Great Scene: “Apocalypse Now”
Protagonists often begin a movie in a state of what I call Disunity: At the very least, they are disconnected from some authentic part of their Self, something of their Core Of Being that needs to emerge into consciousness and practice. At worst, they are near a state of self-destruction.
We see the latter visualized in the 1979 movie Apocalypse Now, screenplay by John Milius and Francis Ford Coppola, based on the novel “Heart of Darkness” by Joseph Conrad.
The movie begins as we meet Captain Benjamin Willard (Martin Sheen). Inside a hotel room in Vietnam, he has a mental breakdown. Here is the scene from the movie:
Willard’s chaotic antics combined with the soundtrack song supplied by The Doors creates a memorable image. Compare to the script:
INT. SAIGON HOTEL - DAYThe CAMERA MOVES slowly across the room...and we SEE
WILLARD, a young army captain. He looks out the window to
the busy Saigon street.WILLARD (V.O.) *
Saigon...shit. I'm only in Saigon.
Every time, I think I'm gonna wake
up back in the jungle.He moves back to the bed, lies down. He's unshaven,
exhausted, probably drunk. We SEE alcohol bottles, photos,
documents scattered on the table.WILLARD (V.O.)
When I was home after my first
tour, it was worse. I'd wake up
and there'd be nothing. I hardly
said a word to my wife until I
said yes to a divorce. When I was
here, I wanted to be there. When
I was there...all I could think of
was getting back into the jungle.
I'm here a week now. Waiting for
a mission. Getting softer. Every
minute I stay in this room, I get
weaker. And every minute Charlie
squats in the bush...he gets
stronger. Each time I looked
around...the walls moved in a little
tighter.He's up now, naked, going into a frenzy, drinking, doing
some sort of martial arts, eventually collapsing onto the
floor.FADE OUT:
What we see in the video above is summed up in the script by these few lines: “He’s up now, naked, going into a frenzy, drinking, doing some sort of martial arts, eventually collapsing onto the floor.” Clearly Coppola decided to run with some improvisation on the set because Willard’s action on screen are much more violent and dangerous than the generic description in the script.
In effect, what the filmmakers created in the scene is a much more dramatic and compelling scene, one that not only conveys visually the fragile state of Willard’s mind, but also kicks off the story with a mysterious, entertaining opening scene. In other words… a great scene.
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