No CGI. No green screen. The scope and scale and magnitude and vision of this film is jaw-dropping.

Platoon: Entry level intro to Vietnam. FMJ: Hilarious, sadistic satire of Vietnam War. Apocalypse Now: Mystical, hallucinogenic God Mode view of the war.

“There’s war movies and then there is Apocalypse Now” - I can’t remember

I have to say that Martin Sheen was fantastic and gets overlooked by many people.

Since you like reading, the movie is based on the book Heart of darkness written by Joseph Conrad. And it is about a boat trip up Congo river in Afrika.

This is the kind of movie where literally every single frame could be hung on your wall as an individual work of art

This is my favorite movie all-time, hands down. Pure film making will never be like this again. That scene at the Do-Lung Bridge is perhaps the most amazing piece of war-horror film ever; it has to be an allusion to Dante;s Interno, a real "abandon all hope ye who enter here" moment.. Just like Conrad's novel, we're caught in a time warp, journeying into the savage heart of mankind. I love the filming, the bright colors against that deep black contrast. It's beautiful and horrible!

I heard a vet say this movie is the nightmare that he has about his time in Nam and Platoon was what he lived through that gave him the nightmare.

I think he called them "fucking savages" because it wasn't a gun ship they blew up, it was a Medevac

This is the year I stopped giving a sh*t about The Academy Awards, when Kramer vs Kramer won out over Apocalypse Now and All That Jazz. btw... Apocalypse Now is based on Joseph Conrad’s novel Heart of Darkness.

I've seen this movie more times than I can count, and the letter Kurtz writes to his son still gives me chills. It never gets old. Amazing and brutally painful at the same time.

One of my all time favorites. Two stories about Apocalypse Now: I was born in Saigon in 71 to a Vietnamese mom and G.i. Dad. Raised in a house of 15 refugees in the Midwest. Whenever one of the adults in the house went to see a flick to soak up American culture they dragged my little ass with them. So I seen a lot of flicks from 77 to 82. When Deer Hunter came out one of my uncles dragged me along when he went to see it. Afterwards, during the end credits, my uncle bring Vietnamese, he was approached by two white vets and they spoke cordially for a few minutes while I stood at my uncle’s pantlegs. While they spoke I was mystified by a poster on the back wall of the theater of a bald guys head coming out of darkness. It was a poster for the upcoming Apocalypse Now, a movie I would watch countless times through the rest of my childhood and teen years into my twenties and the rest of my life. Fast forward to 2001 when the Redux version is released. It’s been out for a couple weeks and I know nobody is going to see it because people are tasteless and so on one Thursday night I know I better go see it on the big screen since it will most likely leave the theater to fit in Fridays new slate of flicks. I go see it on the night’s last showing and when I walked in the end credits of the previous showing was still rolling and there was about fifteen men all standing at their seats and just viewing the credits in silence. They were Vietnam veteran aged and by their expressions they looked they just had their minds blown. With glee I plopped myself into a seat and prepared to get my own mind blown, and boy did it deliver, remastered, remixed, perhaps the most impressive display of raw mastery of direction I ever witnessed in a multiplex.

Vittorio Storaro was the Director of Photography. The shots of Brando revealing his bald head from shadows was all Storaro's idea. He won the Oscar. Shockingly, "Kramer vs Kramer" won Best Picture over this masterpiece.

that the film even made it into the cinemas is a miracle and in itself almost worth a film. (There is even one, Francis Ford Coppola's wife filmed it) A small excerpt: A typhoon destroyed the entire film set, Martin Sheen suffered had a heart attack during filming and ended up not being there because of a small alcohol problem, so his brother had to repeat his entire film voice. And then of course little diva Marlon Brando. I saw the film in the cinema back then and has been one of my all-time favorites ever since. There are more films that are not so well known but I think you would like a lot. Some things you watch over and over again, this film, Lord of the rings, Band of Brothers, Matrix, Alien ....... But Whenever you're bored, Master and Commander or Das Boot. I think you'd like it. Great reactions, just fun to look at, keep it up! Greetings from good old Germany

Correct, the person yelling at the troops not to look at the camera is indeed Francis Ford Coppola, who directed Apocalypse Now. Having seen all the cuts of this film, I have to say The Final Cut is excellent; it’s the perfect middle ground between the original & the overly long redux cuts.

Just a little bit a information about Vietnam. For one, it was a guerrilla war. The North Vietnamese had an army, the NVA, but the Vietcong (VC) were the insurgent fighters in the south who hid amongst civilians, came out to attack, and slipped back into the Jungle very quickly. The north invaded the south, similar to the korean war. The problem with why the war lasted so long, and for no reason it seemed, was the politicians and bureaucracy behind the whole thing. The US were not allowed to invade the north and end the war because the higher ups were afraid of Chinese intervention, much like korea and they didn't want ww3. So our forces, who were largely unprepared, were forced to fight an enemy they couldn't see, identify, or fight properly at all. This is where you see the controversy as many civilians were killed and displaced due to this. Wars like this are not as "cookie cutter" as wars like ww2 were, not to say one is worse but there isnt a direction to go in or a goal to work towards. Just survive and kill the "enemy". Which is obviously why nothing came of it.

As others are probably suggesting, I URGE you to watch this again via the THEATRICAL Cut. The movie's good enough to watch again, of course, but the flow of Theatrical is absolutely relentless.

I am an amateur film maker and seeing this I had the exact same reaction as you. Specially the "I won't make anything close to this" honestly watching this film humbles you as an aspiring filmaker and the documentary which her wife made "hearts of darkness" makes you realize what it takes to achieve the ultimate greatness and also that maybe you probably won't have the stone to make the same sacrifices

I first saw this film when I was in college in the early to mid-90s. It was considered an old film even then. WOW did it blow me away, though. I had no idea movies could be elevated to such an art form. EVERYTHING about this film is masterful, from the acting to the cinematography to the light, acting, dialogue, music, plot, symbolism... it's just next level. Even now, nearly 30 years later, I have no hesitation about calling this my favorite film of all time.

the venture up the river was meant to be so chaotic the viewer would be beset with confusion , no sound anchor , adrift in it , then Bam ! the puppy scene and all focus went to it.. a safe harbor, sanity , innocence ! genius !

2001 space odyssey is the only other film that gave me the same 'this film has entered my soul' feeling. Watch it!

As I miss the old school of filmmaking, everything was filmed in a real way.

If you haven't seen "Taxi Driver" it should be on your radar, it's one of the hallmarks of film making.

The Do Lung Bridge scene is one of my favorite parts. I liken this movie really to something like Dante's Inferno really. The complete chaos at the bridge to the underworld is a way to stop travelers before entering the hell Kurtz, the shadow of mankind, inhabits. Most men won't cross it, too much insanity. It is the River Styx, the place where you enter the unconscious mind. Only if you accept the irrationality you can survive. As you see guys like Roach, who doesn't even really have to think about where he's firing his grenade launcher he's just zoned out. Or the guys jumping into the water, swimming to the boat hoping for a way out of this place.

Apocalypse Now, My favourite film of all time

For me, Apocalypse Now (the original theatrical cut) sits alongside '2001 A Space Odyssey,' 'The Godfather,' 'Vertigo,' 'Sunrise,' 'The Seventh Seal', '8 1/2', and a handful of films that I think are not only great entertainment but just magnificent works of art. As a study of insanity and moral philosophy there's no other war movie as interesting.

The Nam! At 20, changed me. At 74, even now, it haunts my soul.

This is the best reaction I’ve seen to my favorite movie of all time. Great stuff sir

This is my number one film of all time, scoring 99/100 on my criteria, every frame a painting, the dialogue poetry, the story visceral and beautiful.

It was funny that you didn't realize Coppola was the director until you saw his cameo scene.

This movie is an all-time favorite of mine- it's so easy to forget nowadays, with CGI aplenty, that in some shots there actually ARE 20+ helicopters flying around!

One of the inaccuracies in the film was the scene where one of Kilgore's Huey choppers lifted their boat and dropped it into the river. The Vietnam war PBR vessels weighed about 16,000 lbs and the Huey had a max. lift capacity of about 4,000 lbs. To lift one of those boats they would have needed something bigger like a Chinook.

At the theater when it first came out it shows the entire compound being destroyed by bombs I saw it twice so Captain Willard called in the airstrike, as far as films go this is the greatest for myself because of the entire production of it , thanks for sharing your reaction! Awesome!

"They were gonna make me a Major for this. And I wasn't even in their f**k*n' Army anymore."

One of my favourite movie of all time. Martin Sheen and Brando was pure gold.

You should 100% watch Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse - it's a documentary about the making of Apocalypse Now. Francis Ford Coppola's wife took a camera and started documenting everything happening during production from the start of getting funding to the last days of shooting and editing. It was a HARROWING experience for Coppola, who had to deal Marlon Brando's diva behavior and so much other stuff and problems he nearly went mad. It's amazing.

I just watched it again yesterday since 12 years...its Def in my top 5 of all time. An absolute masterpiece.

Martin Sheen left the production before the voiceover could be recorded, so Coppola hired his brother Joe Estevez to record it. That's his voice every time you hear the narration. Joe's drinking problem was at its worst then, and during the day of recording he got so drunk he was slurring his words. Coppola finally got fed up and fumed "Can't you say the words, Joe? Can't you even say the f***ing words?" (Estevez himself tells this story during interviews.) When this movie was made, it was reported that the budget had surpassed 30 million, which at the time was an absolutely unheard of sum for a movie. The rumors of trouble during location shooting were such that curiosity was high as to what Coppola would finally come up with. The musical score is by Coppola's father, Carmine. I sat through the movie twice in a row when it came out. You could do that in those days. I much prefer the shorter theatrical cut to this extended one, which seems very padded to me. Dennis Hopper is definitely the guy from "Blue Velvet." You should check out his best known film, the classic "Easy Rider" which he directed and starred in (with Peter Fonda and Jack Nicholson). Did this version end with the air strike? In the original cut, there's a napalm attack during the closing credits.

Luke - great go through on this. BTW - at 19:48, that 'guy' is the first assassin sent by the General to kill Kurtz. Remember he sent back the letter..."sell the kids, sell the home...I'm not coming back" That is him...transformed by Kurtz

This movie actually pioneered music with movies

All real elements in this movie, and the first movie to use Dolby 5.1 sound system

Apocalypse changed my life back in 1979. Glad you dug it.

Yes, you need to see 'Hearts Of Darkness' about the strenuous making of this movie. It's on KZfaq.

In the original theater premier the ending did in fact have the airstrike bombing of that entire area because I watched it at the theater when if first came out at least half a dozen times. That was the only thing that still pisses me off to this day was that none of these movie versions has that ending in it. The bombs were dropped in unison with the errie music going on in the background as I watched the entire area going up into dust and rubble.

I don't know if it is because he is bald in this film, but every time I see Marlon Brandon in this production, he reminds me a lot of Mussolini.

Green smoke: LZ clear, no enemy Yellow smoke: Enemy fire possible Red smoke: LZ closed to dangerous to land.

Great reaction. Reminds me of the experience I had watching it the first time way back when. I still get chills every time I hear Morisson start "This is the end..."

I have 3 versions of Apocalypse Now, and the documentary "Hearts of Darkness." Glad that you had the pleasure of seeing it

It won exactly two Oscars in 1980: cinematography (at least) to Vittorio Storaro and best sound. Now prepare to be sickened: Best picture winner: Kramer vs Kramer. (Apocalypse Now nominated) Supporting actor: Melvyn Douglas for Being There (did not attend). Duvall nominated. Sheen not nominated Brando not nominated Best director: Robert Benton (Kramer vs Kramer), Coppola nominated

This version was the "Redux" re-release with some 45-50 minutes of cut footage restored 22 years after the original release (I saw both versions in theaters, thank God). Also, the original cut had a negative image of the village being blown to hell behind the credits, leaving us to consider if that was literal.

Great reaction to an outstanding film. I saw it when it was released, in a one-screen cinema showplace. Awesome. Glad to see your appreciation of the complete film making process.

The film did deservingly win Oscars for its sound and cinematography.

Your actually watching "Apocalypse Now Redux" with nearly 30 minutes of non theatrical film restored into the movie. Just my opinion but the theatrical cut was better. Redux has a few subplots/scenes that were clearly cut for a reason.

Check out Jodorovsky's The Holy Mountain. The visual design is absolutely nuts. Watch as much as you need to of the trailer, but go in blind otherwise. It's a trip.

the atmosphere of this film is amazing...wont ever forget first time I saw (c. 1980)

My dad, who served 2 tours of duty in Vietnam considered this movie the accurate representation of what life was like during his time in country

Marlon Brando showed up so overweight for his scenes they had to shoot him nearly entirely in darkness/shadow.

Coppola has directed so many epic masterpiece films with “The Godfather” being my all-time favorite, but “Apocalypse Now” is Francis Ford Coppola’s grand OPUS. The combination finished product and the long, mind bending journey to get it made may never happen again.

You have humility about your historical knowledge and that is most important.

Check out Martin Sheen in Badlands. The crazy photographer was Dennis Hopper, wrote, directed and starred in Easy Rider, the top earning independent movie of all time.

NOOOOOOO! Why do none of the current crop of reviewers have a clue as to what happened with the sampan? The PBR crews job was to search all boats to try and interdict the flow of guns, ammo and other war supplies into South VietNam from the Communist North to the Viet Cong. A tremendously dangerous, unimaginably stressful job. At any moment anyone on any of the sampans they searched each day might pull the pin on a grenade or whip an AK out from inside a basket and blow the sailors away. Clean wasn’t “obviously just waiting to shoot someone”. He was doing his job protecting himself and his buddies. The young girl did something very dumb that she would have known better than to do. She had known war her entire life. She should have known how to behave in a situation like that. Instead she totally unexpectedly ran toward another part of the boat. Every sailor was on a hair trigger and in another situation just like this Clean would have just saved their lives. Remember the pretty young Viet Cong girl that tossed the grenade into the helicopter, burning everyone on it to death? THAT WAS VIETNAM. You reacted or you and/or your friends died or were maimed for life. In my opinion you should have watched the original version that established the films reputation as the masterpiece it was, not the redux version.

Your enthusiasm is as infectious as it is sincere. And now that you have beheld it, permit me to call your attention to a hilarious 20-minute spoof of it from 1980 by independent filmmaker Ernie Fosselius, who two years before had scored a hit with the now-classic short, Hardware Wars. Having lambasted Mr. Lucas, he then caricatured Mr. Coppola with a magnum opus of his own - Porklips Now, starring former child actor Billy Gray (from The Day the Earth Stood Still) in the Martin Sheen role. And that is absolutely all I shall tell you about it. When I was much younger, I saw the farce before I saw the epic, and understood very little. But once I had viewed Apocalypse Now itself, upon returning to the short film, I roared my fool head off. I now wish you the same experience. Good viewing! 😁 🙂

This is NOT the original release. A lot of extra scenes in this (nudity with the women, fighting over the surfboards, French family). IMHO they were left out for good reason, because they definitely mess up the pacing of the film which was perfect to begin with. The movie was loosely based on the book Heart of Darkness which takes place in Africa in the 19th century. The photographer at the end played by Dennis Hopper (the guy from Blue Velvet) was based very loosely on war photographer Sean Flynn, who went missing in the jungle and was never found. Loved your enthusiasm for the movie.. one of the greats for sure.

Never decide your favorite film will always be your favorite film. Films change and so do you.

For many years I've held that there were only three possible correct answers to "What's the best movie of all time?": Apocalypse Now, The Godfather, or The Godfather Part II. It wasn't until a couple years after I developed that belief when I realized that all three were directed by the same man. Apocalypse Now is infinitely re-watchable, too. I've probably seen it at least 50 times in my life, and I still notice something new every time I run through it again. I hope you have watched "Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse" by now. It really drives home exactly how much passion went into this production, and how difficult it was on everybody involved (and how Apocalypse Now probably couldn't be made today).

Martin Sheen had both a nervous breakdown and a heart attack during the filming of this scene. It's pretty much right there on film in the opening hotel scene. Amazing movie. Great to see people reacting to it!

I loved your face when you saw Coppola, yes Dennis Hopper was in Blue Velvet and Easy Rider.

Btw: Mr. Clean is Lawrence Fishburn.

It was directed by a semi famous director named Frankie Capicolla.

Wow someone actually watched the redux cut. I have never watched the theatrical cut

3:54 Saying "He's got a force with him" while Harrison Ford's speaking.

Great score. Yes. The River sequences are scored by percussionists of the Grateful Dead

Dennis Hopper was also in Rebel Without A Cause early on in his career. He also made Waterworld (a really bad movie) worth watching.

21:04 - what i hear on every job interview.

If you like this film, you might enjoy Barry Lyndon by Stanley Kubrick. Cinematography in it may be greatest ever. Kubrick adapted Zeiss biogon 5.6/60 lenses developed for the Apollo program to be used with his motion picture cameras. Numerous scenes in the film were lit only by candle light, fireplaces, oil lamps etc. Kubrick was trying to add to the authenticity of his period film. The resulting scenes look almost like the paintings of Rembrandt van Rijn. Most effective use of light and shadow you will ever see in cinema. There was absolutely no artificial lighting used during the filming. Apocalypse Now is definitely a masterpiece especially for the dark scenes which reinforce the equally dark psychology of its protagonist and antagonist. But Barry Lyndon is not to be overlooked.

And of course "Clean" (who gets killed on the boat) was played by Laurence Fishburne.

You should have done the Theatrical Release. The additional footage adds nothing to the story. In fact it takes away from it. It's pointless, and makes it less of a movie and, in a way, ruins it. It's a shame, because now you can't unsee it. But you need to go back, sometime later, after you've seen some of the documentaries, and see it as it was originally shown. The rope didn't give out. They cut it. But when you talk about choices, Harvey Keitel was going to be Willard. They had already shot scenes. The sound track was done by The Rhythm Devils, members of The Grateful Dead.

Oliver Stone, a Vietnam war veteran has made 3 films focusing on the Vietnam War “Platoon”, “Born on the Fourth of July” and “Heaven & Earth”. You should watch those.

By the way, Apocalypse Now is an adaptation of Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, only they changed the settings to the Vietnam war, and the purpose of the main mission.

Congratulations. Probably the best reaction to a movie I have seen yet Mister. New subscriber to yer channel.

The Playbou host was Bill Graham.

Firstly the selection of film A. Secondly subbed Breakdown and hyperbole A++++

It might be apocryphal, but Martin Sheen was tripping on acid when they shot the early scene in the hotel.

This was some extended cut. The nude scene with the women wasn’t in the original. Just the previous scene of the Playboy Bunnies entertaining the troops.

That was my first reaction on seeing AN : "That was the greatest movie I've ever seen". Love Matrix, Godfather, Lord of the Rings, 2001, but Apocalypse Now - OMG😲. Incredible!

I'm sure someone may have already mentioned it in the comments, but the film was directed by Francis Ford Coppola ( The Godfather, Rumble Fish, The Conversation). But as everyone else has said, AP is cinematic gold, and it's an incredible philosophical tale that is told through the vessel of the Vietnam War.

When I saw this in 1979 the last scene was of the whole Kurtz compound blowing up. That cut is no longer in circulation. This is the best movie from 1979, but some other good ones include The China Syndrome, And Justice for All, Going in Style, The Black Stallion, and of course Alien.

Not sure if you're open too movie suggestions or have a patreon for that but I'd highly suggest looking into Bone Tomahawk. One of my favorite genre mashes of western & horror.

Brando showed up GIANT fat, refused to learn his lines. Coppola was already about to commit suicide. It just kept getting more and more insane.

There is one more Vietnam classic that no one seems to have done a reaction video for, inexplicably: The Deer Hunter, with De Niro, Walken and Streep. Best Picture winner for '78. Intense. Definitely pop that one on your list, since you've seen the others. Some people think Deer Hunter is the best of all the Vietnam movies. I go back and forth between Apocalypse and Deer Hunter. (Coming Home is the other Vietnam movie of the period, although it's about vets, once they're home). Great reaction video! I love it when it's someone who knows about movie making! PS: The version you did is not the theatrical version. All the stuff in the French plantation was not in the actual movie (which is a good thing). The ideal cut would be to have as much of the Robert Duvall stuff that exists, but to keep out the French plantation sequence, in my opinion. Also....I always have felt Brando lets the movie down. I love the build-up UNTIL they get to Brando. If you see "Hearts Of Darkness" (the documentary you mentioned, about the making of the movie), you'll see how he let the movie down, by showing up not prepared. This was the period when Brando would intentionally hold up movies so that he could make more money. But other than that, the direction of this movie is incredible (and the acting).

Just put 'Apocalypse Now' in a category by itself from any other movie ever made. Because it is.

You mentioned the soundtrack: the River sequences were done by the drummers of the Grateful Dead

vittorio storaro is the cinematographer - he did the Last Emperor which is also a masterpiece

the playboy scene represents what war does to a man

"Arguably the last great American movie." Mahnola Darghis - LA Weekly

added bonus: NO CGi :-) and you can see why this won a Best Cinematography Oscar that year (and yes, it's the legendary F F Coppola who directed)

It's one of the greatest movies of all time

Did you notice Harrison Ford's nametag?

That movie was hard to make cost a lot. Robert Duval the best actor ever!

Bro, you are right. It's the best movie ever and it's incredible how it came out so perfectly, considering the chaos of the production. It was cool to see it have such an impact on you. Not sure if you're aware that you watched the "Redux" version, which has tons of extended material (the French plantation, stealing Kilgore's surfboard, etc). The theatrical version is much tighter, but there are some unforgettable shots and moments from the Redux. I haven't seen the "Final Cut" version yet (which came out last year) but supposedly it's a balance between the two. The "Hearts of Darkness" documentary should blow your mind. (Actually, that would make a genius reaction video.)