Wednesday, April 3, 2019

Apocalypse Now

Opening:

  • Jungle, lingers on first scene
  • No words, napalm drops on the jungle as the words "this is the end", giving a hostile feeling to the jungle
  • surreal feeling
  • fan blends into helicopter wings and is in sync with helicopter sounds, suggesting that Willard is haunted by what he saw and cannot escape it even when away from war
  • opening shot fades slightly into a shot of the statue at the ending of the film, forshadowing.
  • willard is unshaven and broken
  • photo of his ex wife on bedside table - vietnam has caused his life to fall apart
  • near empty glass of alcohol showing unhealthy coping methods
  • cant get the jungle out of his head suggesting he is suffering from PTSD
  • willard is so tied into the war he is no longer able to function in everyday life
  • sleeps with a gun - shows paranoia
  • willards narrative is a voice over, giving us an insight into his mind
  • is being driven insane by not being in the war
  • his lonely room is reprisentative of his isolation
  • feeling trapped in his room
  • willard breaking his mirror is reprisentative of him seeing himself as broken, and wanting to see himself as such
  • Non-diagetic music
Meeting Kurtz:
  • kurtz is reflective of Willard, both are deeply traumatised from the war, turning Kurtz crazy.
  • Kurtz's voice is detatched and delusional
  • Willards cult are on the offensive, as they are weary of willard
  • |Willard is low down in ranks in this scene, contrasting to the rest of the film where he often has the highest rank and authority
Documentary Notes:
  • kopola was instrumental in breaking away from the hollywood film industry
  • The film was filmed in the Philipines
  • Original set was distroyed by a typhoon
  • Martin Sheen nearly died on set due to a heart attack, and Koppola refused to stop production for it
  • Much of the film was unscripted
  • Koppolas wife says that he turned into Kurtz

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