![]() ![]() ![]() “Clean” is one of the crew members assigned to make the voyage, led by Captain Benjamin Willard (Martin Sheen) and accompanied on the Navy patrol boat by its commander (Albert Hall as “Chief”) and two other crew members. ![]() A psychotic Colonel (Marlon Brando) is to be located and deactivated ‘with extreme prejudice’ – as in killed – by a small force of Special Ops officers and crew, requiring a secret voyage upriver through hostile territory infested with danger both physical and emotional. Clean”, a Gunner’s Mate 3rd Class.įor anyone who isn’t familiar with the cult classic, Apocalypse Now is a very gritty, sometimes gruesome and mostly authentic rendition of conditions and behaviors that existed in the war-torn Viet Nam re-created in the film. Laurence was cast in the prominent role of Tyrone Miller, aka “Mr. In fact Laurence later told interviewers that he was pretty sure Coppola and his casting crew knew about the deception it’s likely that with all the difficulties encountered during the filming of Apocalypse Now the director had plenty of other problems on his mind and the least of his worries was an underage but extremely talented actor. He told Coppola that he was sixteen and the director may or may not have believed him, but Laurence got the job. In Larry’s case he wanted to be in Francis Ford Coppola’s film Apocalypse Now, despite the fact that he was fourteen at the time and the role called for an eighteen-year-old tough guy from the Bronx. Lots of kids lie about their age for one reason or another, usually involving the use of alcohol or tobacco and other “adult” joys forbidden to the underage explorer. He went from there to other, larger roles in mainstream films, developing his talents in various directions. Maybe it’s significant that his character is reformed by a loving adoptive family during his three years on the soap. Larry’s first notable acting gig was as Peter Pan when he was ten, and at twelve he was cast as Josh Hall, a tough drug-dealing street kid in the soap opera One Life to Live. Born in Augusta, Georgia in 1961 to Laurence Fishburne II and Hattie, juvenile corrections officer and schoolteacher respectively, Larry moved with Hattie to New York when she and his dad divorced, so he was raised in Brooklyn. However, few actors working today can boast a screen history as dense and eclectic as the Georgia-born, Manhattan-raised Larry Fishburne.Įven fewer can claim the sort of childhood that Larry experienced, if you figure childhood generally lasts for at least fourteen or fifteen years. Perhaps the subject matter of madness in war is what keeps this film so illusory and mystifying, yet, make no mistake, it is truly excellent.Most moviegoers know Laurence Fishburne (III) as the cool, understated and quietly courageous Captain Morpheus from The Matrix film trilogy, or as Furious Styles, the voice of reason in the 1991 Boyz n the Hood. When you walk away after your first viewing, you cannot help but feel that you witnessed a crowning artistic achievement. Seldom is a film so brilliant it cannot really be adequately summarized in words, Apocalypse Now is such a film. War provides the canvass and catalyst for Col Kurtz to see the remarkable humbling reality of how precariously close we all sit to falling into the "horror". Col Kurtz crossed a line somewhere in his journey through combat from which he cannot return. At every moment there is an engrossing sense of confusion, angst and simmering anger, all the essential ingredients of insanity. The excellent Marlon Brando delivers a captivating and, evidently, mostly unscripted performance. A viewer is inescapably left with a deep sense of unease and confusion throughout this film. The simple hunt for a surfing spot or the bizarre USO show scenes are more rattling than the movie's visceral gory moments. Apocalypse Now captures the madness and terror of war and the darker elements of our existence, perhaps most perfectly in any scene not directly dealing with combat. Excellent camera work, an impeccably chosen sound track and legendary performances make for one of the greatest war epics of all time. ![]()
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