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Movies / On DVD / Apocalypse Now
Apocalypse Now

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Apocalypse Now (1979)

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Reviews Counted:60

Fresh:59

Rotten:1

Average Rating:8.7/10

Runtime: 2 hrs 35 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: Francis Ford Coppola's Vietnam epic, loosely based on HEART OF DARKNESS by Joseph Conrad, tells the story of Captain Willard (Martin Sheen), a special agent sent into Cambodia to assassinate an... Francis Ford Coppola's Vietnam epic, loosely based on HEART OF DARKNESS by Joseph Conrad, tells the story of Captain Willard (Martin Sheen), a special agent sent into Cambodia to assassinate an errant American colonel (Marlon Brando). Willard is assigned a navy patrol boat operated by Chief (Albert Hall) and three hapless soldiers (Frederic Forrest, Sam Bottoms, and Larry Fishburne). They are escorted on part of their journey by an air cavalry unit led by Lt. Colonel Kilgore (Robert Duvall), a gung-ho commander with a love of Wagner, surfing, and napalm. After witnessing a surreal USO show featuring Playboy playmates and an anarchic battle with the Viet Cong at a bridge, Willard reaches Colonel Kurtz's compound. A crazed photo journalist and Kurtz groupie (Dennis Hopper) welcomes the crew, and Willard begins to question his orders to "terminate the colonel's command." The grueling production and Coppola's insistence on authenticity led to vast budget overruns and physical and emotional breakdowns. Considered to be one of the best war movies of all time, APOCALYPSE NOW features incredible performances and beautifully chaotic visuals that make it an absolute must-see. In August 2001, a new version of the film, title APOCALYPSE NOW REDUX, was released. The new version includes 49 minutes of never-before-seen footage, a Technicolor enhancement, and a six-channel soundtrack. [More]

Starring: Marlon Brando, Martin Sheen, Robert Duvall, Frederic Forrest

Starring: Marlon Brando, Martin Sheen, Robert Duvall, Frederic Forrest, Dennis Hopper, Scott Glenn, Harrison Ford, Laurence Fishburne, Sam Bottoms, Lee Ermey

Director: Francis Ford Coppola

Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Producer: Francis Ford Coppola
Story: Joseph Conrad
Screenwriter: Francis Ford Coppola
Composer: Carmine Coppola, Francis Ford Coppola

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Nov 9, 1999

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Apocalypse Now

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1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z)
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Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 

Despite its commercial success, it was perhaps the last grand artistic folly that Hollywood would tolerate, and a golden age of American filmmaking soon stumbled to a close.

Full Review Source: eye WEEKLY | comment Comment
08/16/01
Jason Anderson
Jason Anderson
eye WEEKLY

A loony, foolhardy, giant-sized masterpiece.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
09/11/01
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

...it's wonderful to see this hallucinatory folly-cum-near masterpiece again on the big screen.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Geoff Andrew
Geoff Andrew
Time Out

An Audio-Visual War Poem

Full Review Source: Hollywood Report Card | comment Comment
07/27/01
Ross Anthony
Ross Anthony
Hollywood Report Card

...arguably the most effective opening in movie history.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
04/03/02
William Arnold
William Arnold
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

The power of this film cannot be denied, and once seen, it is not easily forgotten.

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
01/01/00
Ali Barclay
Ali Barclay
BBC

What the excitement was about was the unspoken belief that this film would put a cap on the most exciting decade in American film, that it would sum up everything that had come before and influence everything that came after...

Full Review Source: Salon.com | comment Comment
01/17/02
Allen Barra
Allen Barra
Salon.com
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Apocalypse Now has a philosophical underpinning that sets it apart from other recent cinematic evaluations of the American involvement in Vietnam.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
01/27/04
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

As technically complex and masterful as any war film I can remember.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
01/15/02
Vincent Canby
Vincent Canby
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Apocalypse Now packs every bit as much punch now as it did in 1979

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
01/01/00
Laura Clifford
Laura Clifford
rec.arts.movies.reviews

Coppola's direction is impeccable, capturing both the intimate detail, overarching spectacle and layered depth of meaning, often all in one shot.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
12/10/01
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall

A paradox of beauty and horror.

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
06/13/02
Ryan Cracknell
Ryan Cracknell
Apollo Guide

Apocalypse Now (1979) is producer/director Francis Ford Coppola's visually beautiful, ground-breaking masterpiece with surrealistic and symbolic sequences

Full Review Source: Tim Dirks' The Greatest Films | comment Comment
01/01/00
Tim Dirks
Tim Dirks
Tim Dirks' The Greatest Films

The film has one of the most haunting endings in cinema, a poetic evocation of what Kurtz has discovered, and what we hope not to discover for ourselves.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The score is wonderous, the production design solid and never overdone, and the cinematography is just wow....when it comes to a movie about war this is a real masterpiece.

Full Review Source: Dark Horizons | comment Comment
11/24/01
Garth Franklin
Garth Franklin
Dark Horizons

It is more clear than ever that Coppola and company created a profound metaphor for the entire Vietnam experience -- but were ahead of their time.

Full Review Source: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle | comment Comment
01/17/02
Jack Garner
Jack Garner
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

There is greatness in Apocalypse Now, but there is also madness, and they feed off each other.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
07/13/09
Rob Gonsalves
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com

Apocalypse Now is a frenzied, free-based ode to the grieving soldier and his need-to-numb.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
08/21/01
Ed Gonzalez
Ed Gonzalez
Slant Magazine

I remember leaving the theater feeling shocked, bewildered, confused and, though I was amazed and thrilled by the action, the ending somehow left me unsettled.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/08/02
Chris Gore
Chris Gore
Film Threat

Apocalypse Now is a mixed bag, a product of excess and ambition, hatched in agony and redeemed by shards of brilliance.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
01/17/02
Edward Guthmann
Edward Guthmann
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z)
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