by Alexandrea Riggan

“The horror… The horror…” were the last words spoken in the 1979 film by Francis Ford Coppola, Apocalypse Now.   Horror is a wonderful choice in words to sum up the ending and feelings one may experience during this film.  Although it is considered a fictional movie, the content represented throughout the American war film is based on the true reality and struggles of the Vietnam War.  With its vivid depiction of death, communication, and violence, Apocalypse Now takes the viewer into the world of realism about the combat and suffering in what could be considered as one of the most horrific wars in American history.  After watching the film, one could consider it to be an effective piece of art that represents the time period and historical relevancies of the war.

The representation of death throughout the film is probably accurate to how men were slain in the war.  As a viewer, one thing that is compelling is the desensitizing feeling about those who are killed.  The world and war doesn’t end just because an individual is murdered in combat.  The lead character, Captain Willard, shows this desensitization by the lack of emotion shown when members of his crew are slaughtered.  Perhaps being desensitized about seeing someone die creates the barrier between emotional and mental control over the human body.  Out of his crewmen, Willard could be considered the one most in control of every situation and always puts his mind over emotions.  One example is the scene where he shoots the woman in the peddler boat instead of trying to save her.   During this moment, he was calm and remained his composure unlike the rest of the crewmen.

Communication was also an important key to this film.  Communication between individuals about the mission’s objective was sparse, and the internal communication of Captain Willard displayed the acts of reason.  The secretive communication could be considered alarming to the viewers. It created an unsure feeling about the plan of terminating Colonel Kurtz.  The lack of clarifying information contained in the “classified” folders made it suspicious of what the viewer is supposed to see and if it should remain hidden.  The internal communication of Captain Willard showed the last bit of sanity he held within his mind.  Through his thoughts, the viewers can see the how Colonel Kurtz reached the point of his insanity.  In the end, Willard was able to hold on to his lucidity and not assume the position of Kurtz.

Horror is certainly a great word that sums up the feelings that were represented in Apocalypse Now and the Vietnam War.  To someone that didn’t live in the time of the Vietnam War, this film is a great representation of the graphic violence and death that occurred during that brutal conflict.  This film can also be considered a piece of art because the detailed scenes correctly portrayed the mental and emotional struggles in a war zone.


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