Apocalypse Now Movie review: Editing

The thing that makes the movie, Apocalypse Now, riveting is the way the editing is used as an
important tool to bring about the movies message. The movies message differentiates the movie
further from a typical war movie, as it depicts war as a journey into madness and shows the
damaging psychological effects of the horrible and futile conflict. The editing skills have such a
vital importance to the story and message that they even rival the actors skills. The movie
centers around Captain Benjamin Willard and his harrowing journey through the war wrecked
villages of Vietnam to track down and assassinate Colonel Walter Kurtz, a renegade and insane
officer, in a mission that technically does not exist.
The first major distinguishing factor that separates Apocalypse Now from other movies about war
is the style in which it is shot and edited. The use of shadows and light during shooting is used
very effectively to add mystery and give the viewer an accurate picture of the chaos of war. Also
the way that we often hear sound, like helicopter blades, before we see the actual action. These
combined with the use of fog shows the confusion and mystery of war.
Secondly, the way that the characters are shown presents a new look at the characters. The
majority of the shots that face the characters are extreme close-ups that leave us no choice but to
feel with the characters. We can see the pain, fear or exhaustion on the characters faces which
allow the viewers to immerse themselves in the movie. Also the use of half lighting on faces is
symbolic as showing the characters of half-light (good) and half dark (evil). The use of shotreverse-shot is very craftily done as deep conversations play an important role in the
development of the characters and plot. The long shots allowed the audience to see the emotions
on the characters face. The close-ups make the simple conversations more interesting as the
camera grabs onto eyes and inanimate objects before showing the main action, it builds the
suspense of the viewers.
The important editing tools in this movie is the use of dissolves, match-cuts and parallel shots to
emphasise the message of the movie. The use of dissolves allow the watcher to not only
understand what is being read but understand how it is perceived by the main character. It also
unites seemingly unlike elements in parallel shots which are used to great effectiveness in the
final scenes.
The scenes that show both the killing of Colonel Kurtz and the sacrificial killing of a water
buffalo is a good example of this. This match-cut is used to reinforce the movies message about
war as the descent into primal madness as it shows the similarity between the two acts of
violence, even though the murder of Colonel Kurtz was an order from civilized people. The use
of the shots dissolving into each other connects the two events making the audience understand
the connection between the two acts of brutality.
The main example of parallel shots are the scenes alternating shots between a helicopter and the
Vietnam village about to be attacked. The contrast of the rousing music and the absolute
massacre further enforces the movies theme of the act of war as a descent into madness. The way

that the shots change from the helicopters, to close ups to a peaceful village really captures the
spirit of the movie.
In short, the movie was made far more interesting due to its editing and its seemingly small
details that made the message stick in your brain. The way the shots were edited reinforced this
message, giving the movie a unique style.