Apocalypse Now

Niceguyeddie616 · December 2007

I'm not asking for any answers on my homework, but I just need to know if I'm wasting my time doing this.

I'm currently watching Apocalypse Now for a research paper I have to do. I'm doing this to compare it's portrayal of Vietnam soldiers to the film Platoon. I've only watched the first few minutes, but it seems like this movie's not going to help me very much, because it's about a fictional mission and it seems to focus more on this one main character (Martin Sheen's character).

I just need to know, does this film have a realistic or fictional portrayal of soldiers in Vietnam? or is this film not going to be too helpful?

Rethius · December 2007

Okay. Uhh.. in terms of comparison to Platoon, this movie focuses much more on the psychological effects of the war. Platoon, while delving into the mental damage, focuses much more on the physical in my opinion.

I would say that Apocalypse Now realistically depicts men at war, in the sense that there is nothing but... well.. horror in the hearts of men.

This website might be able to help you out a bit more if I'm not making a whole lot of sense. http://www.sparknotes.com/film/apocalypsenow/

By the way, I love that movie.

Lord Yod · December 2007

Pretty fictional. You might try comparing Platoon to Full Metal Jacket instead, that one focuses on a couple of Marines. (And they don't go off on a mission like that)

tracertong · December 2007

Dude. Apocalypse is one of the best films EVER MADE. You really need to watch the whole thing. Comparing apocalypse to platoon is going to be pretty easy, you should be able to get an A or A-. I dont know how you came to the conclusion that its not going to help you in your essay when you've only seen a few minutes. Jesus fuck.

Rethius · December 2007

Yeah, Full Metal Jacket is a good choice.

Lord Yod · December 2007

Apocalypse Now, while being an awesome fucking movie, isn't really what (from the sounds of it) the OP is looking for. It's not about guys fighting a war, it's about two guys who happen to be soldiers in a war zone, and how fucked up they are psychologically.

FMJ, on the other hand, is about guys fighting a war, as is Platoon.

Orogogus · December 2007

Rethius wrote: »

Okay. Uhh.. in terms of comparison to Platoon, this movie focuses much more on the psychological effects of the war. Platoon, while delving into the mental damage, focuses much more on the physical in my opinion.

I would say that Apocalypse Now realistically depicts men at war, in the sense that there is nothing but... well.. horror in the hearts of men.

This website might be able to help you out a bit more if I'm not making a whole lot of sense. http://www.sparknotes.com/film/apocalypsenow/

By the way, I love that movie.

I don't know if I would approach Apocalypse Now as an in-depth look on the nature of war, mostly because so much of the "horror in the hearts of men" theme was originally from Heart of Darkness, which was not a war story at all. The entire character of Kurtz, minus the military rank, was from the book.

Solandra · December 2007

While Apocalypse Now is an outstanding movie, and I recommend it in any sort of analysis of The Heart of Darkness, I think the Full Metal Jacket/ Platoon angle would be better.

If your focus and assignment is Vietnam, then go with FMJ and Platoon. If your focus is Apocalypse Now, what is the specific assignment for the paper?

Niceguyeddie616 · December 2007

My original plan was to do Full Metal Jacket and We Were Soldiers, but I heard the latter sucked and I couldn't find it anyway. I haven't seen Full Metal Jacket in a while, but I still remember the more important parts such as Pyle going crazy and stuff. My focus is how accurately both these movies portray the experiences of these soldiers.

That being said, it sounds like a much better idea to go with FMJ/Platoon, so I think I'll most likely do that. I just need to look up some stuff on FMJ for the parts that I don't remember

Mykonos · December 2007

Watching Apocalypse Now would do you some good. Hell, i think I'm gonna go watch it now myself.

That aside, my subjective viewpoint is that A-Now focuses more on the psychological affects of the individual during times of war, vice platoon deals primarily with inter group relations and the crumbling of structure in place of near-anarchy. Both movies deal with man's desensitization's towards violence and man's degradation into metaphorical barbarism.

Just to reiterate, this is my personal take...either right or wronge hopefully this will provide you some starting ground. Keep in mind that both movies are supposadly rich on symbolism and allegories, so their definitely worth a google (I bet their are tons of redudant essays written on these two films)

Lord Yod · December 2007

There are, of course, numerous other films/tv shows you could use. Is your project restricted to Vietnam?

You might try The Deer Hunter (I think that's the name, haven't seen it in like 15 years.) It's kinda similar to Apocalypse Now, but still different.

There's always WWII-era stuff: Band of Brothers, Saving Private Ryan, The Thin Red Line, etc.

For a completely different outlook, you could use M.A.S.H.

And there's starting to be some newer stuff. Three Kings and Jarhead spring to mind, both are about soldiers in Operation Desert Storm.

Shinto · December 2007

Niceguyeddie616 wrote: »

I'm not asking for any answers on my homework, but I just need to know if I'm wasting my time doing this.

I'm currently watching Apocalypse Now for a research paper I have to do. I'm doing this to compare it's portrayal of Vietnam soldiers to the film Platoon. I've only watched the first few minutes, but it seems like this movie's not going to help me very much, because it's about a fictional mission and it seems to focus more on this one main character (Martin Sheen's character).

I just need to know, does this film have a realistic or fictional portrayal of soldiers in Vietnam? or is this film not going to be too helpful?

No, you should choose another movie about Vietnam like Full Metal Jacket.

naporeon · December 2007

I would say that the fact that the story is a barely-altered resetting of a novel about an ivory merchant on a trip up a river in Africa probably tells you something about whether it is concerned with a realistic portrayal of a soldier's experience in Vietnam.

Mykonos · December 2007

naporeon wrote: »

I would say that the fact that the story is a barely-altered resetting of a novel about an ivory merchant on a trip up a river in Africa probably tells you something about whether it is concerned with a realistic portrayal of a soldier's experience in Vietnam.

yup, Heart Of Darkness. I had to read it freshmen year in college and it was excruciating and mind numbing. still, I had always found it interesting how Apocalypse Now was so derivative of it.

Arch Guru XX · December 2007

You could also try Born on the Fourth of July. Although the actual experience of Vietnam isn't the focus, there is some of that in there, and the overall story is all about a disabled vietnam veteran and how he comes to terms with things.

Limp moose · December 2007

apoc really has very little to do with Vietnam.

its the re imaging of the book Heart of darkness into movie form. They just used Vietnam as the setting as apposed to French colonial Africa.

Dakal · December 2007

In FMJ the scene at the end of the movie... Where they sing (I wont spoil the song) but soldiers marching actually sung that song. They grew up on it and it was familiar to all of them. The Horror

LondonBridge · December 2007

The main difference between Platoon and Apocalypse Now is that one mainly portrays soldiers, the other does not. Platoon focuses on enlisted soldiers while Apocalypse Now focuses on a couple of officers and Navy crewmen.

blincoln · December 2007

If I were going to do this, I'd compare Platoon with Hamburger Hill. FMJ and Apocalypse Now are great films too, but they strike me as not being quite as good a match.

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