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Joined: December 27 2014
Location: Norwalk, CA
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Points: 9319
Posted: April 19 2017 at 12:00
This is a tough choice and I won't actually vote until later this afternoon.
Basically, Apocalypse Now! broke through the barrier in Hollywood regarding movies about Vietnam.
Because of that, there was eventually a Platoon and a Full Metal Jacket and others.
It was a great movie with an excellent cast.
Then you have Platoon which was made by a Vietnam vet and included Dale Dye, a decorated Vietnam vet as an actor and technical adviser. Dye is probably tops in his field as technical adviser on military movies.
I think Platoon is more accurate than the other films about that conflict.
Apocalypse Now by far although I would agree that Platoon is a more reliable depiction of the Vietnam War.
"Larks' tongues. Wrens' livers. Chaffinch brains. Jaguars' earlobes. Wolf nipple chips. Get 'em while they're hot. They're lovely. Dromedary pretzels, only half a denar."
Apocalypse Now is a far superior movie imho. Platoon, whilst having all the hallmarks of a great war flick, makes the cardinal sin: never cast an actor based on anything other than his actual skills. Charlie Sheen does not work in Platoon not because he isn't believable because he is - he's just an uninteresting navigator in what should have been the shizzle. Berenger and William Dafoe are absolutely brilliant though but they can't save the movie. I was never that big on Oliver Stone even if he has produced one beautifully evil and terrifying masterpiece in Natural Born Killers. Apocalypse Now? Coppola's best work...and I adore The Godfather. Together with Full Metal Jacket the finest and most gripping films about Nam. Charlie don't surf!
“The Guide says there is an art to flying or rather a knack. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.”
I'm not sure Apocalypse Now tries to be realistic in any way other than to llustrate it's underlying questions: could the US have won if they'd resorted to Kurtz' ways? Is the complete and utter surrender to war no matter how twisted and evil it may appear the answer to winning it? In many ways you could look at this movie as an ode to or indeed a jam on Nietzsche. Wille zur Macht.
“The Guide says there is an art to flying or rather a knack. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.”
Joined: August 08 2016
Location: Seattle
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Points: 1056
Posted: April 19 2017 at 14:38
Easily Apocalypse Now, such a great semi-adaptation of Heart of Darkness. Platoon is comical nonsense; I've literally laughed out loud watching that overwrought mess. I agree with Guldbamsen that Natural Born Killers is great, mainly because it plays up Stone's strength, which is excess. Whenever he tries to be subtle, delicate, or sensitive, it's horrendous. Talk Radio is another fine film of his. Wall Street is nearly as bad as Platoon.
Joined: April 05 2006
Location: @ wicker man
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Points: 32637
Posted: April 19 2017 at 17:28
A rather redundant post considering that it's in the other poll and has already been mentioned in this thread. I expect that most of us who are interested in the subject matter will have seen Full Metal Jacket (I prefer it to Platoon). To be honest, it's commonly a peeve of mine when people mention "other" choices without saying anything about the listed options. Not that I would mind someone saying something like "Please excuse my ignorance, I haven't seen these, but one that fits the theme that I like is such-and-such." Sometimes it comes across as, "Your choices suck, you should have included these instead."
Joined: April 11 2014
Location: Kyiv In Spirit
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Points: 20483
Posted: April 20 2017 at 04:18
Logan wrote:
A rather redundant post considering that it's in the other poll and has already been mentioned in this thread. I expect that most of us who are interested in the subject matter will have seen Full Metal Jacket (I prefer it to Platoon). To be honest, it's commonly a peeve of mine when people mention "other" choices without saying anything about the listed options. Not that I would mind someone saying something like "Please excuse my ignorance, I haven't seen these, but one that fits the theme that I like is such-and-such." Sometimes it comes across as, "Your choices suck, you should have included these instead."
Thanks for your input Greg. No offence is taken by me, however. Some feel that they have to stress a contrary view, as if anyone really cares.
Edited by SteveG - April 20 2017 at 04:19
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Joined: December 27 2014
Location: Norwalk, CA
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Points: 9319
Posted: April 20 2017 at 09:29
Each of these movies took a different approach to the Vietnam conflict.
Apocalypse Now! was about a Special Forces officer sent on a secret mission to assassinate a rogue Colonel.
There were very few conventional combat scenes other than those with Robert Duvall's character.
Platoon was about a young infantryman and his tour of duty from beginning to end. The entire movie focused on the day to day life of a grunt "humping the boonies" in Nam.
The first half of Full Metal Jacket took place stateside during Marine boot camp. The second half was "in country" during the '68 Tet Offensive.
Very little of The Deer Hunter took place in Vietnam. It concentrated on before and after the three main characters went to Vietnam. It also showed how the war affected their friends at home.
We Were Soldiers was an accurate depiction of a very important battle that took place in the beginning of the war.
Joined: April 05 2006
Location: @ wicker man
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Points: 32637
Posted: April 20 2017 at 11:23
Interesting comparative post, TeleStrat
Kepler62 wrote:
Apocalypse Now is not about The Vietnam War.
Jungle fever... A river runs through it....
Apocalypse Now! is not about colonialism in the Belgian Congo either during the 19th century. Obviously A.N! is based on Heart of Darkness and parallels the plot and character development. A.N. is an updated version/adaptation of HoD which updates the setting to the Vietnam War. I have no problem with someone saying that A.N. is a Vietnam War movie since it takes place during that time and that is the setting. One could update Conrad's novel to various settings of course, and clearly the book and film have differences beyond just the setting.
Like many, Heart of Darkness was required school (think an English 100 course) reading. I wrote an essay comparing themes in both the Conrad and Coppola works about colonialism/ imperialism [edited sentence for coming out horribly garbled]. Wish I had kept such stuff.
On a personal note: I once pitched a script to Francis Ford Coppola and was shot down worse than anything in his film. "The horror, the horror".
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Apocalypse Now vs Platoon!
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