Until last night, the only time I had seen this movie was in my 11th grade English so that we could write an essay comparing it to Conrad's Heart of Darkness. It's really difficult to get a sense of a movie in 45 minute pieces. Boy, am I glad I took a second look. This movie is wonderful. Narrated incredibly by Martin Sheen, the movie follows his character, Capt. Willard, as he goes further and further up the river into the jungles of Vietnam to terminate with extreme prejudice Kurtz a former military hero who has gone crazy. With tremendous performances by the entire cast, notably Sheen and Robert Duvall, Apocalypse Now allows us to see the many horrors of Vietnam and how the men who went there were changed forever. You definitely have to be in the right mood to watch this movie, but if you haven't seen it, make sure you rent it. The vivid pictures and wonderful camera shots created by Coppola and the great acting will make it worthwhile.