Apocalypse Now: The Talent of Marlon Brando and Amazing Sound Effect

A movie with a real reflection on the crucial of the Vietnam War. Blood, horror, and depression will stay forever for both sides of the war. Apocalypse Now is an important masterpiece that should be taught not only in film school but also in every history class because the horror of this war is something that everyone who got involved in that bloody war. In this movie, besides the achievement in sound effects, the acting of the whole cast is one of the best elements to make the movie for reality. I notice that all of them are being hurt, paranoid, and terrified of this war.

Source: IMDb

The performance of Marlon Brando in the movie is one of his best performances. When I watched the movie, I could hear his voice was deep and hypnotized, his expression was really slow and convincing because he was hurt from both his soul and his body. One of the most important proofs of this was when he told Willard about his horror of what he watched in that village with the pile of hands. Director Francis Ford Coppola faced many challenges with Marlon Brando in this movie even though his appearance was somewhat a little, but after all, he could not deny the talent of Brando. He shared that Brando was heavy, and he did not lose any weight when he arrived at the film set. Coppola wanted his character to be in shape, like in the novel. But the biggest challenge must be when Brando had not read the book yet, and he did not understand his character. Coppola had to help him one day to make sure he understood the script and his character. It made the crew meet many difficulties because the budget of the movie was minimal. It seemed like Brando might have been a big trouble, but it turned out that Brando had turned his character to the best by improvising, which was the best thing about Marlon Brando.

In every war movie, sound is essential. The bomb, the rifle, and the explosion must be dealt with carefully to give the audience the best experience ever. Nowadays, the sound effect is better than ever. Walter Murch had done a great job in Apocalypse Now. The helicopter was very “popular” in the Vietnam War, and Walter used every most modern technique at that time, which was sound 5.1, to create the most realistic sound of a helicopter. It brought me the feeling that I was in the real war. His dedication to this movie brought him an Oscar for best sound.