Apocalypse Now - Greatest movie of all time

[classicguns4life]

A ridiculous overstatement.

Nonetheless, a classic film that is only ruined when people say its the greatest film ever. Maybe your personal favorite, but don't overhype it for others.

[dalsh327]

People are also focusing just on dramas as "great films" but if the movie entertained or moved you to watch it over again and got something new out of it, that to me is a markings of a great film.

I wonder if they'll use "Hearts of Darkness" and have it set in Afghanistan or Iraq. I'm sure someone pitched it by now.

[bacardimayne]

It might make my top 50. I like it, I honestly like it but there are other films much higher.

Like Top Gun?

[Johnny Drama]

Well it helped me understand Heart of Darkness which is by far the hardest fucking book to read of all time.

[wasted]

for me it's not about innovation it would be packaging up everything so if you watch it it's like ok that is basically all you need to see really. yes you can go backwards and say something invented that and you can go forward and say it's been done more realistically in this movie. but Apocalypse Now is one of ponces from the 70s doing his biggest movies. It's like The Beatles he had the freedom to go all the way. He's got a lot of great actors in the jungle with guns and high on drugs. it's using a great book but he's exploring psyche of vietnam, one of the more important pop culture references, it's like a metaphor for a whole generation. Like I said maybe the Deer Hunter is more profound but it's much more of a chore to watch, whereas Apoc Now is entertaining, it's a spectacle and maybe does have some profound on a fraction bullshit at the end. Cinema peaked around that time in that universal way. Battleship Potemkin is like caveman rubbing sticks together compared to Apocalypse Now.

I weren't necessarily highlighting innovation as a standalone thing, i was talking about like, it along with a healthy dose of the other things i mentioned. See it's a difficult thing because you're attempting to quantify something that isn't really meant to be quantified so the most logical way i can fathom out to come to some sort of answer as to 'the greatest film of all time' has to take into account all those little factors, and innovation is a key one. Because look at what you're saying, the greatest film of ALLLLLLLLLLL times. Thats a heavy crown to hang onto and it's gotta have more to it than 'it's enjoyable' any vast number of movies are enjoyable...but there's gotta be more. To my mind at least.

I don't think innovation is key. It's because it has to cover so much ground to be all encompassing entertainment, it has to be more universal than innovative in a niche. And when I watch Apocalypse Now, or looking at it, there's a lot of different scenes, different styles. You see it you see the history of cinema in 3 hours. You've got improv scene with Charlie 1 smashing the mirror. You've got the "road movie" aspect of them floating up the river. It's a journey into the heart of the American psyche. You've got the druggy trip out scene. You've got action scenes. You've got class struggles and political metaphors. You've the iconic scenes, the Ride of Valkyries chopper. There's comedy and serious stuff. You've got great cinematography. Coppola thinks he's a great artist, renaissance painter or something. You've got the music video aspect you get in Top Gun. Then I'm looking at where movies came from and where they ended up, basically films to blockbusters and Apoc Now is sitting in the middle, a big production but it's still a serious film, but it's flirting with the excesses which are now 3D I Max movies. Star Wars, Jaws, Apocalypse Now, 2001 are like the four ways to go. Apocalypse Now has a populist appeal while still being existential and arty as fuck. But you'd have to argue Star Wars and Jaws are way more influential to where movies went. Lucas and Spielberg are moguls now, but are any of their movies better than Apocalypse Now? Speilberg tried with Schindler's List, I don't think it's even close. Kubrick probably more of a one off visionary but doesn't have the populist entertainment qualities of Coppola. Scorsese is more of genre director, like Tarantino they aren't going to go as far out or risk as much as Coppola did on Apocalypse Now.

[wasted]

There's no such thing as "the greatest film of all time".

Porkies?

If by Porkies you mean "Porky's", one thing is certain, you're the greatest MyGNR poster of all time.

Yeah, that's the one. The one with the glory hole/shower scene.

greatest comedy of all time maybe, Animal House might be better though. Fletch and Caddyshack must be way up there. I'll have a steak sandwich and steak sandwich.

[wasted]

It might make my top 50. I like it, I honestly like it but there are other films much higher.

Like what? I'm sure there are alternatives.

A ridiculous overstatement.

Nonetheless, a classic film that is only ruined when people say its the greatest film ever. Maybe your personal favorite, but don't overhype it for others.

of course it's a hypothetical proposition. It's subjective. But if I try to look at it objectively, broader than just my personal taste. I'd personally go for Tin Men. But that's just being obtuse on the quest for the holy grail. No quest would not for a good thread make. First you have to make a rash statement, then back it up against impossible odds.

seriously what else is there?

Do you guys prefer the original or the redux?

I like the redux, I like the opium prostitute scene I think that would add to any movie.

[Guest Len B'stard]

I thought i was the only person on earth who liked Redux

[wasted]

I thought i was the only person on earth who liked Redux

it didnt change it much. I saw it in cinema and prob did get morw numb bum.

[Facekicker]

Have Redux on DVD. Love the sheer insanity of it.

Edited October 21, 2013 by Facekicker

[SuperBlaine]

I've only seen the Redux version being born in 91 well after this movie. According to the back cover of the dvd 49 minutes were added in the Redux project. My question is how much is too much when you go this big or this high? Did GnR go too high in UYI I or II? Like in my mind there is no such thing, I also just watched Live in Pompeii Pink Floyd, that Echoes is self indulgent as it gets, yet it may be my favorite anything by floyd studio or live. Last time i watched Apocalypse Now Redux was 2 years ago, so im going to watch it again today and post later but i specifically remember how i always feel at the end, i wish it was only half way done, i want more god dammit.

I'm going to point out why i say this is my favorite film ive ever seen, Citizen Kane doesn't even make my list. This is a film that opened my eyes up to big media propaganda and what really happens in this world. I went from being a dumb sheep to questioning everything, now im a paranoid anti everything and i cant stop myself from always going deeper into everything now, including 911, JFK, WW2 and WW1. This movie and a few other changed everything, now i cant Hollywood films like Pearl Harbor because they are so full of shit its sickening. I actually own Pearl Harbor and loved it, it was a christmas gift around 01 or 02. Looking back on that i kinda wished i had gotten Apocalypse Now Redux which came out around that time lol. At this point im 22 years old with a horrid case of ADHD with an uncle who has horrid Schizophrenia. Before this period in my life my paranoia was almost non existent. Now it affects every aspect of my daily life, social matters have become well anti social lol.

So as you can see my writing skills are flawed, but i say this film is the best film ever made if only because of the way it changed my life of understanding, it turned it into a quest for knowledge and most importantly, the Truth.

[wasted]

This to me is part of the difference between the 70s and now. In the 70s the truth was macho, the truth was entertainment. But it took Hollywood ages to allow it up on screen. It took Stone a long time to get Platoon made. The irony is now the audience are scared by the truth and want Batman to protect them. Generation Kill reduced the iraq war to a joke. A tank of grunts out for blood who cant find the enemy like a bad game of Call of Duty.

But for a while we broke on through to the other side.

Pearl Harbour was a movie based loosely on Titanic.

Edited October 22, 2013 by wasted

[SuperBlaine]

Wasted i just watched a very troubling and heart felt speech by the Iran president at a UN event. He claims 911 is to blame for millions of dead innocents at this point in time and wants a UN investigation of Scientists from every nation to examine what really happened that day? Id like to mention that at this point the representatives of USA,Isreal and others leave now not even listening and viewing this as another threat to there power of world control through terror.

[wasted]

Wasted i just watched a very troubling and heart felt speech by the Iran president at a UN event. He claims 911 is to blame for millions of dead innocents at this point in time and wants a UN investigation of Scientists from every nation to examine what really happened that day? Id like to mention that at this point the representatives of USA,Isreal and others leave now not even listening and viewing this as another threat to there power of world control through terror.

What does 911 have to do with millions of dead innocents? I think Iran are just scared they are next. They maybe right. Maybe 911 kickstarted or escalated the US push to control the middle east.

I'm hoping Oliver Stone makes his 911 movie of all the conspiracies surrounding it like JFK. There might not be enough time to actually do it. His Secret History of America seemed show what he thought was happening. It's just the US war machine sweeping across the world, just like a shark it has to move to live.

[Guest Len B'stard]

Have Redux on DVD. Love the sheer insanity of it.

Y'know one time we had a hill bombed for 12 hours, when it was all over I walked up and we didn't find one of em, not one stinkin' dink body. The smell y'know, that gasoline smell, the whole hill.

[wasted]

I love the smell of napalm in the morning.

[Guest Len B'stard]

So much cracking dialogue in that film, Dennis Hoppers mad coked up rants full of TS Elliott quotes, Brando and his massive speech about the baby arms but my favorite bit of dialogue from that has to be 'FUCK YOU GI!!!'

[dalsh327]

This to me is part of the difference between the 70s and now. In the 70s the truth was macho, the truth was entertainment. But it took Hollywood ages to allow it up on screen. It took Stone a long time to get Platoon made. The irony is now the audience are scared by the truth and want Batman to protect them. Generation Kill reduced the iraq war to a joke. A tank of grunts out for blood who cant find the enemy like a bad game of Call of Duty.

But for a while we broke on through to the other side.

Pearl Harbour was a movie based loosely on Titanic.

There hadn't been many "sweeping epic love stories" based around war in a long time when they made Pearl Harbor.

Vietnam was an unpopular subject, but MASH was thinly veiled about Vietnam but it could have been about any war. So could Catch 22 or Johnny Got His Gun.

Coming Home and Deer Hunter opened the door to what was going on with veterans.

[Guest Len B'stard]

There's a documentary on the making of this film out there too, a really good one whoose name escapes me....Darkness, the Heart of Darkness, Journey in....i recall mention of a river? The Journey Down the River Into the Heart of Darkness? Up The Elephant and Round the Castle? I can't fuckin' remember

[wasted]

It's called Heart of Darkness and it's almost better than the movie. Coppola is making pasta "I'm making a 50 million dollar disaster movie and nobody cares!!!" I read that during the making of apocalypse Now or one of his movies he'd shut down production to fly to New York to fuck one of his girlfriends and his wife was back on set working on the movie. How did this fat, ugly, bastard get any pussy at all, let alone get to live like Don johnson.

The documentary is good, it ratchets up the drama, Martin Sheen has heart attack a few weeks before shooting. Brando is a jumbo sized and hasn't bother to read the book. Hopper is pretending to be an improv master, "Dennis you have to learn the words so you can forget them."

The Brando dialogue about needing "good men without judgement, because it's judgement is what what defeats us" and Hopper "you can't go to space on fraction" rant. I doubt that stuff was in the script.

[SunnyDRE]

Very similiar to The Bridge on the River Kwai.

Bridge is the far superior film.

[Guest Len B'stard]

Very similiar to The Bridge on the River Kwai.

How so?

[SunnyDRE]

Very similiar to The Bridge on the River Kwai.

How so?

Read the synopsis on wiki...

[Guest Len B'stard]

Was just asking for your take, sorry!

[dalsh327]

It's called Heart of Darkness and it's almost better than the movie. Coppola is making pasta "I'm making a 50 million dollar disaster movie and nobody cares!!!" I read that during the making of apocalypse Now or one of his movies he'd shut down production to fly to New York to fuck one of his girlfriends and his wife was back on set working on the movie. How did this fat, ugly, bastard get any pussy at all, let alone get to live like Don johnson.

The documentary is good, it ratchets up the drama, Martin Sheen has heart attack a few weeks before shooting. Brando is a jumbo sized and hasn't bother to read the book. Hopper is pretending to be an improv master, "Dennis you have to learn the words so you can forget them."

The Brando dialogue about needing "good men without judgement, because it's judgement is what what defeats us" and Hopper "you can't go to space on fraction" rant. I doubt that stuff was in the script.

Charlie Sheen was there and pretty much left to his own devices hanging with Laurence Fishburne in the Philippines at 13-14.

It is a great documentary, seeing a bunch of lunatics together on an island falling apart at the seams mentally and physically. Hopper was trying to get his career back on track and this movie helped him in a big way.