| Fred Cartwright | 12 Apr 2016 6:06 a.m. PST |
Started playtesting for a new version of the RFCM "Men of Company B" Vietnam rules, so watched Apocalypse Now to get in the mood. Is it me or is Brando just going through the motions? Martin Sheen puts in a solid performance, but Robert Duval steals the show with his eccentric Air Cav colonel. He gets all the best lines too – "Charlie don't surf!" and "I love the smell of Naplam in the morning." In fact that whole segment with the Air Cav is great. The bit where the guy is telling the Vietnamese "We are your friends. We are here to help you." while an Amtrac bulldozes down a building in the background and an M41 Zippo burns another is priceless! |
| Martin Rapier | 12 Apr 2016 6:17 a.m. PST |
Brando did a pretty good job I thought. There seems to be some disagreement as to exactly which loopy SF colonel his character was based on. An interesting complementary read is 'A River in May' by Edward Wilson, also ex Vietnam SF. |
| Fred Cartwright | 12 Apr 2016 7:00 a.m. PST |
Thanks for the book tip Martin. I'll dig it out. How many crazy SF Colonels were there in VN? |
 Saber6   | 12 Apr 2016 7:03 a.m. PST |
How many SF Colonels were in VN? |
| kallman | 12 Apr 2016 7:10 a.m. PST |
The making of the movie Apocalypse Now is in itself quiet a story. Sheen had just recovered from a heart attack and Brando showed up on the set having gained a ton of weight which is why all his shots are films in dark shadows to hide his girth. Which actually I think worked to enhanced the drama of the story. Yes Duval got all the best lines except "Never leave the boat!" I also encourage anyone who is a fan of the film to actually read the novel "Heart of Darkness" which is set in colonial Africa and what the movie was loosely based upon. |
| Gabriel Landowski | 12 Apr 2016 8:20 a.m. PST |
The COL borrowed lines credited to LTC David Hackworth. The rumor is one of his LTs later served as an advisor to the movie. I ask Hack if it was true before he died and he says it was possible as he was always kind of saying those sort of things to put on a show for the troopers and take their minds off death. |
| T Andrews | 12 Apr 2016 9:06 a.m. PST |
If you like Apocalypse Now!'s take on the VN war, then you might like the book Dispatches by Michael Herr. |
martin goddard  | 12 Apr 2016 9:37 a.m. PST |
Fred does consistently put claymores along the path to the play room.. just stop it. The casualties are horrendous Fred!
martin
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| jdginaz | 12 Apr 2016 9:46 a.m. PST |
Then again Hackworth was know to….lets say exaggerate the truth. |
| Fred Cartwright | 12 Apr 2016 10:12 a.m. PST |
Actually Martin going by my last playtest shooting peasants seems to be my forte! I kept throwing double ones. Just call me Fred "Calley" Cartwright! |
| Mako11 | 12 Apr 2016 11:54 a.m. PST |
I loved Robert in the movie. He was great, and over the top, like a good leader should be. I'm not sure Brando was even going through the motions. Thought his performance to be very poor. Agree on the lighting issue though – it worked. Sheen was pretty good. |
| raylev3 | 12 Apr 2016 12:35 p.m. PST |
In reality, Brando showed up without having read his lines or prepared. He made it all up….it shows. |
| martin goddard | 12 Apr 2016 1:24 p.m. PST |
But Fred, they are all VC really
martin
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| GeoffQRF | 12 Apr 2016 1:33 p.m. PST |
According to IMDB: "Marlon Brando was paid $1 USD million in advance. He threatened to quit and keep the advance. Francis Ford Coppola told his agent that he didn't care, and if they couldn't get Brando, they would try Jack Nicholson, Robert Redford, and then Al Pacino. Brando eventually turned up late, drunk, 40kg (about 88lbs) overweight, and admitted he hadn't read the script or even "Heart of Darkness", the book it was based on. He read Coppola's script, and refused to do it. After days of arguments over single lines of dialogue, an ad-lib style script was agreed upon, and this was shot according to Brando's stipulations that he be filmed mostly in shadows." |
| Coelacanth1938 | 12 Apr 2016 1:53 p.m. PST |
My girlfriend and I went to a special screening of the director's cut of Apocalypse Now. It was really something else. But when the film was over and we were leaving, my girlfriend asked me if the movie was about religion. To this day, I'm not sure. |
| Goonfighter | 12 Apr 2016 2:39 p.m. PST |
Yes, "Despatches" is good, I think Herr was involved in the film in some way. I think the scene with the VC in the wire features in the Khe Sanh section of "Despatches". |
| Cherno | 12 Apr 2016 3:19 p.m. PST |
"Drop the bomb… Exterminate them all." |
| Blutarski | 12 Apr 2016 6:46 p.m. PST |
The M79 gunner moment in the trench during the NVA/VC night attack was lifted straight from "Despatches". Another very worthwhile VN film IMO was "Hamburger Hill". B |
| Ducel1 | 12 Apr 2016 7:28 p.m. PST |
I prefer "Apocalypse Now Redux" a much better film. |
| boy wundyr x | 13 Apr 2016 10:10 a.m. PST |
And then there was the parody, "Porklips Now", used to be on the same VHS tape as Bambi Meets Godzilla, Closet Cases of the Nerd Kind, and Hardware Wars. |
| Maxshadow | 18 Apr 2016 3:09 a.m. PST |
One of the few times the movie was even better than the book. |
| Skarper | 18 Apr 2016 4:38 a.m. PST |
"How many SF Colonels were in VN?" Err – all of them? A joke but the way they rotated in order to give everyone some experience I bet most SF officers got time in. |
