Apocalypse Now Themes
Warfare
General William Tecumseh Sherman was right. War is hell. Apocalypse Now is a guide to hell. Its journey through the jungle netherworld almost reminds you of Dante's Inferno—just when you think it...
Madness
Making Apocalypse Now drove everyone a little bonkers. The director contemplated suicide, the actors had meltdowns—the whole production at times seemed like one collective nervous breakdown. Psyc...
Power
Colonel Kurtz exists in his own private world of warcraft where he wields complete power over his followers and his enemies. He sets himself up in an abandoned Cambodian temple, which adds to his g...
Lies and Deceit
Despite his fondness for atrocities, Kurtz has a code he lives by, and the thing he seems to hate most is dishonesty. In Apocalypse Now, he thinks the generals who are supposed to be commanding him...
Good vs. Evil
Except for the Nung River, nothing's murkier in Apocalypse Now than morality. The film's shot through with moral ambiguity. We never quite know who the good guys and bad guys are. We've got murdero...