Apocalypse Now (1979)

 

 

During the Vietnam War a captain is sent on a dangerous mission into Cambodia to assassinate a renegade colonel who has set himself up as a god among a local tribe.

I remember: Due to the advance hype for 'Francis Ford Coppola's Vietnam' movie the film did not fully live up to the expectations, but did provide unforgettable scenes and an feverish atmosphere of war madness.

On rewatching: Over the decades this movie has grown on me, although I still see it as a somewhat messy masterpiece; and: the French plantation scene in the final cut version is superfluous containing unnecessary pretensions.
 

Halliwell**: "Pretentious war movie, made even more hollow-sounding by the incomprehensible performance of Brando as the mad martinet. Some vivid scenes along the way, and some interesting parallels with Conrad's Heart of Darkness, but these hardly atone for the director's delusion that prodigal expenditure of time and money will result in great art. (The movie took so long to complete it was dubbed Apocalypse Later.)"

Maltin***1/2: "...a mesmerizing odyssey of turbulent, often surreal encounters. Unfortunately, film's conclusion - when he does find Brando - is cerebral and murky. Still, a great movie experience most of the way, with staggering, Oscar-winning photography by Vittorio Storaro."