Apocalypse Now Sound Analysis
The element of sound is very important throughout the entire film ApocalypseNow. It contributes to the greatness of the film. I believe sound itself could tell the story. The movie starts out with the sound of one helicopter from the action of the sceneflying over the jungle. We then hear the quiet beginning of the song The End by TheDoors, which was layered on to the scene. The music increases with time as Jim Morrisonstarts singing and we hear the sounds of more helicopters going by, though the sounds ofthe song do not seem to relate rhythmically to what's happening in the scene. All sounds,at this point, are getting louder and more complex, giving us a feeling of excitement andrealism, witnessing this in front of us. At the most intense point of this sound montage,Morrison's voice stops and we are subjected to just the sound of the drums from the songand the loudening helicopters from the scene. The helicopters fade out and the drumsseem to have a solo. All the sounds, the song, the helicopters, now slowly come to end bythe whop sound of an overhead ceiling fan, which we see in the scene. For me, Willard in his room was the most intense and complex sound montage. It
Another interesting part of the film that caught my attention was when Lance wasskiing behind the boat. Which makes me wonderif anyone besides them will ever be able to discern all the impact sound has on ApocalypseNow. "Death from Above" is overwhelming to thecommunity and comes true as the rockets and gunfire blast the village. We can feel Willard'sdesperation getting bigger with the culmination of The End, and finally the breaking downof Willard. Finally, they both arecreatures of the jungle. It's easy to saythat without the music and sounds with in it, the story could not be told. We see Lance ski past some Vietnamese workers andblow them over with the water. He then says, "Shall we dance?" as The Ride of the Valkyries is blared throughthe air. This again separates him from society. As the song starts playing and getting louder we can realize our sanityis slipping away with us, as with Willard. We notice the phrase "Death from Above" tattooed on the aircraft. I think, though some call him crazy, Francis Ford Coppola had an enormous mindand imagination. We could see that this radio, with a little help from drugs andalcohol, made the men on the boat reminiscent of home and eased their loneliness andapprehension for a short while. He is at a breaking point when Morrison's voicepushes the rest of the music along getting louder and more intensely unorganized.
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,
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