4.5/4
Coppola's Apocalypse Now must be the darkest movie of all time: visually, thematically, morally. It doesn't get this way until the end; before the last quarter it's basically just an excellent war movie. But in those last scenes... it transcends.
This film is based around the conceptually awesome device of a physical and metaphorical journey, in this case a journey into the heart of darkness, a journey up a winding river from Vietnam into Cambodia. This was probably an inspiration for Nicolas Winding Refn's Valhalla Rising.
The atmosphere set by the director is unbelievable. The beauty of the visuals is contrasted by the grotesque moral quality of everything happening. Is this an anti-war movie? It makes us think deeper about the subject than any other movie. The way Kurtz speaks at the end made me question the moral assumptions involved in war and justice.
The last quarter of this film is what gives it the extra half-star. It places this picture beyond the realm of four-point cinema. It has legacy. It has layers. It cannot be given the same rating I would give Silver Linings Playbook.
Additions:
Just in case you're not aware, Apocalypse Now is one of the greatest movies of all time. It was released in 1979 by the writer/director of things such as The Godfather and features some of the most iconic moments or characters or lines in all of cinema. I say this only to encourage you to respect it and subsequently watch it; now that I've seen it I care less about the legacy and reputation and everything that happened to the film outside the film and more about what happened onscreen. I just experienced two-and-a-half hours of beauty and horror. The horror... the horror........
See post "Make better adaptations".
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