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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Audience Member

One of the worst movies I have ever seen... wasted 3 hours on this... the cast, the screenplay, the story and the direction... everything was bad...

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

05/04/25

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David P

The first 80% of the movie was probably the best film I have ever seen and I'm 67 years old. The final 20% made little sense and wasn't particularly interesting. There you go.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/24/25

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Lanfranco C

The battles are well shot, but the journey in the human soul is a philosophical failure.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

04/16/25

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Scott M

Terrific film up until the last 30-40 minutes when they get to their destination. Its at that point that I found myself wondering if I was watching the same film. Incoherent speaking. Dull. Brando ruined it.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

04/16/25

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André Ferreira F

Um fantástico filme de guerra! É mais um grande trabalho do Coppola que explora de forma muito interessante a guerra no Vietname. (avaliação: 9/10)

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

04/08/25

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Frans B

This will always remain very close to the top of my list. Closest thing to real Vietnam you are likely to ever witness. Casting is spot on, could not have been better. Absurd enough and harsh enough as well. True classic in every sense of the word. Textbook film making indeed

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/19/25

Full Review

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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

Apocalypse Now: Official Clip - The Photojournalist

2:20

Apocalypse Now: Official Clip - The Horror

4:18

Apocalypse Now: Official Clip - Colonel Kurtz

2:20

Apocalypse Now: Official Clip - The Smell of Napalm In the Morning

2:43

Apocalypse Now: Official Clip - Do Lung Bridge

3:09

Apocalypse Now: Official Clip - Ride of the Valkyries

4:14

Apocalypse Now: Official Clip - Saigon

3:40

Apocalypse Now: Official Clip - Terminate With Extreme Prejudice

2:50

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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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