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Apocalypse Now

Play trailer Poster for Apocalypse Now R 1979 2h 27m War Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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91% Tomatometer 148 Reviews 94% Popcornmeter 250,000+ Ratings
In Vietnam in 1970, Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) takes a perilous and increasingly hallucinatory journey upriver to find and terminate Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando), a once-promising officer who has reportedly gone completely mad. In the company of a Navy patrol boat filled with street-smart kids, a surfing-obsessed Air Cavalry officer (Robert Duvall), and a crazed freelance photographer (Dennis Hopper), Willard travels further and further into the heart of darkness.
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Apocalypse Now

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Critics Consensus

A voyage to hell where the journey is more satisfying than the destination, Francis Ford Coppola's haunting, hallucinatory Vietnam War epic is cinema at its most audacious and visionary.

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Critics Reviews

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Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times 09/23/2024
4/4
Years and years from now, when Coppola’s budget and his problems have long been forgotten, “Apocalypse” will still stand, I think, as a grand and grave and insanely inspired gesture of filmmaking. Go to Full Review Gene Siskel Chicago Tribune 09/23/2024
2.5/4
It's precisely in the last 25 minutes that Apocalypse Now dissolves into gibberish. I've seen the film three times with two different endings, and neither ending has been satisfactory. That's because the problem with the picture isn't at its very end. Go to Full Review Bruce McCabe Boston Globe 09/23/2024
Some critics fault Coppola for not delivering a seamless, flawless film. But this is to misperceive and misread the film in a crucial way. The film by definition couldn't be flawless. It attempts too much. Go to Full Review Carson Timar ClapperCast Dec 17
A projection of madness, Apocalypse Now is perhaps the most important text in Coppola's filmography and remains an incredibly worthy and relevant journey through the jungle, which looks at the nature of both power and chaos. Go to Full Review Megan Fisher Loud and Clear Reviews 01/11/2025
It’s an enthralling, powerful miracle of a movie. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Peter V Jan 25 Revisiting Apocalypse Now in 2025 is a strangely dissonant experience. You don’t go into Francis Ford Coppola’s hallucinatory odyssey unaware of what’s coming. You know the helicopters will rise over the horizon. You know Wagner’s "Ride of the Valkyries" will thunder triumphantly as American forces descend on a Vietnamese village. You know the spectacle of destruction—operatic, choreographed, unforgettable—will unfold with a kind of terrible beauty. And because you know it, the emotional impact shifts. What once shocked now feels like a moral burden you’re bracing for. The scene is meant to expose the absurdity and cruelty of American military power, yet its scale and bravura filmmaking can feel like they’re pulling in the opposite direction. I don’t want to infect my soul with unnecessary death and destruction. See more Johannes S Jan 24 What an absolutely stunning and abstract war movie. Probably the greatest effort to produce authenticity ever. It keeps your eyes glued to the screen! Also, CHARLIE DON'T SURF! See more Sharar R. @sharar10 Jan 15 Ending was anticlimactic See more Guillermo A @Guillermo.Almeida Jan 13 Return my damn surfboard! See more Patrick S @PatrickStruik Jan 2 The best Vietnam war movie ever made. See more Kelsey W. @moonlit Dec 15 First 2/3rds of the movie are stellar. The last bit is a hard watch. See more Read all reviews
Apocalypse Now

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Cast & Crew

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Francis Ford Coppola

Director

Marlon Brando

Colonel Kurtz

Martin Sheen

Captain Willard

Robert Duvall

Lt. Col. Kilgore

Frederic Forrest

Chef

Albert Hall

Chief

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Apocalypse Now

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Movie Info

Synopsis In Vietnam in 1970, Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) takes a perilous and increasingly hallucinatory journey upriver to find and terminate Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando), a once-promising officer who has reportedly gone completely mad. In the company of a Navy patrol boat filled with street-smart kids, a surfing-obsessed Air Cavalry officer (Robert Duvall), and a crazed freelance photographer (Dennis Hopper), Willard travels further and further into the heart of darkness.
Director
Francis Ford Coppola
Producer
Kim Aubry
Screenwriter
Joseph Conrad, John Milius, Michael Herr
Distributor
United Artists, Miramax Films, Paramount Pictures
Production Co
Zoetrope Studios
Rating
R
Genre
War, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Aug 15, 1979, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Sep 29, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA)
$74.4K
Runtime
2h 27m
Sound Mix
Surround
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