Apocalypse Now

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Apocalypse Now

R

Released Aug 15, 1979

2h 27m

War

Drama

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Popcornmeter

90%

Tomatometer

147 Reviews

94%

Popcornmeter

250,000+ Ratings

In Vietnam in 1970, Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) takes a perilous and increasingly hallucinatory journey upriver to find and terminate Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando), a once-promising officer who has reportedly gone completely mad. In the company of a Navy patrol boat filled with street-smart kids, a surfing-obsessed Air Cavalry officer (Robert Duvall), and a crazed freelance photographer (Dennis Hopper), Willard travels further and further into the heart of darkness.

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Critics Consensus

A voyage to hell where the journey is more satisfying than the destination, Francis Ford Coppola's haunting, hallucinatory Vietnam War epic is cinema at its most audacious and visionary.

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Years and years from now, when Coppola’s budget and his problems have long been forgotten, “Apocalypse” will still stand, I think, as a grand and grave and insanely inspired gesture of filmmaking.

Rated: 4/4

Sep 23, 2024

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Gene Siskel

Chicago Tribune

It's precisely in the last 25 minutes that Apocalypse Now dissolves into gibberish. I've seen the film three times with two different endings, and neither ending has been satisfactory. That's because the problem with the picture isn't at its very end.

Rated: 2.5/4

Sep 23, 2024

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Bruce McCabe

Boston Globe

Some critics fault Coppola for not delivering a seamless, flawless film. But this is to misperceive and misread the film in a crucial way. The film by definition couldn't be flawless. It attempts too much.

Sep 23, 2024

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Megan Fisher

Loud and Clear Reviews

It’s an enthralling, powerful miracle of a movie.

Jan 11, 2025

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Bill Cosford

Miami Herald

Though as high art this movie may have its problems, it is a complete movie, a huge piece of work that is at once a technical masterpiece and a thing of lyrical, lethal beauty. This will be the film to see in 1979.

Sep 23, 2024

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Jeff Simon

Buffalo News

Decompression [after leaving the theater] takes a long time. You're still submerged for quite a while in its climate of oppressive sin and maddened dissolution... The parking lot doesn't seem quite like a parking lot.

Sep 23, 2024

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Esra Y

Both visually and thematically very powerful movie. True masterpiece of cinema.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/29/24

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Alysha S

The story is compelling. Some of the shots also are wonderful.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/26/24

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Елисей Э

8.4/10 снято хорошо но я быдло

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/03/25

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Garrett B

An absolute masterpiece of a film. 🎥

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

12/18/24

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Daniel C. M

This film remains quite a mystery to me, as the 155 minute cut feels too short, but the 3 hour cut feels too long also. The action and effects are something of a true marvel, but it eventually just devolves into a hence and repeat of the same formula over and over again: squad advances to reach Cambodja and Kurtz's Cult HQ (patent pending), they get into a very bad pickle, someone dies or gets injured but they manage to ultimately solve things, repeat. The last 45 minutes are true perfection though, and i dont feel like a need to, nor dont want to spoil, and that's why i recommend this movie. You will never expect and NEED whats in store for the last 45 minutes (Referring to the 155 minute cut, that is).

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

12/17/24

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William B

Masterpiece. One of the best Vietnam war's films.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

11/22/24

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Francis Ford Coppola

Director

Marlon Brando

Colonel Kurtz

Martin Sheen

Captain Willard

Robert Duvall

Lt. Col. Kilgore

Frederic Forrest

Chef

Albert Hall

Chief

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Synopsis

In Vietnam in 1970, Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) takes a perilous and increasingly hallucinatory journey upriver to find and terminate Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando), a once-promising officer who has reportedly gone completely mad. In the company of a Navy patrol boat filled with street-smart kids, a surfing-obsessed Air Cavalry officer (Robert Duvall), and a crazed freelance photographer (Dennis Hopper), Willard travels further and further into the heart of darkness.

Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Producer: Kim Aubry, Francis Ford Coppola
Screenwriter: Joseph Conrad, John Milius, Francis Ford Coppola, Michael Herr
Distributor: United Artists, Miramax Films, Paramount Pictures
Production Co: Zoetrope Studios
Rating: R
Genre: War, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Aug 15, 1979, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 29, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $78.8M
Runtime: 2h 27m
Sound Mix: Surround

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