It took ages to film, almost made the director bankrupt, the least you can do is watch the darn thing."

"Homoerotic pot smoking bedlam. Thank goodness President Nixon is not included, his chin on its own could have ruined everything."

"It made me laugh in all of the wrong places."

"'Nam hell. At least this time with an off switch."

"Brando is as weird as can be. Method acting or just good lighting?"

"Dennis Hopper gives a pot be-smoked masterpiece of a performance. Triple bongs all round!"

"Nobody shaves their hair off like Brando. (Did he just do his head hair? We are never told.)"

"Even with no hair on his bonce, Brando still manages a poorly lit madness lesser actors could not attain."

"A veritable cornucopia of lesser illuminated atrocities, both acting and explosive, coupled with moments of awe inspired whiny voiced actors with hard pectorals. Captures the essence of a pot dislodged existence which one reads about constantly from those gentlemen who can remember 'Nam. Remind me to pack toilet rolls on my expedition if I ever were to be ensconced in the idea to travel Nam-wards, as the country looks like it would make me shit like Niagara."

"I could not wait for the movie to end as I had promised myself a thorough masturbatory session now that I have the apartment to myself. This glorious expectation of self inflicted joys to come helped me through the end of this movie no end."

"The ending seems to go on for an eternity."

"What would this movie have been without The Doors offering some of their finest work? Both in the musical as well as hallucinogenic sense."

"The killing of the cow coupled with the killing of Kurtz has all of the poetry of a tragic teenager about to kill himself on a whim of ecstasy. Perfect. "

"To be killed metaphorically is bad enough. But to be killed in a movie metaphor of sliced cow culling would be most actors worst nightmare. Indeed, could this have been attempted by any actor not of the caliber of, tortured, flabby-assed, bald Brando. Could you imagine another actor dying so well, following a clean slicing of the neck on that cow? I doubt it and if you disagree, I shall disagree back with twice the vigor!"

"A masterpiece of editing. Was Brando ever there in the first place? One wonders, expecting a negative with confidence."

Please tell me the ending or whole plot if necessary

Lieutenant Willard (Martin Sheen) seeks Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando) with a mission to kill him.

He kills him in the end in bloody bull-filled metaphor.

Quotable quotes (real)

"Charging a man with murder in this place is like giving out speeding tickets at the Indy 500."

What snack should I eat while watching this movie?

Marijuana flavored dry roasted peanuts.

If I were to watch this at home how best should I sit?

In the airplane about to crash position.

How funny is this film?

Not funny. Another movie for the prison lounge - laugh uncontrollably at times to ensure single cell.

Suggest marketing tie-in products based on this movie
Dress up like a VietCong make-up and thong set.
Apocalypse Now stir fry kit
Apocalypse Now Vietnam recipe book (with complementary bottle of super-explosive cognac for flamed meals)
Weird actor lighting kit.
Face and nipple painting kit (prickly/soft brush and nipple wipe editions).
Build a cardboard Vietnam boat kit.
Kurtz all over body balding gel
Would the scary bits make your cat jump out of your lap causing scratch marks? Would your dog like it? Other pets?

Cats will try to wrap cloth around their heads, swing guns over their shoulders and take control of the room.

Dogs would run round in circles not sure what to do to stop the cats, ending up their activity falling to sleep under your legs.

Parrots would learn Colonel Kurtz's words by heart and repeat them until your insanity is assured.

How much would you pay for a copy of this movie in goods?

One pooper scooper with lifetime supply of plastic bags.

Would this movie win awards for performances of the f-word?

The word is used, but not Oscar winningly.

Does the film attempt technobabble? If so does this succeed?

No technobabble. Just point the boat in the general direction and sail on into weird tribal hell.

Other comments

A core movie in most connoisseur's top fifty.

Watch any making of this movie documentary to understand how such a movie can be rescued against all the odds - this movie was once referred to as Apocalypse When due to its shooting overruns.

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