Wednesday, July 18, 2007

Freeze Frame #42: Apocalypse Now

Most people remember Col. Kilgore's line: I love the smell of napalm in the morning. That scene stands out as my favourite, but the thing I remember most is not that line but the one following it. The entire exchange reads as follows:
Kilgore: Smell that? You smell that?
Lance: What?
Kilgore: Napalm, son. Nothing in the world smells like that.
[kneels]
Kilgore
: I love the smell of napalm in the morning. You know, one time we had a hill bombed, for 12 hours. When it was all over, I walked up. We didn't find one of 'em, not one stinkin' dink body. The smell, you know that gasoline smell, the whole hill. Smelled like... victory. Someday this war's gonna end...
[Kilgore unhappily walks off]
Notice the blank, yet searching look in his eyes as he stares off into the distance while delivering that line. A better characterization of the carnage of war would be hard to find.

4 comments:

గిరి Giri said...

Saw the movie and read Conrad's original..was bored to death by both..

Ramsu said...

Conrad is a difficult read, yeah. I quite liked this one, though.

Anonymous said...

Oh yeah. The starting bombing scene is also mindblowing. And I cant forget the psychedelic "This is the end" by the Doors playing in the background. Brilliant movie. Disturbing, but brilliant

Ramsu said...

True. Even the choice of Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries during the helicopter raid sequence, for instance -strage sort of music to play, but very effective given the tone of the movie.