Blog 4 (option 2)

       Imagine a jungle burst into flames, everything is a wreck, flames everywhere, trees burning, explosions constantly going off.  It is almost as if the world is coming to an end and it is being watched as it all comes down to nothing. The excerpt from a song plays as the image of everything is burning down, “wilderness of pain, all of the children are insane”. Yet there is a peaceful but contrasting scene overlapping the rage of fire and uncontrollable madness: the uncertain silence.  As the burning woods continue to light with shades of deep orange and bright yellow, Francis Ford Coppola successfully grabs the attention of the audience in his movie, Apocalypse Now. As the men from the U.S. Military approach the jungle, dead bodies hang from all over and the “citizens” stare at the few incoming soldiers as if they are ready to pounce at any given moment. Between the soldiers uncertainty of what they are getting involved with and the savages’ intense actions, leave me to believe that Coppola chose Vietnam as a setting to help illustrate the contrasting lifestyles and gradually depict the change after living there for a short amount of time.  

Throughout the movie, there are numerous scenes which best depict the art and contrast between the different lifestyles.  The savagery and scenery of the jungle brings in the audience and comes off like eye candy.  The filthy environment and appearance of the people add on to the eerie feeling that is continuously being added onto.  The design and creativity of the transformation from a U.S. soldier to one of the savages from the jungle, are shown smoothly.  Coppola’s creativity with the darkness, zooming, and mood catch the moment perfectly allowing the audience to feel as though they are there.  Additionally to the effects, Coppola uses the idea of aiming the camera directly in the face of characters to make the scenes more personable.  Multiple scenes have been narrated in this fashion, although a specific one had stuck out and caught my attention the most.  On the steamboat as the soldiers are on their way to see Kurtz, the steamboat driver had turned around to find his friend shot to death and bleeding profusely. The site that we see is his face looking straight at his friend lying there, however this is where Coppola uses his creativity in making the angle of the dying man us, as if we are the man dying and being brought directly into the scene. 

Due to Coppola’s unique and creative ways of using art, it allows the audience to come together and be brought into the movie.  Apocalypse Now gains positive qualities which allow more people to become interested and appreciate the work and effort put into making the movie. 

As Coppola distinctively makes the important scenes stand out most to the audience, it all comes together almost as if it is natural.  Displaying the contrast between the Soldiers and the savages and how each of them act and change can be a complex topic to deal with but the artistic features make it eye catching, and simply to the point.