Apocalypse Now (1979)★ 8.5/10

Finally watched the Redux version (in three sittings because it’s over three hours long). It’s brilliant. It was an absurd, horrific, traumatic war. So well encapsulated in this masterpiece.
Can’t wait for the documentary about the making of the film, Hearts of Darkness.
It was recently re-leased (in 2025) but I haven't found out yet where it is streaming in Canada. Should you know, give me the heads up!

What is this movie?
The film is not specifically about Vietnam, or even war. It is a fever dream of a man who is attempting to understand his place in the world of men and violence. The jungle is a return to the basics of survival as they try to head up river and finish an assignment that seems far too difficult to achieve. Willard needs Kurtz; Kurtz needs to be left outside the scope of mankind and humanity.
No wonder this film still compels after all these years.
No wonder no other filmmaker ever dared to try this again.

Marlon Brandon invented acting and Coppola the use of lighting

I caution against watching it because it will make you question human civilization and the world’s meaning. Without enough philosophical insight, understanding this film and its themes is exhausting. Coppola’s intense pessimism permeates the film. While the message is not hard to grasp, it leaves a deep discomfort due to its terrifying didacticism. Yet, from another angle, it is undeniably a masterpiece.

I completely agree with Roger Ebert's view: modern civilization is a fragile structure perched above nature’s ravenous maw, ready to be devoured at any moment. A happy life in the face of this fragility is merely a daily reprieve. Rather than depicting war, it reveals truths we’d rather not see.

I would caution against watching it, not because of its length, but because you'll start to question the meaning of human civilization and the world after watching it. It's truly exhausting if you aren't sufficiently philosophically inclined. Coppola's strong pessimism permeates the entire film. It's not that it's hard to understand, it's just very distressing to watch. Even its preachiness is terrifying! In this sense, the film is truly great!

The first half is almost a kind of shameless boasting, but everything stagnates once the characters reach the other side, proving it's an empty film made for the sake of a futile war.

A war movie with a deeply philosophical and existential ending. One of the craziest films of Francis Ford Coppola’s filmography.

La tengo que probar

La novela de Joseph Conrad, la disfruté más. Acá, en la película, la ambientación es espectacular.

Una locura de película; o la locura hecha película. Indescriptible, aunque sus efectos están a la vista. En los más de 190 minutos de duración - dependiendo del corte que encuentres - somos arrastrados por una fuerza de la naturaleza que nace desde los primeros planos del film; y que se agiganta con brutalidad hacia ese cuadro final que es ya patrimonio cultural de la humanidad.

Coppola en su versión más "pycho"; un estado que aparentemente supo transmitir a sus actores ya que todos comparten la misma insania en la pantalla.

Una obra excelsa de delirante belleza que se coló a patadas en la historia del cine como una de las películas más importantes de esta era.

Eu alertaria a não assisti-lo, não por causa de sua extensão, mas porque você começa a questionar o significado da civilização humana e do mundo. É realmente exaustivo se você não tiver inclinação filosófica suficiente; o forte pessimismo de Coppola permeia todo o filme. Não é que seja difícil de entender, é apenas muito angustiante. Até mesmo sua pregação é aterrorizante! Nesse sentido, o filme é realmente ótimo!