![[box cover]](../../reviewimgs/a/apocalypsenow.jpg)
Apocalypse Now
Based loosely on Joseph Conrad's novella Heart of Darkness, Apocalypse Now is an expressionist masterpiece, bothering not so much with the minutiae of war, but rather the surreal absurdities and horrors such cruel situations can exact on a man's mind. Martin Sheen stars as Army Special Forces Capt. Willard, whose mission to locate and terminate AWOL renegade US military hero Col. Walter Kurtz (Marlon Brando) takes him on a picaresque journey from the madness of Saigon upriver to the forbidden jungles of Cambodia. On this ride, Coppola stages some of the grandest, most riveting and aesthetically well-wrought set-pieces on film, and on an awe-inspiring, epic scale. Co-written by Coppola with John Milius, and magically photographed by Vittorio Storaro. Also starring Frederick Forrest, Laurence Fishburne, and Dennis Hopper as Kurtz' manic acolyte. Presented in a crystal-clear Storaro-supervised (and approved) 2.0:1 anamorphic widescreen and a terrific Dolby Digital 5.1 remix. Includes trailers, excerpts from the original theatrical program (the 70mm print was shown without credits), and bonus scenes from the destruction of the Kurtz compound with a commentary by Coppola (which, regrettably, isn't very insightful).
—Gregory P. Dorr
