Apocalypse Now

R

Released Aug 15, 1979

2 hr. 33 min.

War

Drama

List

97%

97 Reviews

Tomatometer

94%

250,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

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

Francis Ford Coppola's haunting, hallucinatory Vietnam War epic is cinema at its most audacious and visionary.

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John H

One of the most haunting war movie ever made. A must see!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/10/24

Full Review

Ramon G

Slow and dull film. Marlon Brando and Martin Sheen's performances are too gestural.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

04/09/24

Full Review

Chris H

A stunning film; deep and rich and deserving of many viewings. There are a few versions floating around and in my humble opinion you want to see the shortest one, which has the best momentum. The story is gripping and the characters are gritty and realistic despite the druggy haze that floats over the whole thing, induced not by illicit substances but by the beautiful and terrifying Vietnam landscape. Watch this film and then read the equally brilliant book (Heart of Darkness, written in 1899 and not, of course, about Vietnam at all) and marvel at how well the film adaptation carries the story over whilst also, on the face of it, changing it completely.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/01/24

Full Review

Sumadhu C

Captivating, thought provoking, and a great movie! A must watch for movie lovers.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/23/24

Full Review

Hao Ian L

Not just a war film, but a depiction of one's unsettling descent into madness. Coppola's Apocalypse Now isn't afraid to be ambiguous, as it unflinchingly questions the nature of good and evil, the cost on the soul brought by the war. It's a film that challenges viewers to confront darkness within war, as well as humanity itself.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/19/24

Full Review

John F

I love it when filmmakers push the envelope and get ambitious. I also love stories with structures based on classic literature. I love great cinematography, acting, dialogue and suspense. I love great scores. Apocalypse Now has it all.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/17/24

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

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Ed Potton

Times (UK)

It’s a masterpiece, whichever way you slice it.

Apr 1, 2024

Full Review

Jay Scott

Globe and Mail

A hallucinatory celebration of irrationality, of pure feeling, and even. perhaps, of insanity.

Aug 11, 2022

Full Review

Amy Taubin

Village Voice

Apocalypse has the expressive extravagance of a Wagner opera-and not merely because the swooping helicopter scene is set to the "Ride of the Valkyries."

Oct 8, 2019

Full Review

Rene Jordan

El Nuevo Herald (Miami)

It doesn't have a central argument, or a point of view, and not one character that the spectator can identify themselves with. [Full review in Spanish]

Jan 18, 2024

Full Review

Cory Woodroof

615 Film

This is the great American nightmare, the ultimate repudiation against anything Vietnam was supposed to accomplish.

Jul 6, 2022

Full Review

Andrew Bloom

The Spool

From the jump, Apocalypse Now conveys the sense of a man riddled with PTSD, who's all but lost himself in the trauma.

Apr 13, 2021

Full Review

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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
Screenwriter: Joseph Conrad, John Milius, Francis Ford Coppola, Michael Herr
Distributor: Miramax Films, United Artists, 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
Sound Mix: Surround

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