Apocalypse Now

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Apocalypse Now

R

1979

2h 27m

War

Drama

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Popcornmeter

91%

Tomatometer

148 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

09/23/2024

4/4

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.

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Gene Siskel

Chicago Tribune

09/23/2024

2.5/4

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.

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Bruce McCabe

Boston Globe

09/23/2024

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.

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Carson Timar

ClapperCast

Dec 17

A projection of madness, Apocalypse Now is perhaps the most important text in Coppola's filmography and remains an incredibly worthy and relevant journey through the jungle, which looks at the nature of both power and chaos.

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Megan Fisher

Loud and Clear Reviews

Jan 11

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

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Kelsey W.

@moonlit Dec 15

First 2/3rds of the movie are stellar. The last bit is a hard watch.

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Harry H.

@Movies10 Nov 20

Hot Take 🔥 i do not like this movie very long very drawn out

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Jack F

@MovieFan111 Nov 17

Like The Deer Hunter, this movie is not your typical war film, mainly because the movie doesn't focus on the war itself. You obviously need to watch it of you like movies.

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Dean S

Nov 11

The greatest Vietnam film of them all. The helicopter scene WOW!!!! The end scene WOW!!! "Never get out of the boat. Absolutely goddamn right. Unless you were going all the way” 10/10 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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Merick H

Nov 9

Visually stunning and just completely engrossing from beginning to end! Brilliantly captures the absurdity and hypocrisy of war...

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Colin S

Oct 22

Apocalypse Now is a film that draws you in the moment the first scene opens with the burning jungle and the music of "The End" by The Doors. Director Coppola shows the craziness of war through the journey of Captain Willard and the cinematography is brilliant. Everything seems heavy as the helicopter attack plays "Ride of the Valkyries" to Kurtz's eventual death. The cinematography and sound make you feel it was real and like you were there. 4.5 stars for the raw emotion, brilliant visuals, and the way it depicts the madness of war.

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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
Screenwriter: Joseph Conrad, John Milius, 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): $74.4K
Runtime: 2h 27m
Sound Mix: Surround

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