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I loved "Apocalypse Now" as a statement of the idiocy of politics and war, which forces humans to shed the thin layer of culture and humanity. Sone interesting

by jcynix 4y ago

I loved "Apocalypse Now" as a statement of the idiocy of politics and war, which forces humans to shed the thin layer of culture and humanity. Sone interesting tidbits I learned after watching the movie (many years ago): The movie's is based on Conrad's book "Heart of Darkness" (nothing new), which was regarded as a critique of the Belgian exploitation of (and atrocities in) the Congo region at the end of the 19th century, cf. these Wikipedia articles https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atrocities_in_the_Congo_Free_State https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atrocities_in_the_Congo_Free_S... and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_of_Darkness https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_of_Darkness And, btw, the last chapter of Barbara Tuchman's excellent book "The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam" contains an interesting reminiscense of how and why the US intervened in Vietnam.

Maursault 4y ago
> which was regarded as a critique of the Belgian exploitation of (and atrocities in) the Congo region at the end of the 19th century >> Apocalypse Now’ is an exceptional film. It is also an average American film of the post-Vietnam era. >>> We are accustomed to look upon the shackled form of a conquered monster, but there—there you could look at a thing monstrous and free. >>>> It's judgement that defeats us. I think Serge Daney, and whomever those regarders were, are missing the point and being somewhat contradictory. There are a number of Viet Nam era Viet Nam war films (from the 1970's alone: The Losers, Limbo, Forced Entry, Coming Home, Tracks, Search and Destroy, The Visitors, etc.), and Apocalypse Now is atypical to all of them. The film is a retelling of Hearts of Darkness. The War in Viet Nam is just the setting, the backdrop or stage for Apocalypse Now, but the film is not about that war. What is central to both Coppola and Conrad, what they are saying, quite simply and even cynically, is that there is no difference between the savages and the civilized. We can segue that into theses on racism, but the ultimate message (of both the novel and the film) is that civilization is an illusion; there are only savages.
subsubzero 4y ago
There are so many great scenes in the movie, the surfing off the coast of Vietnam while blasting Ride of the Valkyries from helicopters, the french lady who lives in the jungle (rubber plantation) in a world that has long since changed although she hasn't. And of course the acting, Brando, Sheen and Hopped all putting in amazing performances. The trick is to find the right version, original, redux and final cut all have different scenes, and wildly different lengths.

by jcynix 4y ago

Maursault 4y ago

> which was regarded as a critique of the Belgian exploitation of (and atrocities in) the Congo region at the end of the 19th century >> Apocalypse Now’ is an exceptional film. It is also an average American film of the post-Vietnam era. >>> We are accustomed to look upon the shackled form of a conquered monster, but there—there you could look at a thing monstrous and free. >>>> It's judgement that defeats us. I think Serge Daney, and whomever those regarders were, are missing the point and being somewhat contradictory. There are a number of Viet Nam era Viet Nam war films (from the 1970's alone: The Losers, Limbo, Forced Entry, Coming Home, Tracks, Search and Destroy, The Visitors, etc.), and Apocalypse Now is atypical to all of them. The film is a retelling of Hearts of Darkness. The War in Viet Nam is just the setting, the backdrop or stage for Apocalypse Now, but the film is not about that war. What is central to both Coppola and Conrad, what they are saying, quite simply and even cynically, is that there is no difference between the savages and the civilized. We can segue that into theses on racism, but the ultimate message (of both the novel and the film) is that civilization is an illusion; there are only savages.

subsubzero 4y ago

There are so many great scenes in the movie, the surfing off the coast of Vietnam while blasting Ride of the Valkyries from helicopters, the french lady who lives in the jungle (rubber plantation) in a world that has long since changed although she hasn't. And of course the acting, Brando, Sheen and Hopped all putting in amazing performances. The trick is to find the right version, original, redux and final cut all have different scenes, and wildly different lengths.