RARA-AVIS: Apocalypse Now

From: Mbdlevin@aol.com
Date: 02 May 2002


I hate to chime in on this thread, but I have two cents that no one else has raised (I think)--and maybe pushes the thread toward ontopicity. I saw the Redux version in the theater (last summer?), and hadn't seen the film in maybe a decade or 15 years. In between viewings, I'd read a fair amount of crime fiction and a smattering of books on the Vietnam War. In my recent viewing, Apocalypse Now, which I like quite a bit (preferring the non-redux version) no longer seemed to be a particularly profound statement about the war or U.S. involvement, nor did it seem to be really "accurate"
(understanding that it's allegorical, over-the-top, etc.) in its representations. Instead, the film now strikes me as something akin to good men's adventure fiction. Lonely, roguish assassin given job that other man has failed at. Travels through adventures/episodes--even gets a woman in Redux--and then pulls off his assignment. Voice-over adds to effect. Willard is exceptionally brutal at times, but also vulnerable. Doug

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