Parents' Guide to

Apocalypse Now

By Kelly Kessler, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 17+

Disturbing tale of war horrors isn't for kids.

Movie R 1979 153 minutes
Apocalypse Now Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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age 16+

Based on 15 parent reviews

William B.
William B. Adult
December 20, 2017
age 14+

Perhaps the greatest film ever made! (Watch the Theatrical Cut First However)

I first saw Apocalypse Now when I was about 16 and ever since it has been a personal favorite of mine. The film is a modern retelling of Heart of Darkness by Joseph Konrad, set in Vietnam during the war. The film follows Captain Willard played by Martin Sheen as he heads upriver from Vietnam into Cambodia on a mission to kill a fellow US soldier named Kurtz played by Marlon Brando. Apparently, Kurtz has gone insane and set himself up as the "God" of a local tribe. The film explores themes of human nature, nihilism, religion and morality in great detail and features some of the best cinematography in film history. I suggest that you watch the 1979 Theatrical Cut of the film before the 2001 Redux version as the pacing is much better.
rtgfc T.
rtgfc T. Adult
November 24, 2022
age 15+
See all 15 parent reviews

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?

Our review:
Parents say (15 ):
Kids say (31 ):

One of the crown jewels of Zoetrope Studios, this intense, potent film is 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.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • 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?

Movie Details

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