Miker wrote:
>
> just watched "apocalypse now" again, after not
seeing it for years.
damn,
> that is a spectacular movie! its one of the very few
movie
adaptations
> which is better than the book.
Despite it's massive flaws, I like APOCALYPSE NOW a lot - but
better than HEART OF DARKNESS? Gimme a break. I don't trust
myself to even take that one up, I'd become too emotional.
I'll let someone else take up the cudgel in Conrad's defence
- I'm sure there'll be some takers.
>
> 1. what is the wagner tune that kilgore (robert
duvall)is playing
when they
> take charlie point?
Opera ain't my strong suit but I think it's known as "The
Ride of the Valkyries" but I don't know if that's it's formal
title or just how it's generally referred to.
>
> 2. what is the "hollow man" poetry that kurtz is
reading near the
end?
T.S. Eliot, which very much ties in with Conrad, RITUALS OF
ROMANCE (I think) & THE GOLDEN BOUGH. When I saw THE
GOLDEN BOUGH on Kurtz's reading table I knew exactly how the
climax would play itself out - THE GOLDEN BOUGH being all
about replacing the old king/chief/priest with someone
younger and more virile to ensure rain, better crops, etc
(you recall the assasination is followed by a torrential
downpour). According to Frazer, this was often effected by
the replacement killing the incumbent - so the story is that
the villagers are expecting Kurtz to be killed (hence the
celebrations) & why they are all waiting deferentially
for his assasin afterwards instead of the retribution the
Sheen character is expecting. Everyone is aware of HEART OF
DARKNESS as making up the basis for some of the film but for
some reason Michael Herr's DISPATCHES has been almost
completely overlooked. Herr served as a "technical advisor"
but i don't think DISPATCHES was ever credited. DISPATCHES
was a series of articles written by Herr as a freelance war
correspondent from Vietnam. All the stuff that people
associate most with APOCALYPSE NOW is in this amazing book,
IIRC - the trippped-out soldiers shooting aimlessly into the
jungle, Wagner played from helicopters, surfing under enemy
fire. It's surreal stuff and apparently all true.It's the
pre-Kurtz stuff in APOCALYPSE NOW that I liked the best. I
felt the whole HEART OF DARKNESS business was just tacked on
in an effort to get some sort of structure happening & it
wasn't successful - particularly Brando's portrayal of
Kurtz.All in all, a very flawed film but it did have some of
the most memorable images in film, IMO.
Rene
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