The Crowning Achievement of Coppola, Murch and Apocalypse Now
Coppola's nineteen-seventies crowning glory Apocalypse Now is a cult movie for good reason. The film still stands as an incredible monument to the changing social attitudes of the 1960's, and is one of the most damning anti-war statements of the 20th century. The film examines the frankly ridiculous nature of war, young men far from home killing and dying to a soundtrack of the Beach Boys. The film's importance in the context of war movies cannot be underestimated. It was the first realistic vision of war that did not glorify the actions of soldiers, but showed death and destruction as the horrors they are. No matter how great the direction, acting and cinematography, the film has had a huge impact on music for tv and all types of media. In fact the soundtrack, effects and music are so integral to the experience and some of the techniques so revolutionary that Walter Murch has become the first true legend of movie sound design. In the opening scene, Willard hears the beating of helicopter rotors - a sound that permeated the conflict and acts as the unifying theme throughout the film. In an early example of very advanced synthesis, the helicopter sounds were built up in layers and spacially mixed, giving incredible control. As the characters and scenes unfold, the familiar psychedelic music of the era is all around, establishing a social and historical context for these young Americans dying in a terrifying Vietnamese jungle. So that a surfer can show off, a US helicopter squad destroys a civilian village to the pompous and dramatic strains of Ride of the Valkyries. Lance drops acid on the front, deep in the jungle, and the psychedelic, twisted soundtrack confirms his feelings of misplacement production music. Deep in the jungle, encountering the renegade Kurtz, the sounds of war recede, muted battles in the distance are an audio horizon that sounds reassuring compared to the dark terror all around. Like a god in his terror, Kurtz is finally sacrificed - like all good soldiers? - as he dies to the strains of the Door's This is the End, he uses his last breath to say
"The horror, the horror."
Watch Apocalypse Now again, with your ears open. The sound design and use of music and atmospheric effects are unparalelled.
Raoul Duke is a writer, composer and musician based in south east England. When he isn't working on copy, Raoul is currently creating music for websites.
tags:movies,sound,films,cinema,music
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