Apocalypse Now

Apocalypse Now is a 1979 American film directed by Francis Ford Coppola from a script by John Milius (rewritten by Coppola) which was inspired by Joseph Conrad's classic novella Heart of Darkness. Set in the Vietnam War, a taciturn American soldier is sent to "terminate with extreme prejudice" the command of a rogue United States Army Special Forces colonel. The narrative of his journey and its culmination are studded with events which, while bizarre, are based on real Vietnam stories. The soldier's journey becomes increasingly nonlinear and hallucinatory. Coppola's agenda clearly involves larger themes; the film's subtext concerns a journey into the darkness of the human psyche.

Literary Differences

Although inspired by Joseph Conrad's novel Heart of Darkness the film deviates from it extensively. Time and location are changed: from the Congo Free State (colony of King Léopold II of Belgium) at the end of the 19th century to Vietnam in the middle of the 20th century. Subsequently Willard (Marlow, in the book) and Kurtz are not commercial agents of a Belgian ivory company that seeks fortune by brutally exploiting African native workers, but soldiers of the American Army in a war. There is no Kilgore character either, a major player in the film. Captain Willard is not sent to bring Kurtz back, as in ??Heart of Darkness??, where he dies of natural death (most likely a peaceful heart attack while on Marlow's boat), but to kill him instead.

Related Topics:
Joseph Conrad - Heart of Darkness - Congo Free State - Léopold II of Belgium - 19th century - Vietnam - 20th century - Kurtz - Belgian - Ivory - African

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In spite of this, Coppola has maintained many episodes (the spear and arrow attack on the boat, for example) that have respected the spirit of the novel and in particular its critique of the concept of civilization and progress. The fact that Coppola substituted European colonization with American interventionism does not change the universal message of the book. http://www.cyberpat.com/essays/coppola.html

Related Topics:
European - American - Interventionism

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