War opening sequence - Apocalypse Now

 Analysing the opening sequence to Apocalypse Now

Apocalypse Now is a War/Drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola that released on December 1st 1979 and was produced by Coppola's own production company American Zoetrope, the cast features Marlon Brando, Martin Sheen, Robert Duvall and Harrison Ford.

APOCALYPSE NOW

NARRATIVE

This sequence opens on simultaneous shots of pure chaos in a war setting, and a close up of a man’s face in bed seemingly in deep thought. He appears to be thinking about the war, and based on the fact that he is thinking of this whilst simply laying in bed in no immediate danger suggests that the war takes up a large role in his life. We can assume that the narrative will follow this man dealing with fighting in the war and perhaps dealing with any challenges set for him.

TARGET AUDIENCE

This film targets adult male audiences, the war setting could potentially appeal to older men who could be veterans, but mainly to younger adult men who are of a similar age to the man shown - they could relate to his distress by imagining themselves in his position. War also obviously suggests heavy violence, which tends to be aimed at male audiences as women are stereotyped to not handle violence as well.

GENRE & TONE

The establishing shot showcases a landscape of palm trees, the film’s genre then becomes evident within the first few seconds as a helicopter flies past and smoke begins to enter the shot, eventually leading to the trees catching fire, adding to the commotion - this reveals the film’s War setting due to fire and helicopters connoting danger and panic, and the main character featured is a man of appropriate age to enlist in war, further proving genre. The chaotic nature of this scene paired with the man’s look of distress also suggests the tone throughout will be serious and stressful.

CHARACTERS

Only one character is properly shown - a man of appropriate age for a soldier. The combined close up of his face next to a background showcasing intense warfare suggests that he is fighting in that war - he sports a troubled facial expression despite being in a seemingly safe situation as he is just lying in his bed, it is also revealed that he keeps a gun next to him. This danger shown in the shots of heavy war contrast with the man’s quiet room, creating a significant difference between both situations, emphasising that even in an opposing setting, the horrors of what he has been through still occupy his mind - this all reveals that he is still troubled by this dangerous situation and his role in it. The added shots of a cigarette in his hand and a bottle of alcohol on his table suggest that he is stressed and not coping well.

TECHNIQUES

The choice of soundtrack creates an eerie atmosphere to the scene, the non diegetic song playing features the lyrics ‘this is the end’ played over the opening shot of palm trees catching on fire, adding to the apocalyptic theme.

Towards the end of this scene, the shots the palm trees and helicopters fade away, along with the non diegetic song that was playing, yet the non diegetic sounds effects of a helicopter remain; these are played over a shot of a ceiling fan in the man’s room, which physically resembles a helicopter’s blades, creating some form of visual pun, yet suggesting that the thought of war haunts the man even in regular situations.

The editing throughout the first half includes fading shot reverse shots between fire, chaos and destruction, and of the man lying in his bed, particularly close ups of his face in deep thought - this makes it clear that this is what he is thinking about.

SUCCESSFUL?

I think this opening sequence engages the audience through the sense of worry and anxiety that can be perceived from the man’s behaviour, it makes them wonder about the man’s role in the war and how he will deal with that dangerous situation later in the movie. This introduction to the main character is also successful in the sense that we know nothing about him, except that he is perhaps a soldier and that these chaotic and distressing thoughts haunt him, encouraging the audience to find out more about his character and life.