Apocalypse Now vs. Heart of Da

Francis Coppola’s Apocalypse Now dramatically displays a variety of the shocking, devastating, and bizarre emotions experienced by victims of the Vietnam War. Viewers are able to feel the horror and madness of the war as eccentric images of Hell repeat themselves upon Captain Willard’s arrival to Kurtz’s station. As Willard reaches his destination, the evidence of insanity grows as the presence of Natives present themselves awkward to the audience and to the …

…addition to horror and madness, the silence of nature and of the natives; the use of special effects and props, and the effective design of the Hell-like jungle contributes to the feel of mystification and bewilderment – feelings that can be dangerous if not properly controlled, as did Marlow. The film-version of Heart of Darkness is a powerful means of expressing the horror and madness of the human heart in a sensuous and dramatically fascinating way.