Whenever I’m asked about my favorite movie, I can answer “Apocalypse now” without hesitation.   I’ve seen it dozens of times. The first time was for its launch in 1979.  I was only 15 years old, what a shock!

With time, understanding the movie and discovering the hidden symbols reinforced my love for this masterpiece.

It embodies the destructive madness of human beings and the constant questioning between Good and Evil; as first Colonel Kurtz and then Captain Willard wind their way up the river, they confront and unravel the source of their anxiety and fear.

Everyone who has seen this movie is marked for life.

The content is not just a matter of intense emotion and teaching but the filming process has extraordinary life lessons too.Eleanor Coppola, the director’s wife, made a documentary : Heart of darkness… 100% on rotten tomatoes!!

Her documentary highlights the challenges Francis encountered that nearly destroyed his life. I believe struggles like this embody the essence of art and cinema.

By Noel Murray March 25, 2013

Movies like Apocalypse Now help us understand the meaning of life, the making of mistakes and choosing the wandering path. What does humanity mean? Who is really human? Kurtz? Kilgore? Those who rain bullets down from their choppers?  So many questions…

1979 was a pivotal year for me. I tried everything including sex, drugs and music. I saw, Bob Marley, Joe Jackson and the Police that summer. In 1979 the lyrics “Crache ton venin (“spit your venom”) from Telephone, really upset lots of young teenagers, just like me.

Apocalypse Now will remain an important turning point in my life. It still influences my vision of the world; and affirms my penchant for melancholy, Art and my questioning of the established order.

Apocalypse Now was also my discovery of the End by the Doors… but this is the beginning of another story.