The Ambiguousness of War

Paper by Samantha Mazur. Viewed on DVD.

This research paper is an approach and analysis of the film Apocalypse Now (1979), directed by Francis Ford Coppola. “Apocalypse Now” attempts to portray the surreal, horror and absurdity of the Vietnam War. Coppola sought “. . . to illustrate as many facets as possible. And yet I wanted it to go further, to the moral issues that are behind all wars”. The broad outline of this film’s script was adapted from Joseph Conrad’s 1902 novel Heart of Darkness, which concerns nineteenth-century European imperialism in Africa. Screenwriter John Milius transfers most of Conrad’s tale to Southeast Asia, giving us the story of Captain Benjamin Willard (Martin Sheen), a United States Army assassin, and his final assignment in Vietnam to locate and assassinate a U.S. Army Colonel named Kurtz (played by Marlon Brando) who went rogue. “Apocalypse Now” has many different aspects of cinematography that makes this a very unique film. The use of the different hues such as colors, angles, depth of field, music selection, and the framing throughout the film sets a certain mood that gives each scene an individual characteristic.

Coppola’s original concept for the production of the film was to make it actually
in the country of Vietnam. By the time shooting began in 1976, Americans had already withdrawn from Vietnam so Coppola selected the Philippines as his desired location for shooting his film. He negotiated with Ferdinand Marcos who was then the President of the Philippines, to hire Philippines Air Force helicopters, pilots, and construction for the main set deep within the jungle (Nui). Unintentionally, the production of his film began to reflect the insanity of the war he was portraying. The troubled production of Apocalypse Now is well-known. Terrible weather ruined the sets, actors and crew were on drugs all the time, Martin Sheen had a heart attack and Coppola threatened suicide on numerous occasions. Much of this can be seen in the documentary “Hearts of Darkness: A Director’s Apocalypse” (1991) which included footage taken by the director’s wife throughout the shooting of the film.

“Apocalypse Now” would probably fall into the “war” genre but really is a combination of action, adventure, horror, war and thriller to create a film experience that gives us as the audience a sense of the horror, madness, and destructive dilemmas of the Vietnam War. “. . . with regard to Apocalypse Now—we cannot really dispense whole-heartedly with the notion of genre. That would be too facile. . . , although it displays some elements that could be described as generic, it is not in any fundamental way a genre film. Adventure, war film, 3 noir, Vietnam film, action movie, psychodrama, travel film—Apocalypse Now contains figural shards of all these genres . . . (Gronstad).”

Through the use of surrealism, “Apocalypse Now” portrays the horrors of the Vietnam War underscored by the loss of civil morality, unrestrained violence and onset of madness. The scene I chose to focus on for this paper is Captain Willard’s encounter with Lieutenant Colonel Kilgore (Robert Duvall), the highlight which is the famous helicopter attack against a Vietnamese village with Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries” blaring over loud speakers. After the helicopter attacks, his narcissistic desire to kill North Vietnamese is equaled by his passion for surfing. Kilgore is presented as a lunatic – someone who will risk just about anything to ride a good wave, even in the midst of a battle. When the helicopters begin their flight, we see them flying in the sky, rising behind the trees. Slow, dreamlike music plays in the background and the balletic way in which the scene is shot makes the troops appear almost like gods or angels. This portrayal is cut into short snippets of dialogue on the helicopter, as when Kilgore talks about how he prefers heavier surfboards. As the helicopter attacks at Charlie’s Point, the song “Ride of the Valkyries,” by Richard Wagner plays well as the scene is brought together with the song as it gradually builds up in momentum when the soldiers get closer to the village. What makes this particular piece of music so interesting is its association with Nazi Germany. Hitler used Wagner as the official musician of his regime, partly because Wagner himself showed tendencies towards anti-Semitism and other far right views before the turn of the century (San).

The firefight obliterates a sizable portion of the coastline jungle in order to eliminate any sniper that could make surfing hazardous. Kilgore says to Willard, “I love the smell of napalm in the morning.” This sequence is not a turning point, but it shows the extent of Willard’s own ruthlessness and greatly furthers the surrealistic tone of the film. It provides moments of extraordinary visual texture, and depicts naturalistic conversations, that contrasted with unusual film techniques served to lend the film a deep feel of surrealism (San) and capture the look and feel of a war of madness.

The selected scene I chose for analysis in “Apocalypse Now” (1979) is also known as one of the most memorable scenes in cinema, the famous helicopter attack sequence, where Captain Kilgore attacks innocent Vietnamese civilians with the aim of clearing a beach to surf on. Every scene in “Apocalypse Now” contains the seed of succession, every incident and narration foreshadows the soul of the movie and the plot structure is flawless. First of all, camera angles are extremely important in this film. The uses of high angled shots are most prevalent. Many of the fighting/action scenes were introduced by an aerial shot that depicts the island, as if the viewer was flying overhead looking down onto the island. Obviously the scene I chose in which Kilgore and his men are flying over the village uses high angles. As the viewer, I am first introduced through a “high” angle because the scene starts with the helicopters flying overhead up in the sky flying along with them. An aerial shot frames another flying object, such as during the Huey helicopter battle sequences and it provides a “bird’s eye view” of the landscape (Types of Camera Movement – Camera Movement). The scene proceeds with shots from the helicopters looking down, as if the viewer is part of the Lieutenant’s crew. Flying over the village, the viewer can also see villagers scattering and fighting back, shots flying down towards the village. Second of all, specific camera shots seemed to play an important role in this film. The camera has multiple shots with medium close up shots of the plane flying over the village before the strike the Viet-Cong. Had this shot been a medium shot or a medium long shot, I do not believe the same effect would have occurred. It would have been too difficult for the viewer to see the distinction between light and dark areas on Kurtz face. This shot, I believe, keeps the viewer focused and interested in the intense flight scene.

“Apocalypse Now” exploits the use of cinematic techniques, static camera shots, de-saturated colors, and light and dark shots, to portray these realistic depictions of war. In the helicopter pilot perspective during the attack on Charlie’s Point, this scene takes advantage of this editing technique. During this battle sequences, the editing was cut into the first person perspective of the helicopter pilot when he fires away on the buildings and village people; this shows how small and vulnerable the buildings and village people are from the helicopters. Lastly, another editing technique used in “Apocalypse Now” was the Shot/Reverse Shot. This film is known for its deep conversations. Different from other films, this film does not go back and forth between the two subjects but every couple seconds during a deep conversation, but the shot reverses the shot when the conversation hits a pivotal moment and goes to the reaction shot of the listener. Particularly, the use of light and dark, the use of camera angles and shots achieve a spectacular job of allowing this film to be influential. As much as this film is about humanity and inhumanity, life and death, etc., this film is also about its greatness of classical and modern cinematic work. What makes this film so unique is the juxtaposition of imagery and music that creates a surreal affect. Wagner’s “March of the Valkyries” four-part opera at its grandest gives unity and dignity to this fast-moving, violent, and complex sequence of cross-cutting. This action packed film with great historical relevance, epic cinematography, great acting, superb directing, and massive scale production accumulated to its true interpretation of the Vietnam war is a great example of a film in which elements of cinematography are effectively used and which develops a great story.

Many shots consistency work together and separately when a film is made up of individual shots that have been put together in a fixed sequence. The art of Coppola as a filmmaker is to take the shots filmed at different times, from different angles and from different places and then put the shots together to create a coherent sequence that we as the viewer can interpret as a coherent narrative. For example, while the helicopters are in the air, and the music remains, the editing ensures a decent level of spatial continuity being maintained, and regularly we are allowed to see the helicopters in formation and every attack is shown with a corresponding target, conflict and resolution of that conflict. When the helicopters sit down we lose a sense of spatial continuity, the camera circles around a wounded victim intimating a panicked soldiers swirling terrified head filling with nerves at the sight of blood and guts. Another interesting feature in communicating the sensory confusion is when the American bombers drop napalm on a line of trees the sound waivers and drops out of existence relating the deafening madness that is modern warfare (Duckworth).

In terms of the characters, one of the most interesting elements within Apocalypse Now’s plot is that all the authority figures are mad to some degree and this seems to be ignored by the soldiers. Kilgore’s madness is shown from a distance; that is, we know that no normal person would kill civilians so that he is able to surf, or that they would love the smell of napalm in the morning but his madness is shown overtly not introspectively; there is no candid examination of feelings, motives or thoughts. As a result, the audience doesn’t relate to him as a human being in the way that we do with Willard who serves as a symbol of the army leadership. He has a strong bond with his soldiers, but he has no compassion for the Vietnamese, perceiving all of them as enemies. His fall into madness is shown introspectively and we can relate to him because he is able to have a rational point of view on the surreal situations that he is presented with. Also, in the beginning of the movie, Willard’s narration allows the audience into his thoughts and we are encouraged to empathize with him.

The function of the form of a film is to communicate with the audience in a uniquely cinematic way. Coppola presents “Apocalypse Now” as a grand visual and audio experience using a blend of narrative and stylistic elements to craft the film. The interaction and relation between the “action” (battle/war scenes) and emotions portrayed in the film and the emotional response felt by the viewer play a large role in the film’s form. The helicopter battle-surf sequence, which occurs early in the film, contains the first battle scenes of the movie (Kilgore and the “Ride of the Valkyries” attack). As a result, it does set up some expectations for the rest of the movie. However, the placement of the scene early in the movie is quite unconventional. While “Apocalypse Now,” mostly follows a Classical Hollywood and Three (3) Act Narrative structure and has many of the features of the conventional combat film, the narrative structure does not follow the basic pattern. This would have the plot moving forward, alternating between scenes of warfare and no fighting, safety and danger, dialogue and action, and finally culminating in an exciting battle, where some personal growth or transformation transpires, and the initial dilemma is resolved (usually by victory). Instead, the colossal battle occurs early drawing the audience in with its mixture of music and helicopter/battle sounds, movement, and slaughter but when it is over, the pace of the film seems to get gradually slower. The unconventional placement of the scene also denies the viewer of the expected climactic ending that is typical of other war movies.

The themes of good and evil, line between sanity and madness and the horrors of war are demonstrated in the famous helicopter attack sequence, wherein Captain Kilgore attacks innocent Vietnamese civilians with the aim of clearing a beach to surf on. Coppola said: “The most important thing I wanted to do in the making of Apocalypse Now was to create a film experience that would give its audience a sense of the horror, the madness, the sensuousness and the moral dilemma of the Vietnam War”. This scene surely serves its purpose by putting viewers in the positions of American soldiers and making us think of the insanity required to do what they did. Through the film though there are times where we continue to empathize with them; however there are others where the audience questions their actions and what they have become. This lack of consistency (or repetitive pattern) serves as a mechanism for the development of the film and works exceptionally well. Coppola uses a selection of shot selection, music and composition to create an unforgettable scene that is both conventional and surreal at the same time.

Coppola’s Apocalypse Now (1979) succeeds in making a film that attempts to “put Vietnam behind us” or, to embezzle the heritage of a whole generation’s historical experience in the direction of cultural tradition. The film’s cinematography uses various techniques to help the viewer feel that they are actually in the war itself. The filmmakers use cinematic techniques such as static camera shots, de-saturated muted colors, and light and dark shots, to portray these realistic depictions of war. The colors help add shock value to the amount of soldiers wounded and severity of their injuries, the muted jungle with a brilliantly burning napalm bomb. In “Apocalypse Now,” the use of light and dark contrast helps the viewer feel what the characters are feeling. The different methods and techniques are adopted in order to bring the viewer into the film and make the film more realistic while still entertaining the viewer.

Sound techniques are used in “Apocalypse Now” such as the diegetic sound due to the setting where the film takes place. During the film, the audience is able to hear hundreds of sounds like inanimate objects to the sounds of the jungle that adds most interest to the film. The release of Apocalypse Now in 1979 was a threshold event in film sound, introducing both new technology and a new approach to the use of sound in Hollywood film. The scene from the helicopter raid on a Vietnamese village, led by Lieutenant Colonel Kilgore, the sounds include wind, footsteps, gunfire, explosions, airplanes, helicopters, crowd noise, shouting, dialogue, and the “Ride of the Valkyries” from Wagner’s Die Walküre (1870). In German and Norse mythology, the Valkyries were warrior-maidens who rode through the air in brilliant armor, directed battles, distributed death lots among the warriors, and conducted the souls of slain heroes to Valhalla, the great hall where the souls of heroes killed in battle spend eternity (Apocalypse Now).

“Apocalypse Now” sought to present a movie experience about the insanity of Vietnam and excess of war. The confusing and hallucinatory mindset of the production and the director comes through in the surreal style of the film. The idea that those in a war zone can go insane can easily be understood from “Apocalypse Now”. Coppola provides easily identifiable examples of good and evil but then also provides some that are ambiguous. He uses a compelling mix of shot selection, music and composition to create the helicopter attack-surf scene, perhaps the “centerpiece” scene of “Apocalypse Now” to portray these themes; it is an unforgettable scene that is both conventional and surreal at the same time. “Apocalypse Now” achieves greatness not by analyzing the “experience in Vietnam,” but by re-creating in characters and images, a piece of that experience.

Work Cited:

Boucher, Geoff. “Coppola’s Vision of Total ‘Apocalypse'” Los Angeles Times 17 Oct. 2010: D12. Print.
Coppola, F.F. Apocalypse Now. 1979. United Artists.
Duckworth, A.R. “A Review of a Combat Scene in Coppola’s Apocalypse Now « The Motley View.” The Motley View. 03 Sept. 2008. Web. 12 Nov. 2010.
Ebert, Roger. “Apocalypse Now :: Rogerebert.com :: Reviews.” Rogerebert.com :: Movie Reviews, Essays and the Movie Answer Man from Film Critic Roger Ebert. 2010. Web. 08 Nov. 2010. .
Gronstad, Asbjorn. “”Your Analysis of Francis Coppola’s Apocalypse Now (1979) with Special Reference to the Film’s Genre, Historical Context, and Literary Pretext.”” Coppolas Exhausted Eschatology: Apocalypse Now Reconsidered (2003): 121-36. Print.
Lim, Dennis. “This War Odyssey Remains Striking.” Los Angeles Times 17 Oct. 2010: D13. Print.
Now, Apocalypse. “Looking at Movies, 2e | W. W. Norton and Company.” Home | W. W. Norton & Company. 2006. Web. 12 Nov. 2010. .
Nui, Greta Ai-Yu. “‘Easy Money in Male Prostitution’: an Imperialist Apocalypse Now.” Continuum: Journal of Media & Cultural Studies. Department of English, State University of New York, College at Brockport, 2000. Web. 10 Nov. 2010.
San, Miyagi. “Movie Analysis: The Aspect of Conflict in Apocalypse Now – by Miyagi San – Page 2 – Helium.” Helium – Where Knowledge Rules. 2006. Web. 11 Nov. 2010. .
“Types of Camera Movement – Camera Movement – Music, Name, Cinema, Scene, News, Story, Documentary.” Film Reference. 2010. Web. 11 Nov. 2010. .
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“War Clips.” Welcome to Original-ink.net. Web. 12 Nov. 2010. .

Filmography:

Coppola, F.F. (Director). (1979) Apocaplyse Now [Motion picture]. United States: United Artists.
Bahr, F., Hickenlooper, G. and Coppola, E. (Directors). (1991) Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse [Motion picture]. United States: American Zoetrope.