So Seriously...Apocalypse Now...

[SteyrAUG]

Martin Sheen and Harrison Ford change roles, and a younger Harrison Ford plays the lead role as Benjamin Willard. I never really bought Martin Sheen in the role of a special forces hitman for the CIA in a MAC-V SOG unit. It was one of the major flaws of the entire film and was made worse with our introduction to him as an out of control alcoholic what can't manage his own shit and punches mirrors. That's pretty much the opposite of what special forces is supposed to be, especially those who go hunting men as a MOS.

At the same time Ford was wasted in a minor 5 minute role as one of the shadow guys who puts such operations together. I also thought Marlon Brando was a horrible choice for Col. Kurtz and ironically Robert Duvall would have been excellent in the role of a rogue Special Forces officer who goes off the reservation and starts fighting the enemy in a way that works.

Brando might have possibly been able to manage the role of Kilgore, but I don't see him pulling of the "Smells like victory" line the Duvall slam dunked.

I also think the film itself would have been more coherent of John Milius remained the director rather than it becoming a Coppola project.

R. Lee Ermy was also wasted in a minor role as a helicopter pilot. He would have probably been an excellent choice for the Kilgore role, possibly even better than Duvall.

The result was one of the strangest Vietnam movies ever made, that was erratic with terrible casting resulting in most actors failing to present believable roles. But it could have been glorious.

[flenna]

Well, at least "Heart of Darkness" and its precursor "An Outpost of Progress" were excellent reads.

[Bulletdog]

"CHARLIE DON'T SURF!!!" One of my all time favorite movie quotes. Right up there with "I'll be back..."

I never considered your points when watching this movie previously. You are dead on about Sheen. He seemed more like a wide eyed embedded reporter than a special forces guy. I disagree with you on Brando though. I think he played this with a believable tenuous and fading grasp on reality.

[Slater]

From IMDB:

"Harvey Keitel was initially cast as Willard. Two weeks into shooting, Francis Ford Coppola replaced him with Martin Sheen. According to Coppola, one piece of film with him made it into the final cut; a shot from the distance of the river boat as it is moving through the water."

Al Pacino and Clint Eastwood apparently also turned the role of Willard.

[SkiDevil]

From IMDB:

"Harvey Keitel was initially cast as Willard. Two weeks into shooting, Francis Ford Coppola replaced him with Martin Sheen. According to Coppola, one piece of film with him made it into the final cut; a shot from the distance of the river boat as it is moving through the water."

Al Pacino and Clint Eastwood apparently also turned the role of Willard.

I could see it now, Dirty Harry in Vietnam. "Did I kill 5 gooks or 6, you know in all the excitement, I lost count while sharpening my punjee sticks. So tell me punk, are you feelin Lucky huh?"

[OH58D]

Three years after that film was released, I was at Fort Rucker in Flight School. The pilots training us were almost all Vietnam veterans, and they had their own interesting stories. When the Kilgore/VC Village Attack segment was discussed, these pilots referred to that film as: "A Pack O'Lies Now".

I was sometimes called "Kilgore" because I rode ranch horses and surfed when visiting cousins in San Diego as a teenager. Had my cowboy hat with me when not flying. Didn't wear the Army Stetson until I was flying with 2/17 CAV, and I was 34 years old.

[VARIABLE9]

What’s even more disjointed of story is the Redux ‘directors cut’ version.

Cool story bro - many years ago I met R. Lee Ermey at a military air show. I asked him how he liked being in Apocalypse Now as the Eagle Thrust Seven helo pilot. He responded “hell I don’t even remember doing that”.

[Vandal]

As mentioned above, at least the source material made for a good read. My copy of Heart of Darkness is well loved.

[SteyrAUG]

Well, at least "Heart of Darkness" and its precursor "An Outpost of Progress" were excellent reads.

I kind of hated "Heart of Darkness" and I think it's a big part of why Apocalypse Now sorta sucked. Heart of Darkness didn't translate to Vietnam very well and as a result everything felt forced.

"CHARLIE DON'T SURF!!!" One of my all time favorite movie quotes. Right up there with "I'll be back..."

I never considered your points when watching this movie previously. You are dead on about Sheen. He seemed more like a wide eyed embedded reporter than a special forces guy. I disagree with you on Brando though. I think he played this with a believable tenuous and fading grasp on reality.

Brando was believable as a guy losing his grip on reality, he just wasn't believable as a Special Forces officer. I think Duvall would have killed in that role. Another problem was we didn't get to know Kurtz until the last part of the film. If they had back storied him to show him as a Green Beret who realized he needed to go off script to be successful, rather than Martin Sheen simply reading the dossier with voice over narration I might have bought it. Also if Kurtz was tribal leader of a force that effective, Willard never would have gotten near him.

There were simply so many missed opportunities with this film it's hard to imagine Coppola not seeing what it might have been. While we are at it, Dennis Hopper also made this film suck.

[SteyrAUG]

What’s even more disjointed of story is the Redux ‘directors cut’ version.

Cool story bro - many years ago I met R. Lee Ermey at a military air show. I asked him how he liked being in Apocalypse Now as the Eagle Thrust Seven helo pilot. He responded “hell I don’t even remember doing that”.

I actually preferred Redux. It made the entire Kilgore story make sense, even if it was kind of stupid. Plus we got bonus Colleen Camp which is always a good thing. But eating dinner on the French Plantation behind the lines was probably too surreal for a movie that already was on the fringe.

It's pretty sad when a film like American Gangster can do Vietnam more realistically than Coppola who was attempting an Opus. Of course when you put Ridley Scott in the drivers seat you usually get something amazing.