Line #11 Fridge/ApocalypseNow


1	!!FridgeBrilliance:
2	* Kurtz describing how the Viet Cong were not evil despite committing [[MoralEventHorizon grossly evil acts]] can come across as odd. But then again, he was not exactly sane [[HorribleJudgeOfCharacter or a good judge of character]], and we are not supposed to believe the Viet Cong are good.
3	* The U.S Command sending Willard, a recently divorced and clearly traumatized veteran of the currently ongoing Vietnam War on a top-secret mission to kill a rogue U.S Special Forces Colonel. You would think they would choose another Special Forces guy who didn't have all these psychological issues to take the mission. However, the concept and true impact of post-traumatic stress disorder was only recently coming into the limelight at that point, and before that, most military forces around the world didn't care if you were traumatized by what you experienced; if your body was intact and you could fire a gun, you were good to go. The U.S. military would be no different towards Captain Willard. Even in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, PTSD was not initially recognized and most commanders refused to accept it as it would tamper with their worldview.
4	** Also, it's noted that a Capt. Colby is sent to make the initial attempt to stop Kurtz. Colby's background is the complete opposite of Willard's but on arrival Willard meets Colby and finds that the fine upstanding officer and his team have fallen in with Kurtz. It's possible that [[InsanityImmunity Willard's already unstable psychology made him safe from corruption]].
5	* The part right before the crew enters Cambodia past that bridge can come across as surreal just for the sake of it. But then again, we are looking through the eyes and ears of Private Lance who is currently stoned on drugs, '''no wonder''' it was surreal.
6	* While the plot of ''Film/ApocalypseNow'' is essentially Conrad's ''Heart of Darkness'', most of the scenes are taken nearly verbatim from a real-life, first person account of the war, ''Dispatches'' by Michael Herr. The scene at the bridge is exactly as described, right down to the stoned-out M79 gunner killing the screaming VC with a single, instinctive shot in the dark. The movie was surreal because the war was surreal.
7	* Near the end of the film, while Willard is looking on Kurtz's possessions, he notices the "Golden Bough" book. That one says that you should kill the old priestly king if you want to succeed him. Supposedly insane Kurtz was perfectly aware of what's happening, his place in this, and that he's gonna die. However, Willard refused to accept reign...
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9	!!FridgeHorror:
10	* Many Veterans have cited this as an accurate portrayal of the Vietnam War.
11	* One of the Air Calvary choppers auto-rotated in near the tree-line shortly before the napalm strike. If the crew survived the crash, they most certainly were caught in the napalm strike.
12	* An elderly Vietnamese couple are watching the medevac'ed Cav Trooper in horror, when the VC Saboteur shoulders past them to throw her boobytrapped non-la into chopper. The elderly couple (who were doing nothing but watching the carnage in shock) are gunned down with the saboteur, even though they had absolutely nothing to do with the deed.
13	* Colonel Kurtz's assassination turns out being for nothing in the long run. The entire reason Willard was contracted to kill Kurtz was so that his methods of fighting in Laos and Cambodia would be kept secret as America wasn't supposed to be there, even though that type of tactic would be beneficial towards achieving victory. America ends up leaving Vietnam, giving up on winning the war, and the presence of MACV-SOG and the CIA's top secret missions going on there end up being revealed after the end of the war anyway. The death of Kurtz covered up nothing. Kurtz had practical military necessity in mind, not his commanders. A model officer and a loving father and husband was killed for no real reason.
14	* As pointed out by Willard himself, if the Army considers ColonelKilgore's behavior completely acceptable, then what exactly did Kurtz do to make them think he's out of line?

Context Fridge / ApocalypseNow