Francis Ford Coppola is a director who has dabbled a little in every genre, never really settling down, never developing his own "tropes", never becoming predictable. Masters like Martin Scorsese certainly deserve their credit, but watching a Scorsese film, you know you're going to get fast-dolly-in movements, and you're probably going to get some Rolling Stones soundtrack. There are few similarities between Apocalypse Now, Rumble Fish and The Godfather, so with Coppola, you really never know what to expect.
The film is, supposedly, based on the novel Heart of Darkness, but to be completely honest, there are really only a few key parallels, some similar scenes. The movie itself is an entity all its own. Benjamin J. Willard, played by Martin Sheen, is our lead, a special operatives agent, an assassin, who is slowly going stir crazy awaiting his next assignment.
All he wants is to be put back in the field. "Every day, Charlie grows stronger while I grow weaker". He thrives on the blood lust of battle and can't take another day cooped up in this room. The opening scene is immediately gripping, with the choppers flying overhead and Willard simply going insane in a bedroom somewhere in Saigon, waiting for his next mission.
The famous shot of Sheen punching the mirror was not scripted. He really went that crazy. The film is full of scenes and moments that were not scripted, and not just because of Coppola's open attitude towards improvisation. The making of feature on this film is just about as wild and as fascinating as the movie itself, but we've only got time to review one or the other for now...
The movie is simply loaded with unforgettable characters. Without even discussing the main cast, we have Cockroach, a youth from Harlem capable of sleeping through the most intense battle, waking up to launch a perfectly arced grenade at an enemy hiding in the shadows, eliminate him, and go back to sleep. We have Dennis Hopper as a maniacal photo journalist, and Robert Duvall as Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore, a mix of samurai, Patton and surfer dude, sending his men out to hit the waves amidst napalm detonating against the beach.
This isn't even getting into the main cast, these characters appear for one scene and then disappear from the film forever. Marlon Brando as Colonel Kurtz doesn't even appear until the very end, but his presence, his mere existence, casts a shadow that commands the entirety of the film, despite his limited screen time, or perhaps, mythologized by his non-presence.
The film succeeds on every possible level. It is endearing, at times, when you see the camaraderie between the men on Willard's boat. It's funny, it's exciting with some of the greatest action set pieces ever put to film, it's a jaw dropping piece of cinematic art, yet... The pessimism, the nihilism of the two main characters, Willard and Kurtz, eventually takes over and overwhelms every other aspect of the film.
Coppola always cites Rumble Fish as his own favorite amongst his films, but fans will duke it out between Apocalypse Now and The Godfather Part 2. Of course, it's always up to the individual viewer, but without a doubt, this film is certainly his most ambitious, his most unpredictable, and his most insane movie. - 40723
The film is, supposedly, based on the novel Heart of Darkness, but to be completely honest, there are really only a few key parallels, some similar scenes. The movie itself is an entity all its own. Benjamin J. Willard, played by Martin Sheen, is our lead, a special operatives agent, an assassin, who is slowly going stir crazy awaiting his next assignment.
All he wants is to be put back in the field. "Every day, Charlie grows stronger while I grow weaker". He thrives on the blood lust of battle and can't take another day cooped up in this room. The opening scene is immediately gripping, with the choppers flying overhead and Willard simply going insane in a bedroom somewhere in Saigon, waiting for his next mission.
The famous shot of Sheen punching the mirror was not scripted. He really went that crazy. The film is full of scenes and moments that were not scripted, and not just because of Coppola's open attitude towards improvisation. The making of feature on this film is just about as wild and as fascinating as the movie itself, but we've only got time to review one or the other for now...
The movie is simply loaded with unforgettable characters. Without even discussing the main cast, we have Cockroach, a youth from Harlem capable of sleeping through the most intense battle, waking up to launch a perfectly arced grenade at an enemy hiding in the shadows, eliminate him, and go back to sleep. We have Dennis Hopper as a maniacal photo journalist, and Robert Duvall as Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore, a mix of samurai, Patton and surfer dude, sending his men out to hit the waves amidst napalm detonating against the beach.
This isn't even getting into the main cast, these characters appear for one scene and then disappear from the film forever. Marlon Brando as Colonel Kurtz doesn't even appear until the very end, but his presence, his mere existence, casts a shadow that commands the entirety of the film, despite his limited screen time, or perhaps, mythologized by his non-presence.
The film succeeds on every possible level. It is endearing, at times, when you see the camaraderie between the men on Willard's boat. It's funny, it's exciting with some of the greatest action set pieces ever put to film, it's a jaw dropping piece of cinematic art, yet... The pessimism, the nihilism of the two main characters, Willard and Kurtz, eventually takes over and overwhelms every other aspect of the film.
Coppola always cites Rumble Fish as his own favorite amongst his films, but fans will duke it out between Apocalypse Now and The Godfather Part 2. Of course, it's always up to the individual viewer, but without a doubt, this film is certainly his most ambitious, his most unpredictable, and his most insane movie. - 40723
About the Author:
Producers and directors don't have time to read through these and they will usually end up trashed. Unlimited DVD Rental As such, Munich doesnt spell things out for the audience like a typical Hollywood blockbuster. You know that thousand could turn into ten thousand!
No comments:
Post a Comment