MovieChat Forums > Apocalypse Now (1979) Discussion > What makes this movie so great?

What makes this movie so great?

posted 9 years ago by dmcarp88
22 replies | jump to latest

First and foremost I'm not hating on this movie in any way shape or form. I liked it. I just don't really get why people love it so much. Just curious and interested in opinions

[–] dudeuhh0977 9 years ago

It's not for everyone. But for me it's everything, some of the greatest actors to grace the screen; Brando, Duvall, Hopper. The cinematography the atmosphere the soundtrack. From top to bottom youd be hard pressed to find a more legitimate war (or anti-war) pic.

[–] criztu 8 years ago

What makes this movie so great?

This movie uses metaphors, symbols, a language, that addresses core instructions of the paradigm in which we function. We recognize them without being aware of most of them.

We've been educated with certain values and principles, and we internalized them to various degrees. Most of us think in terms of "good and evil" or "right and wrong" or "justice and injustice". It's like programmed code: if, then, go to, return.

There are many such values and principles that we are not aware of. For example, "gold is good" - most of us are aware of that association, but what about "purple is divine"?

This story is about the Devil trying to defeat God, can you identify who is the Devil, who is God, in Apocalypse Now?

[–] NomadNomadovic 8 years ago

I dont like it, I hated it, there are some good cinematic shots but writing is quite awful.

It's a long piece of pretentious crap, ending made no sense at all, seemed like director didnt know how to end what he started. As if they were trying really hard to make an art movie, it turned out to be a long piece of nothing.

[–] 8 years ago

[deleted]

[–] davelynch16 8 years ago

I think I did get the ending. The guy who killed Krutz seemed to be caught up in the whole god thing and most likely carried on and took over form Krutz as he seemed to have the power or control over the tribe once he had killed Krutz. I still think it is one of the most overrated movies in history.

[–] jgo-56923 8 years ago

You're second sentence pretty much describes the Vietnam war.

[–] davelynch16 8 years ago

So I unwittingly unravelled the metaphor. I guess if you look at it like that... the movie has a good message.

[–] KBiker (1019) 6 years ago

Yes, pretentious, agreed. Also over the top, such as that whole sequence with the Duvall character. There are other moments too that fit the same bill. I was in Vietnam, and I never saw anything resembling that shit.

Strangely enough, though, I enjoyed it for the raw intensity and for the acting by Sheen, Hopper, Bottoms, even Brando in his few brief moments.

[–] Lester_Burnham_Risen 8 years ago

I just don't really get why people love it so much

---

Because it was so true

I was there so I know

http://www.kindleflippages.com/ablog/

[–] Tenakoto 8 years ago

Watch the Heart of Darkness

[–] Mecte 8 years ago

Better than the movie itself.

[–] BobbyDupea 8 years ago

The idea of transforming Joseph Conrad's novella "Heart of Darkness" into a movie about the Vietnam war is a very good idea, and the execution of the film, from the script to the cinematography, is brilliant also.

My real name is Jeff

[–] Cube_Brick1138 8 years ago

A lot of people (like myself) enjoy the atmosphere of the film. It's a mellow slow descent into madness. Like smoking a joint and listening to The Doors first album. And Sheen's character probing for answers and deconstructing thought patterns is a big part of what happened after Vietnam. Considering all the production problems it's incredible how well Coppola pulled it together. Or maybe it's because of those behind the scenes troubles that the film took on a element of organized chaos.

[–] sami-18 8 years ago

Don't think of it as a war movie. If you do that's a very limited space for it to exist in. Think of it as an art film but also as an allegory for so many other ideas. It doesn't matter that it is happening in a war; you don't come to this film for a documentary on Vietnam. It's a stylized piece of hell depicted. It's Homer's Odyssey and any other number of journey stories. At the end of the day no one has made a film (war film or otherwise) quite like this and it can never be done again in such a way. I suppose its uniqueness is what some people love it so much.