Apocalypse Now (1979) *1/2

Apocalypse Now is the infamous 1979 Vietnam War epic Francis Ford Coppola helmed. There isn't enough space to detail the problems the film had but to be fair to Coppola this film is, yes, one fot the FIRST MAJOR films on Vietnam. Even years after the war ended, the studios were too nervous to do ANY film on the subject. So that the film is disappointing on many levels has to be seen in perspective. The film centers on Martin Sheen as Captain Willard sent to find mystery man (Marlon Brando). Many have found this is a hypnotic, exisential interpretation of the war-is-hell genre. Granted, there are moments of brilliance like Robert Duvall muttering his now-classic napalm line. But this film is, basically, an incoherent mess and one that relies too much on style. It's not deep or penetrating or even unpatriotic - it is a self-indulgent piece of idiocy and Brando's absurdist rants at the end actually come off as slightly sane compared to some of the silliness filmed earler. Not recommended except for film historians. Harrison Ford has a crucial cameo at the beginning.