My Review: Apocalypse Now Redux (7/10)

¨I love the smell of napalm in the morning.¨

There is no doubt that Apocalypse Now will be considered by many as one of the best films of all time because it is a very memorable and unique film. It feels surreal at times and has some great performances. It`s also hard to define what genre the film belongs to because it doesn’t seem to have a structure or a pattern we find in other films. Apocalypse Now is a classic and powerful film, but I really wasn’t blown away by it and didn’t enjoy it very much. The problem I had with it was that I watched the Redux version which is almost one hour longer than the original, so there were several moments that seemed to drag forever. What I did enjoy about this movie was the first hour which I felt was an absolute masterpiece. Those first sixty minutes were a lot of fun and had the best moments in the movie. Then the next two hours dragged way too much with all the surrealism. I got the point, the soldiers were getting crazy over the minute and the film succeeds tremendously in pointing that out as we see how nonsensical this war really was. The minds of these men seemed to be lost completely and there was chaos reigning all over the place. For me nothing will replace those brilliant first sixty minutes with a performance from Robert Duvall for the ages. He was perfect in those few scenes he was in and I wish the film would`ve dealt with him instead. The entrance in the helicopters with the classical music and then the surfing in the middle of the war zone was so hilarious; one of the best scenes in film history. I was really feeling good about this movie, until the film went completely in another direction and lost my interest.

The movie takes place during the Vietnam War and it begins with a voice over narration of the main character, Captain Benjamin Willard (Martin Sheen), who has recently returned from the United States to continue fighting. He is beginning to lose his mind while he awaits his mission. He says all he wanted to do when he was in the jungle was return home, and once he was home all he wanted was to return to the jungle. War has taken its toll on him. Finally he receives a new mission from Colonel Lucas (Harrison Ford) that is highly classified. He has to go down the Nung River all the way to Cambodia and find a former Colonel who has seemed to have lost his mind and gone haywire. He has built an army of his own and is killing off several Viet Cong officials without taking orders from anyone. Colonel Lucas wants Captain Willard to locate Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando) and kill him. Willard is sent on his mission along with a Navy patrol boat to escort him. Chief Phillips (Albert Hall), Chef Hicks (Frederic Forrest), Lance Johnson (Sam Bottoms) a known surfer, and Clean Miller (Laurence Fishburne) are Captain Willard`s only companions on this classified mission. In order to begin their course down the river they first have to infiltrate a Viet Cong outpost so Lt. Kilgore (Robert Duvall) and his cavalry help them do so. As Captain Willard and his men begin their descent through the river they come across several bases (friendly and enemy) and the further down we go the more chaotic and wild things begin to get.

The descent through the Nung River was probably my least favorite part of the film. I enjoyed much more the scenes with Lt. Kilgore and his men that helped them begin their mission. Duvall as Lt. Kilgore steals the movie and he is brilliant in every scene. He is more concerned with surfing than he is with the actual War. It`s as if he is living in an alternate reality. This is just a small glimpse of what we are going to see further on in the movie as we encounter different outposts that seem to get weirder every time. Everything is escalating up to the very end and seems to get more and more chaotic thus making the title, Apocalypse Now, very appropriate. This isn’t your typical war movie, people are losing their minds and the film becomes more and more surreal and harder to fit into one specific genre. Francis Ford Coppola was at the top of his game during the 70`s with The Godfather films and you can see how brilliantly directed the scenes were. The cinematography and lighting was excellent. The reason I don’t give this film a higher grade despite admitting it is a memorable and unique movie is because I really wasn’t entertained that much with it. It would be hard to watch it again, unless I could just see that first hour with Robert Duvall. The all star cast makes it a little easier to watch: Robert Duvall, Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Harrison Ford, Dennis Hopper, and Laurence Fishburne.

  

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My Review: On the Waterfront (10/10)

¨You don't understand. I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am, let's face it. It was you, Charley. ¨

If you aren`t moved by this quote then perhaps it`s because you haven`t seen 1954`s On the Waterfront. I know the phrase isn`t all that memorable if you read it on its own, but if you have seen this scene before then you probably get goose bumps just from reading it. Marlon Brando delivers this line to perfection in one of his best performances in a 5 minute scene with Rod Steiger in the back of a cab. It is considered by many as one of the best American scenes in film and in my opinion it is one of my favorites. I didn`t care that the taxi had Venetian blinds in the back window or that the set wasn`t great, all I really cared about were the two characters and the way they delivered each line. It is not only one of the most touching and memorable scenes of the movie, it stands on its own. If the film sucked for 100 minutes but still had this great cab scene in it I`d give this movie 10 stars anyways because it`s just worth it. However the other 95 minutes don`t suck, they are great as well so On the Waterfront ranks among the best films in history. Elia Kazan did a terrific job with the direction getting the best out of every actor on the set, the black and white cinematography by Boris Kaufman gave the film the realistic mood it needed, the screenplay written by Budd Schulberg and adapted from Johnson`s news articles about the mobs that ruled the docks was inspiring, and the original music by Leonard Bernstein made this a perfect film. The film has aged very well even now 55 years later, and one can still appreciate the eight Oscars it won. The film truly captures the essence of the fifties and the social injustice that was going on in the waterfront.

Terry Malloy (Marlon Brando) is a former boxer who had a lot of potential but wasn`t able to ever get a chance to fight for the title. He has been working at the docks ever since following orders from his corrupt boss Johnny Friendly (Lee J. Cobb) and his partner Charley (Rod Steiger) who is Terry`s older brother as well. Terry is uneducated and Johnny is like family for him, so he always is willing to do favors for him and his brother. One day they ask him to turn in one of his friends so they can convince him not to speak out against them in court. Malloy follows orders although little did he expect that they were going to murder his friend. He has mixed feeling about what happened but he lives under the ¨D and D¨ code, which means being deaf and dumb so he is not willing to tell anyone what has happened. The victim`s sister, Edie (Eva Marie Saint), is an innocent catholic educated girl that is trying to find out what has happened. She meets the priest, Father Barry (Karl Malden), and begs him to try to find out who killed her brother. It´s not long before Terry falls for Edie and she sees past his apparent tough guy attitude. There is some sweetness and kindness in Malloy who enjoys spending time in the rooftops tending to his pigeons. Terry struggles between remaining faithful to his boss and brother and speaking out against the injustice going on in the waterfront. Meanwhile Father Barry tries to stir some courage out of the workers who are being exploited by the mob.

 On the Waterfront is considered a masterpiece because Kazan was able to capture the injustices that were going on in the docks during the era in a very realistic and powerful way. He was against remaining silent and thought people should always speak out against evil. The worst thing one could do was to remain silent like the workers in the waterfront did because that just allows more evil to take place. Some think Kazan used this movie as an explanation as to why he whistle blew against some of his partners during McCarthy`s communist witch hunt. I think the film is much more than that however. The priest figure in the film serves as a symbol as to how sometimes the church remains silent against the abuse of the powerful over the poor. The Church should always take an interest towards the weak and defend them, and that is sort of what Father Barry does in some very memorable speeches. Terry`s character is also a key element of the film as we all can identify with what he was going through. He had a conflict of interest, but had to do what he thought was the right thing. The way he let himself be cheated out of being a contender for the boxing title, in a way represents all those wrong decisions we regret from our past that could have changed our lives in the future so we can easily identify with his character. Marlon Brando is such a great actor and he truly gives one of the best performances I have seen in a film. This film is required viewing for everyone. 

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My Review: The Godfather (10/10)

¨I`ll make him an offer he can`t refuse.¨

Many people consider the 70`s to be the Golden Age in Cinema, and if that is the case then Francis Ford Coppola had a great deal to do with it. During that decade he directed The Godfather Part 1 and 2, The Conversation, and Apocalypse Now; he also produced American Graffiti, and wrote the screenplay for Patton. During that time he won 5 Oscars and was nominated for another seven. At least one of these films is on everybody`s favorite movies list, and The Godfather is considered by many critics to be the best film of all time. Despite being nominated for eleven Oscars it only took home three (Best Picture, Best Performance by Marlon Brando, and Best Screenplay), just one more confirmation that a film can`t be judged by the amount of awards it receives. The Godfather deserves much more. It is a movie that has transcended time and is enjoyed by everyone even decades after its first release. It was the first of its kind to portray the mafia from the inside and Coppola does a great job at romanticizing them and making us root for these criminals. How does he do it? By showing us the mafia as a strong and united family that supports each other; portraying the good guys as bad (there are corrupt cops and politicians); and making Vito Corleone stand out from the rest of the criminal families by not wanting to get involved in the drug business. He completely romanticizes the Corleone family and has us rooting for them from the very first scene thanks to a very intelligent script co-written with Mario Puzo who had previously written the bestselling novel. The script is amazing, the performances are great, and the direction from Coppola is just superb. All these elements combine perfectly to create this classic masterpiece.

We are introduced to Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) in the opening scene. He is head of one of the five New York Mafia families, and is attending his daughter`s wedding. The wedding serves as a great excuse for Coppola to introduce all the characters because the entire family is gathered at the wedding. Vito is the Godfather for many of the people invited and he is treated with a great deal of respect. Tradition has it that no Sicilian can refuse requests on their daughter`s wedding day, so Vito is attending some of his associates who are in need of favors. His sons Sonny (James Caan) and Fredo (John Cazale) are in the family business along with Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall), the family lawyer and consigliere, who was adopted by Vito at a very young age and is like a son to him as well. His youngest son, Michael (Al Pacino), a World War II veteran shows up with his girlfriend Kay Adams (Diane Keaton) and is talking to her about his family. This conversation also serves as a perfect excuse to hear anecdotes about the family`s criminal life and we are informed at once that Michael is the only one who is not involved in the family business. He has decided to stay away from the criminal lifestyle and is respected by his family. The entire plot takes place inside the world of the Corleone family and during a time where significant change begins to take place. Vito will have to make an important decision whether or not the family should protect a wealthy man named The Turk (Al Lettieri) who is trying to bring heroin into the city, or stick to the harmless gambling and alcohol business. He better think things carefully because his decision could have consequences.

The Godfather is without a doubt a masterpiece and the cast has a great deal to do with it. James Caan and Robert Duvall had worked with Coppola in his previous film, The Rain People, and now they returned again with significant roles. They give great performances, but who really stands out in this movie is Marlon Brando who really becomes the Don. He gives one of the most memorable and all-time best movie performances in film history. Al Pacino hadn`t made a significant movie before and the transformation he goes through in this film is incredible. His character is the one who experiences the most change if we recall his first appearance in the wedding and his last one in the Baptism scene. The screenplay is also very well written, the story completely hooks us from the very beginning, the characters are unforgettable, and Coppola just did a great job with the direction as he immersed us inside this world of crime. Of course we know that the mob world isn`t anything like this and it has been romanticized by Hollywood, but Coppola managed to make us care for these criminals who actually don`t see themselves as the villains. Nino Rota`s score is just amazing and breathtaking; it helps build the suspense.The Baptism parallel action scene is one of the best ones in film history and has since been imitated endlessly in most action films, although never with the same effect. This is required viewing for everyone, one of the greatest achievements in film history.

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