Summary:
Francis Coppola's movie, Apocalypse Now, is based loosely upon Conrad's book, Heart of Darkness. They both represent the weak human nature that can get easily dominated by the horror around us and as a result we become immoral, sinful and unrestrained.
Francis Coppola's movie, Apocalypse Now, is based loosely upon Conrad's book, Heart of Darkness. They both represent the weak human nature that can get easily dominated by the horror around us and as a result we become immoral, sinful and unrestrained.
One of the many similarities between Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now is the path in terms of the heroic journey. Marlow and Captain Willard go into to this journey that leads to the adventure of their lives. Both of them become shocked by the Kurtz's physical appearance and try to understand what happened to such a great man. They cannot handle all the cruelty around them and in a way become just like Kurtz. For example in the book Marlow says that, "I was getting savage", while in the movie Willard kills Kurtz in cold blood.
Another similarity is that the river on which both, Marlow and Willard, travel is represented as a snake. Both character are the once who mention it and the river also is a boarder that separates the evil world from the good.
Imperialism is seen in both, the film and the book. In the Apocalypse Now, the Americans seem to be the more civilized side but act like barbarians when killing people just for surfing. The Americans attack the Vietnamese villages and play mind games with them by marking the dead with cards. In the Heart of Darkness, the imperialism is seen through the Englishmen who again would do anything for money. They are ready to kill every single elephant for ivory.
Madness is represented through Kurtz and Colonel Kurtz. They are both respected people with a lot of education and a good background but they cannot stand the cruelty around them and slowly go insane. They both become chiefs of a tribe and think of themselves as Gods.
The role of women is very similar because the women are considered as nothing more that slaves. They are used only for fun (sex) by Kurtz in the movie and in the book.
Kurtz and Colonel Kurtz have their inner demons believing that they are Gods but in the end they realize that they are nothing else that human beings. They become cruel and brutal just as the society around them. They start killing and have heads on sticks in their backyard. These make them believe that they are more than human and have advantages over us. Before their death they realize the reality and see "the horror" of their lives.
One of the many differences between Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now is the mission of Marlow and Willard. In the book, Marlow goes to find Kurtz to bring him back, while in the movie, Willard's mission is to find Kurtz and kill him.
The ending in the movie also differs from the ending in the book. In the movie we are left in a shocking mood of what has happened to Willard and we are left to wonder about the end. We see Kurtz's tribe kneeling to Willard, but we don't know if he becomes the new leader or just goes back to civilization. In the book Marlow actually goes back to England and seems to be back to normal, while still having Kurtz's nightmares.
Francis Coppola's movie is easier to understand and follow comparing to Joseph Conrad's book, in terms of plot. The plot in the Apocalypse Now is easier to understand because we also visualize, while the book is a hard read.
The actions take place in different locations. For example in the Heart of Darkness everything starts on London's streets and than moves to the inner station (accountant), central station (commander and the place with the bout) and out station (Kurtz's tribe). While in the Apocalypse Now it all start with the inner station (the American base in Vietnam), central station (the general with surfing and attacking the Vietnamese), and finally the out station (Colonel Kurtz's tribe).
The roles played, the physical settings and the time periods are also different. Captain Willard, who is a Marlow in the movie, is sent on a mission in Cambodia during the Vietnam War to kill an insane Colonel Kurtz. Coppola's Kurtz is an intelligent man who could not survive the brutality senselessness of war and becomes insane. For example in the movie he says that he cried like a grandmother when he saw the children without hands. The movie was released in 1979 and in a way is a perfect example of the horror in our world. Meanwhile, Marlow in Heart of darkness goes to a wild African jungle to bring Kurtz alive to the central station. Kurtz is also very intelligent but he could not resist the Congo's brutality himself and became a leader of an African tribe. This book was written sometime in nineteenth century touching on themes like ivory trading and democracy.
The characters take on different personalities and actions. In the movie the narrator is Willard and Carnal Kurtz is a soldier, while in the book the narrator is Marlow and Kurtz is a sailor. Kurtz is also married in the movie and has a son, while in the book he has an intended. The general that orders the attack on the beach for surfing is represented as the commander of the Central Station. The chief of the bout in Apocalypse Now plays the role of the helmsman in the Heart of Darkness.
The movie Apocalypse Now is a perfect example of the book Heart of Darkness and represents the horror in human nature.
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