Create a new account

It's simple, and free.

Apocalypse Now

Francis Ford Coppola's long overdue, substantially over-budgeted, $30 million Vietnam war epic, Apocalypse Now, was finally released in America in the summer of 1979. For director Coppola, the film threatened to become a personal Waterloo -- both financially and creatively. Originally budgeted at $12 million, Coppola risked his own assets, by borrowing $18 million against his homes, yacht, properties and residuals on prior films, in order to complete the project. He also seemed to lose control over the direction of the film, at one point admitting, "the film was making itself", and it is easy to draw parallels between difficulties in concluding the movie and those encountered in ending the actual war (Dowling 28). But Coppola survived the risky artistic adventure. Partially due to Coppola's reputation, and partially due to public expectations that Apocalypse would be the ultimate Vietnam film, the movie did draw enough people to the box office to prevent financial disaster. In fact, the film became a financial success. However, substance is another matter, and it is unlikely that Apocalypse Now will ever be considered as being among Coppola's better works.

For a relatively long movie, two hours and ten minutes, the plot remained rather thin. The theme Coppola developed was that America's Vietnam involvement was insane - a journey into madness. At least, that was the intent. Originally, the script was based on Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, but it was reworked to such an extent that any recognizable connection evaporated. While Coppola did portray insanity and madness, these qualities sprang from the nature of the characters he chose to create, and were not strongly linked to the purpose or nature of U.S. involvement in Vietnam -- which was not even touched upon in the film.

The theme was developed largely around two characters: Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) and Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando). Kurtz, once a Gree...

Page 1 of 7 Next >

More on Apocalypse Now...

Loading...
APA     MLA     Chicago
Apocalypse Now. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 10:48, March 29, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1687193.html