 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Apocalypse Now
- Review Date: October 12, 2005
- R
- Genre: Drama
- 1979
Common Sense Media says
Disturbing tale of war horrors isn't for kids.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this film has dark and violent overtones. It is not recommended for kids. This is not a historical piece that glorifies the moral journeys of American soldiers. It includes excessive swearing, violence, and drug use. The film also presents American soldiers as overall hostile and excessively violent.
What's the story?
Francis Ford Coppola's APOCALYPSE NOW served as the director's artistic follow-up to his first two Godfather films (1972, 1974). The film chronicles Capt. Benjamin J. Willard's (Martin Sheen) journey down a hostile Vietnam river to find and kill a crazed Green Beret, Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando). The majority of the film follows Willard and his shipmates (Laurence Fishburne, Sam Bottoms, Frederic Forrest, Albert Hall) as they travel to their classified destination. Ultimately, Willard must face the horror of the world Kurtz has created.
Is it any good?
One of the crown jewels of Zoetrope Studios, Apocalypse Now infamous for its director's over-budget and over-schedule process. The six-week shoot ultimately took 16 months. The project was plagued by problems. Coppola shot nearly 200 hours of film and took almost three years to edit the project. Despite multiple glitches in the process, the final product is a gripping and incredibly disturbing image of the murkiness of war and the depths of human depravity. Despite it being one of the greatest films of all time, parents might want to consider the film's psychological suspense and extreme violence before letting their teens watch it.
Apocalypse features outstanding performances by Sheen, Fishburne and Forrest. Robert Duvall gives a disturbing performance as Lieutenant Kilgore, a man who finds surfing and combat compatible activities and the character credited with one of the films most famous lines, "I love the smell of napalm in the morning." The film went on to garner two Academy Awards, six additional nominations, and won the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival.
Explore, discuss, enjoy
Families can talk about moral and cinematic issues. The film portrays Vietnam soldiers in various ways: cold-blooded murderers, drug addicts, kids, etc. Does Lieutenant Colonel Kilgore's obsession with battleground surfing present any ideological problems? How does the film draw on Lance's drug use to comment on the overall experience and psyche of the Vietnam soldier? How do Willard's and Kurtz's horrific visions and acts comment on the murkiness of war? How does this film add to the existing historical and journalistic discourse regarding Vietnam veterans? What liberties does the film take with its source material, Heart of Darkness?
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Teen, 13 years old
April 9, 2008
AGE
slow but wonderful
this movie is a complete and utter masterpeice, although , at some points in the film , i was found wandering off in my mind, just because this movie is quite slow and serious, but if ur looking for a classic , look no further,
this is great!
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Parent
March 8, 2010
AGE
Apocalypes Now
I love this movie. Its definitely not a kids movie, but teens and adults will love it.
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Teen, 16 years old
August 2, 2009
AGE
Excellent war film. Apocalypse Now illustrates the horror, the absurdity, and the futility of war, but most important it portrays war's damaging psychological effects. A descent too far inward thus becomes a descent into hell—a hell brought on by the metaphorical journey upriver. The atrocities of war have caused the each character to lose all sense of self and to become an other, an empty shell that can no longer recognize itself or, like Kurtz, discriminate along moral lines. But while Apocalypse Now implies that war effectively displaces the self and the rights and wrongs of morality, its conclusion suggests that the soul is capable of rejecting such darkness.
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Teen, 13 years old
January 1, 2009
AGE
Really Good
Really good war film, and the last scene isn't that graphic, as you don't see most of it. Suitable for 13+
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Teen, 14 years old
April 9, 2008
AGE
A Surreal Odyssey
An insane depiction of the lostest civility of mankind. War.
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Adult
October 6, 2009
AGE
good for teens who love cookies.
gory vioence. brutal and disturbing. for mature pickles only.
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Parent
July 12, 2011
AGE
25+
R18+ Extreme violence extreme language extreme nudity extreme war themes extreme disturbing scenes extreme blood and gore extreme i would be scared if anyone over 25 watched this movie my 17 year old son really wants to watch it but me and my wife said no maybe when your 23 there should be a rating called R25+ that's what i think
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Adult
August 4, 2009
AGE
One of the Best Movies of All Time, but Not for Kids
Though I've lived a short life of only 18 years, I've seen around 700 films, especially romantic comedies because my mom loves them and I wasn't smart enough to leave the room for I had nothing better to do. After many years of not being allowed to watch rated R movies, I'm doing a heavy overdose now that I'm old enough. After all of my viewing experience, this is probably the best movie I've seen yet, better than Star Wars or The Dark Knight or any other film. It is visceral, brilliant, and rises to the occasion on every level. The other truth is, this film is not for children. The plot is extremely amoral, everything is dark, people are killed and a water buffalo is truly slain before the camera's eyes, and people take drugs all of the time. You would have to be a bad parent to let anyone under age 17 watch this film. I prefer the Redux edition, which contains more sexual parts than the original, which of course makes it worse in age appropriateness. I find this film to be one of the pinnacles in movies, but I can't seen anyone young watching this at all.
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Teen, 13 years old
June 7, 2012
AGE
Apocalypse Now Review
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Teen, 15 years old
May 28, 2012
AGE
One Of The Ten Greatest Films Ever Made
This film can vary depending on which version you are watching. There are two. The theatrical version, and the redux version. Be careful which one you pick. The theatrical is much tamer, cutting out some violence and all of the sex scenes. The redux version leaves it all in.
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| Studio: | Paramount Pictures |
| Director: | Francis Ford Coppola |
| Cast: | Marlon Brando, Martin Sheen, Robert Duvall |
| Genre: | Drama |
| Run time: | 153 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | January 1, 1979 |
| DVD release date: | November 9, 1999 |
| MPAA rating: | R |
| MPAA explanation: | disturbing violent images, language, sexual content and some drug use |
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