A FAMOUS MOVIE: Apocalypse Now

Apocalypse Now, motion picture about the Vietnam War (1959-1975) patterned after Joseph Conrad’s novella Heart of Darkness (1902). Released in 1979, the film won the Golden Palm Award at the Cannes Film Festival and Academy Awards for cinematography and sound. Apocalypse Now, a crew of five men led by Captain Willard (played by Martin Sheen) travel up the Mekong River on a mission to find and kill a renegade United States officer, Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando). Kurtz has set up a tightly controlled, violent kingdom for himself in a riverside village. Willard meets with Kurtz and kills him, but not before his men are affected by the horrors of war and Kurtz’s psychotic character. Director: Francis Ford Coppola Cast Marlon Brando (Colonel Kurtz) Robert Duvall (Lieutenant Colonel Kilgore) Martin Sheen (Captain Willard) Frederic Forrest (Chef) Albert Hall (Chief) Sam Bottoms (Lance) Laurence Fishburne (Clean) Dennis Hopper (Photojournalist) G. D. Spradlin (General) Harrison Ford (Colonel) Scott Glenn (Civilian) Bill Graham (Agent) Cyndi Wood (Playmate) Colleen Camp (Playmate) Linda Carpenter (Playmate) AWARDS: Academy Award for Best Cinematography (1979): Vittorio Storaro Academy Award for Best Sound (1979): Walter Murch, Mark Berger, Richard Beggs, Nat Boxer Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or (1979) Golden Globe Award for Best Director (1980): Francis Ford Coppola Golden Globe Award for Best Music—Original Score (1980): Carmine Coppola, Francis Ford Coppola Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor (1980): Robert Duvall Trivia Hearts of Darkness (1991) is a documentary about the making of Apocalypse Now. Quote Lieutenant Colonel Kilgore: “I love the smell of napalm in the morning … Smells like—victory.”