Smell The Napalm: The Story Behind This Incredible Scene | Ep11 | Making Apocalypse Now

Summary

This script delves into the making of 'Apocalypse Now,' highlighting the iconic Valkyries Sequence. It details the intense helicopter stunts, dangerous explosions, and the famous 'I love the smell of napalm in the morning' line. The narrative explores the challenges faced by director Francis Ford Coppola, the significance of the surfing scene in the Vietnam War context, and the creative process behind the film's memorable moments, showcasing the blend of reality and surrealism in this cinematic classic.

Takeaways

• 🎬 The script discusses the making of the 'Valkyries Sequence' from 'Apocalypse Now', highlighting the film's iconic lines and complex production.
• 🌅 The famous line 'I love the smell of napalm in the morning' is attributed to the character Kilgore, played by Robert Duvall, and symbolizes a surreal appreciation for the chaos of war.
• 🎥 Director Francis Ford Coppola's commitment to authenticity led to actual helicopters being used for interior shots, despite the risks involved.
• 🚁 The production faced challenges such as coordinating live helicopter stunts and managing the safety of extras during the filming of dangerous scenes.
• 🌊 The script reveals the symbolic significance of surfing in the film, representing a clash of cultures between American surf culture and the Vietnam War context.
• 👶 A poignant moment where Kilgore helps a wounded child was initially cut from the film but later restored, adding depth to his character.
• 🔥 The creation of the napalm explosion scene involved a massive amount of gasoline and was a significant logistical and safety challenge.
• 🎞️ The use of colored smoke in the film was intentional, serving as a visual motif to signify surreal and psychedelic moments.
• 🎵 The Doors' song 'The End' bookends the film, reflecting the Californian culture that is juxtaposed with the Vietnam War setting.
• 📜 The script also delves into the backstory and inspirations, including John Milius' vision of the war as a clash of Californian culture with Asian communism.
• 🤝 The sponsorship by Mubi is acknowledged, promoting a curated streaming service for film enthusiasts, which ties into the cinematic theme of the script.

Q & A

What is the significance of the line 'I love the smell of napalm in the morning' in the context of the movie 'Apocalypse Now'?

This line, spoken by Colonel Kilgore, reflects his perverse fascination with the destructive power of napalm, symbolizing a certain type of military mindset that can be detached from the human cost of warfare. It has become one of the most quoted lines in cinema history, encapsulating the movie's commentary on the Vietnam War.

Why was the filming of the Valkyries Sequence particularly challenging according to the transcript?

The Valkyries Sequence was challenging due to the complexity of the helicopter stunts, the large and dangerous explosion sequences, and the need for precise timing and coordination between multiple elements such as helicopters, extras, and special effects.

What role did Francis Ford Coppola play during the filming of the interior air shots in 'Apocalypse Now'?

Coppola was in the helicopters directing all of the interior air shots himself, alongside cinematographer Vittorio Storaro, even during some of the most dangerous stunts and maneuvers.

How did the production deal with the difficulty of finding light-skinned extras to play American soldiers in the Philippines?

The production utilized local resources, including children from an American school in Manila, aspiring doctors who couldn't get into medical schools in the U.S., and even Coppola's own sons and other young actors like Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez.

What was the significance of the use of colored smoke in 'Apocalypse Now'?

Colored smoke was used as a leitmotif in the movie to signify when things become more surreal and psychedelic. It was an intentional visual strategy by cinematographer Vittorio Storaro to create a conflict between artificial and natural light, enhancing the film's visual style.

Why was the napalm drop scene so memorable in the movie?

The napalm drop scene was memorable due to its massive scale, the real explosion set off with thousands of gallons of fuel, and the iconic line 'I love the smell of napalm in the morning.' It also showcased the surreal nature of war depicted in the film.

What was the original motivation behind Kilgore's character ordering the napalm drop in 'Apocalypse Now'?

Kilgore's main motivation for ordering the napalm drop was to create conditions suitable for surfing, highlighting the absurdity and disconnection of certain military actions from the realities of war.

How did the production handle the challenge of getting a shot of a helicopter lifting and dropping a patrol boat into the water?

Since they couldn't obtain a large Chinook helicopter or a flying crane, the production made a lighter version of the boat specifically for the shot and used a Huey helicopter to lift it for the scene.

What was the impact of the napalm explosion on the surfing conditions in the movie?

The napalm explosion caused the wind to change direction, ruining the waves for surfing. This led to Kilgore's disappointment and the iconic scene of him throwing his megaphone in frustration.

Why was Robert Duvall's character, Kilgore, interested in the surfing scene in 'Apocalypse Now'?

Kilgore's interest in surfing was tied to the screenwriter John Milius' vision of the Vietnam War as a clash between Californian surf culture and Asian communist culture. Duvall himself went to Malibu to observe surfers to better understand the culture.

What was the significance of the scene where Kilgore helps a wounded child and his mother, and why was it cut from the original release?

The scene added depth to Kilgore's character, showing a compassionate side amidst the violence. It was cut from the original release possibly to maintain the focus on the spectacle of the napalm drop and to avoid making the movie too long or strange for audiences. It was later included in the Redux version.

Outlines

00:00

🎬 Behind the Scenes of Apocalypse Now's Valkyries Sequence

This paragraph delves into the filming of the iconic Valkyries Sequence from 'Apocalypse Now', discussing the challenges faced during production. It includes the famous dialogue between Larry King and Robert Duvall, insights into the dangerous helicopter stunts, and the complex logistics of the scene. The segment also highlights the use of real helicopters for interior shots, the fear experienced by the Filipino pilots, and the close calls with helicopter accidents. Additionally, it touches upon the use of child extras from American schools in the Philippines and the cameo appearances of Coppola's sons and other young actors. The paragraph concludes with a mention of the sponsorship by Mubi and an invitation for viewers to support the series by checking out the offer.

05:02

🚁 Dangerous Stunts and Special Effects in Apocalypse Now

The second paragraph focuses on the perilous stunts and special effects that characterized the movie 'Apocalypse Now'. It describes a stunt involving an exploding helicopter with men inside, the use of fireproof suits, and the challenges of coordinating the stunt with changing light conditions. The narrative also includes the difficulties of filming the Medevac helicopter, the close call experienced by the Loach helicopter during an explosion, and the use of colored smoke as a recurring motif in the film. The paragraph provides a detailed account of the creative and technical processes behind the scenes, emphasizing the commitment to realism and the risks taken by the crew.

10:02

🌊 Surf's Up: The Cultural Collision in Apocalypse Now

This paragraph explores the cultural significance of the surfing scene in 'Apocalypse Now', drawing parallels between the Vietnam War and Californian surf culture. It discusses screenwriter John Milius' vision of the war as a clash between Asian communism and sixties Californian aesthetics. The paragraph also covers the origin of the surfing scene, inspired by an article about Israeli Major-General Ariel Sharon, and the symbolic act of surfing as a display of dominance. Additionally, it mentions Robert Duvall's preparation for his role as Colonel Kilgore, including learning surfing terminology and observing real surfers in Malibu.

15:08

🎥 Filming Challenges and Innovations in Apocalypse Now

The fourth paragraph details the filming challenges and innovations encountered during the production of 'Apocalypse Now'. It describes the difficulties in capturing the napalm drop scene with the use of an Astrovision camera, the coordination of the Philippine F-5 fighters, and the complexities of filming with real jets. The narrative also touches upon the use of a lighter version of the patrol boat for a specific shot, the creative workarounds for the lack of military cooperation, and the symbolic meaning behind the colored smoke used in the film.

20:09

🌅 Napalm and Surf: The Iconic Scene in Apocalypse Now

This paragraph centers on the creation of the famous napalm scene in 'Apocalypse Now'. It explains the process of setting up the massive napalm explosion using a long pipe filled with gasoline and the challenges of timing the explosion with the flyover of the jets. The paragraph also discusses the use of sin-surround sound technology, the recording of real napalm drop sounds for the film's audio, and the iconic line 'I love the smell of napalm in the morning'. Additionally, it covers the reactions of the crew and the impact of the explosion on the surrounding environment.

25:10

📽️ Reflections on the Valkyries Sequence and Its Impact on Coppola

The final paragraph reflects on the impact of filming the Valkyries Sequence on director Francis Ford Coppola. It discusses the emotional toll the production took on him, the stress of managing the complex and dangerous scenes, and the realization that the film was taking a more surreal direction than initially planned. The paragraph also touches upon the creative process, the decision to cut and later reintroduce certain scenes, and the evolution of the film's vision. Additionally, it acknowledges the support of the episode's sponsor, Mubi, and invites viewers to explore the streaming service for a curated cinema experience.

Keywords

💡Napalm

Napalm is a flammable substance used in warfare, particularly in incendiary bombs and flamethrowers. In the context of the video, it is associated with a significant and iconic scene from the film 'Apocalypse Now', where Robert Duvall's character expresses a fascination with the smell of napalm, symbolizing the surreal and brutal aspects of war.

💡Valkyries Sequence

The Valkyries Sequence refers to a specific part of the film 'Apocalypse Now' that features intense and dramatic helicopter stunts set to the music of Richard Wagner's 'Ride of the Valkyries'. It is a pivotal moment in the movie that showcases the chaotic nature of war and the surreal juxtaposition of violence with the beauty of music.

💡Apocalypse Now

Apocalypse Now is a 1979 film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, which is a reinterpretation of Joseph Conrad's novella 'Heart of Darkness' in a Vietnam War setting. The film explores themes of morality, madness, and the horrors of war. It is a central focus of the video script, discussing behind-the-scenes details and the impact of the film on cinema history.

💡Robert Duvall

Robert Duvall is an American actor renowned for his role as Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore in 'Apocalypse Now'. His character's memorable line about the smell of napalm and his portrayal of a military officer with a passion for surfing contribute to the film's commentary on the absurdity of war.

💡Surging and Tail Rotor Safety

Surging refers to the dangerous act of running too close to the tail rotor of a helicopter, which can lead to accidents and fatalities. The script mentions the safety concerns during the filming of 'Apocalypse Now', where extras were warned against getting too close to the tail rotors due to the high risk of injury.

💡Special Effects

Special effects in filmmaking involve the use of various techniques to create illusions or enhance reality on screen. The video script describes the extensive use of special effects in 'Apocalypse Now', including dangerous stunts with helicopters and explosions, which contributed to the film's realistic and immersive depiction of war.

💡Cinematography

Cinematography is the art of capturing and creating visual images on film or video. The script highlights the work of cinematographer Vittorio Storaro, who, along with director Francis Ford Coppola, filmed complex aerial shots and utilized colored smoke to create a visual conflict between artificial and natural light, enhancing the film's surreal atmosphere.

💡Leitmotif

A leitmotif is a recurring theme, motif, or element in music or literature that signifies a particular idea or character. In the context of 'Apocalypse Now', the use of colored smoke serves as a leitmotif, indicating moments of surrealism and psychological intensity in the film.

💡Surfing

Surfing is a water sport that involves riding on the waves of the sea. In 'Apocalypse Now', surfing is used symbolically to represent the clash between the laid-back Californian culture and the harsh realities of the Vietnam War. The script discusses how the surfing scenes were not only visually striking but also carried deeper thematic significance.

💡The End

The Doors' song 'The End' is used in 'Apocalypse Now' to underscore the film's themes of chaos, darkness, and the cyclical nature of conflict. The lyrics, which suggest a Western dominance and invitation, are contrasted with the film's portrayal of the Vietnam War, adding a layer of cultural commentary.

💡Cyclops

In Greek mythology, the Cyclops is a one-eyed giant. The script mentions screenwriter John Milius drawing a parallel between the character of Colonel Kilgore and the Cyclops from Homer's 'The Odyssey', suggesting a monstrous and single-minded nature. This connection enriches the film's exploration of the inhumanity of war.

Highlights

Robert Duvall's fondness for his role in 'Apocalypse Now' and his character's memorable line about the smell of napalm.

The complex and dangerous helicopter stunts involved in the Valkyries Sequence, including the use of real helicopters in flight for interior shots.

Coppola's hands-on approach to directing from the helicopters during intense action sequences.

The challenges of filming with real helicopters, including the risks to extras and the close calls experienced by the cast.

The use of local children and American businessmen's offspring as extras due to a shortage of light-skinned men in the Philippines.

Coppola's sons and other young actors, including Charlie Sheen and Emilio Estevez, appearing as background extras.

The recruitment of South Vietnamese refugees to play North Vietnamese soldiers, adding authenticity to the film.

The meticulous planning and execution of a dangerous stunt involving an exploding helicopter with stuntmen inside.

The creative solution of using a lighter boat for a helicopter lift scene when a real Chinook was unavailable.

John Milius' vision of the Vietnam War as a clash between Californian surf culture and Asian communist culture.

The symbolic use of colored smoke as a leitmotif to signify surreal and psychedelic moments in the film.

The high cost and multiple takes involved in using colored smoke bombs for visual effects.

The cinematographer Vittorio Storaro's strategy of using artificial light and natural light to convey cultural conflict.

The behind-the-scenes challenges of filming the napalm drop scene, including the use of real gasoline for the explosion.

The innovative use of sin-surround sound and real recordings of napalm drops for the film's sound effects.

Coppola's struggle with the film's direction and the decision to cut and later reintroduce certain scenes for the Redux version.

The influence of literature on the scriptwriting, with Kilgore being likened to the Cyclops from The Odyssey.

The significance of the surfing aspect in the film as a means for Willard to manipulate Kilgore and progress his mission.

Transcripts

Larry King: “I love the smell  of napalm in the morning.” 

Robert Duvall: “Absolutely.” Larry King: “Did you  

like doing Apocalypse Now?” Robert Duvall: “Very much so,  

I liked that part a lot. Very much so.” Larry King: “You were crazy.” 

Robert Duvall: “Yeah. Well, he had a…he  had a…Yeah you’re right, you’re right.”

I love the smell of napalm in  the morning. Smells like…victory.

The second half of the enormous  Valkyries Sequence would involve  

even more dangerous helicopter stunts,

A seemingly straightforward shot that  turned out to be insanely difficult.

An extremely large and  complicated explosion sequence,

As well as one of the most  quoted lines in cinema history,

I love the smell of Pumbaa in the morning.

This is the story behind these  and many other great moments  

in the second half of the Valkyries Sequence.

Someday this war’s gonna end.

Terminate? 

With extreme prejudice. 

Are you an assassin? I’m a soldier.

A special thanks to Mubi for sponsoring this  episode. Get thirty days free by clicking the  

link in the description. I’m beginning to add  sponsorships to this series to help pay for  

editors and it would really mean a lot if  you take a moment to check out the offer.

I’m going to make him an offer he can’t refuse.

In his commentary for Apocalypse Now Redux,  

Coppola said that every time you see an interior  of a helicopter, it is actually up in the air and  

flying around as opposed to having a helicopter  on the ground being shaken (Commentary).

There are a few interior shots where  you can't see outside and I have to  

imagine that at least some of these were  on the ground... I mean, what's the point?

Here it sort of looks like they are  filming something on a platform.

Coppola was in the helicopters directing  all of the interior air shots himself  

with cinematographer Vittorio Storaro and this was  even during some of the crazier things they did.

Alright, alright! It’s just a flare!

Coppola noted that the Filipino pilots were  

often "petrified" doing these  kinds of things (Commentary).

The part here with the helicopters landing and  American soldiers getting out were some of the  

more dangerous shots because they had these  dolly tracks and several helicopters landing  

and taking off while extras were running around.  The tail-rotors would get pretty close to the  

ground and all it would take would be someone  running the wrong way or a helicopter moving  

awkwardly as it's taking off and the tail rotor  could have chopped someone to bits (Commentary).

Martin Sheen said, "We had some very close  calls on those choppers, they were terrifying.  

We were warned even when they were on the  ground not to get too close to the tails;  

they'd all be in position on the beach, the tails  spinning, the noise was terrifying, you could not  

hear a word, a guy with a mambo stick would  whack you if you got too close” (Travers 126).

Perhaps the most terrified was producer Gray  Frederickson who said, "I was a wreck for  

about two weeks, with all these explosions and  helicopters and everybody running around,...  

There would be all of this smoke going up  in the air, and two or three helicopters  

coming from different directions would  be flying into these smoke clouds.  

I would just sit there, crossing my fingers:  'Don't let them hit each other up in these clouds.  

I hope they can see.' They could see, obviously,  but it was horrifying when you were looking from  

down below. Then they'd have these explosions  that would blow these fishnets into the sky.  

I'd think, 'My God, if a helicopter  rotor caught one of these fishnets,  

that would be the end of everybody.' It's lucky  we didn't get anybody hurt” (Travers 108).

With the production so far away from  the States, it was difficult to find a  

lot of light-skinned men to play many of the  American soldier extras we see in the movie.  

The Philippines had a school for the  children of American businessmen,  

diplomats, and staff staying in Manila and many of  them were thirteen to fourteen-year-old boys that  

the production could put in uniforms and position  in the background of shots (Cowie 49). Keep  

in mind, Laurence Fishburne was still  fourteen-years-old when they filmed this sequence.

Coppola's sons as well as a young Charlie Sheen  and Emilio Estevez–brought over by their father,  

Martin Sheen–appear as extras in the  background of various shots in the  

movie (Cowie 49). Other American soldier  extras were played by aspiring doctors  

who couldn't get into medical  schools in the States (Cowie 49).

Actually Lee Ermey initially  traveled to the Philippines  

because American universities were too  expensive, although when he arrived,  

he found he didn't have enough money  for the Philippine universities either,  

but he stayed and acted in commercials  before getting involved with Apocalypse Now.

For the extras playing the  North Vietnamese soldiers,  

the production recruited "several hundred  South Vietnamese people" from a "refugee  

camp near Manila" (Coppola 29). According  to Eleanor Coppola, they would rehearse  

little plays while the production was  setting up the next shots (Coppola 29).

One of the Hueys lands in the village square  near the school house to evacuate some wounded  

soldiers. In the margins of Milius'  script, Coppola wrote, "Always remember:  

this is man-made war at its finest...Everything  works like clockwork" (Cowie 40).

I want my wounded out of there and  in the hospital in fifteen minutes.

The medic giving water to the wounded soldier is  Coppola's nephew Mark Coppola (Commentary). On  

April twenty-second, Eleanor Coppola wrote, "The  whole day was spent in painstaking rigging and  

rehearsing the scene in the village square where  the helicopter lands and they load a wounded GI  

aboard. I tried to shoot the rehearsals with the  helicopter landing. We were so close that the  

rotor blades blew dirt and sand and smoke so hard  it lifted me and the tripod off the ground...The  

main shot, with all its complicated timing  of effects, etc., didn’t go until about  

five-fifteen. Vittorio was really upset because  the helicopter didn’t land in the exact same place  

it had during rehearsal, and his camera didn’t  get the composition he wanted" (Coppola 38).

The next day, the crew was there before  six-thirty in the morning resetting the same shot  

so Vittorio could get the composition  the way he wanted it (Coppola 39).

Next would come one of stunt coordinator Terry  Leonard's most dangerous stunts in the movie.

She’s got a grenade!

This insane stunt involved the Huey "nine feet"  above the ground exploding and crashing to the  

ground in a fiery wreck with men inside (Cowie  61). Leonard and his team wore fireproof suits  

that Leonard himself designed, which were  covered in a "flammable liquid" (Cowie 61).

On April twenty-sixth, Eleanor Coppola wrote,  "This morning we are waiting, because the Medevac  

helicopter wasn’t called early enough. It was  needed to stand by in case anyone was hurt in  

the big exploding stunt in the square. Now the  light has changed. It is starting to sprinkle,  

and we have to wait for bright sun to match the  shot from the other day. Francis is angry, but  

instead of yelling, he went over to the jet ranger  and is taking a flying lesson" (Coppola 42).

On the day of the actual shot, you can see that  the helicopter is on a collapsable platform–it  

was supposed to look like the helicopter was  

taking off, but I'm not so sure this  translates well in the final film.

During the actual stunt, we can see  one man fly out of the helicopter  

and land on a ground panel with some  kind of padding hidden underneath.

We can see here that another stuntman was inside  

the helicopter for a good amount  of time before climbing out.

I wasn't able to find any info on where  they got the helicopter that they blew up,  

but I assume that the production just bought  

one of the non-operational Hueys from  the Philippine government to destroy.

Fucking savages.

Well that’s pretty hypocritical coming from  a man who just decimated an entire village of  

people so he could go surfing. Kilgore has no  respect for guerrilla warfare, but it gets the  

job done when you're out-gunned. As we can see in  Apocalypse Now screenwriter John Milius’ Red Dawn,  

where American high school students  go up against the Russian army.

Wolverines!

The woman and some older civilians run  away and are chased by a Loach helicopter.

The Loach does some swift maneuvering  and the soldier inside gun them all down.

The Loach takes fire from the jungle  and then there is a massive explosion.

Mayday, mayday, I’m going in. The  tail rotor is out, I gotta go.

To me, this seems like the craziest  stunt, a helicopter flying in the air  

has a big explosion go off on the side of it–no  computers, no models, it's all done for real.

Coppola says that this was his fault. He kept  asking the special effects guys to make it bigger  

and that Dick White, the pilot, who  you'll remember was one of the first  

Cobra pilots in Vietnam, can handle  the explosion (Commentary). However,  

the explosion was so big that White actually lost  control of the Loach for a second (Commentary).

Mayday, mayday, I’m going in. The  tail rotor is out, I gotta go.

Here, you can see how close of a call it actually  

was with the Loach getting  very close to the ground.

Coppola said that he was very  grateful that no one was killed  

during the making of Apocalypse Now (Commentary).

And Eleanor Coppola noted that "Every day the  project seems to get bigger" (Travers 108).

Special effects coordinator Joe  Lombardi said, "I hate to say it,  

but this whole movie is special  effects...You got three stars,  

but the action's gonna keep the audience  on the edge of their seats" (Travers 108).

What do you think? 

Wow, this is really exciting, man. No, no, the waves! The waves!

The helicopter doors were rigged up with  these big safety pins through the hinges  

so that they could remove the doors and  mount a camera quick and easy (Coppola 32).

Cinematographer Vittorio Storaro said,

"Francis and I myself did the helicopter  interior shots,... When Robert Duvall was  

looking outside the helicopter, and  down at the waves checking the surf,  

I was seated outside the machine on a piece of  wooden board, and perched on an apple-crate. I  

had just one belt holding me in place, and my key  grip was holding me with the hand-held camera.

I was talking to Francis through the earphones.  

I remember looking through the viewfinder,  and I could see one machine behind me,  

so we would have something in the sky; I kept  shouting to Dick, ‘Can you come closer? Closer!  

Closer!’ And he said, ‘Are you crazy?’ The  rotors were almost touching" (Cowie 58).

After most of the aerial attack  shots were completed–before  

Kilgore lands on the beach–Eleanor  Coppola flew over the Baler location  

and looked at the damage that  had been done. She wrote,

"It looked sad now that it was almost destroyed:  charred bamboo skeletons of houses sticking out  

of the water. Smoke fires were already set on the  beach for today’s shooting. We landed on the sand  

and walked up to the village square to see what  the first shot setup was starting to look like. 

They were rigging some palm trees  to blow up behind the schoolhouse.

It began to rain. No one seemed  to notice except the extras who  

got under banana palms or in doorways to  keep their costumes dry" (Coppola 38).

Kilgore's Huey lands on the  beach near some colored smoke. 

Francis Ford Coppola: “You know we started to be  like these psychedelic soldiers ourselves and say,  

‘Wow, look at that yellow  smoke, look at that blue smoke.’  

And little by little the colored  smoke began to become a kind of  

leitmotif of this movie, as you’ll see  developing up the river (Commentary).”

“Leitmotif” usually refers to a recurring  piece of music that signifies something.  

Like “dun-nun-dun-nun” signifies that  Jaws is nearby. Or a hero’s theme music.  

Here, Coppola is referring to his use of colored  smoke to signify when things become more surreal  

and psychedelic throughout the movie. Sort of  like how oranges signify death in The Godfather,  

but that was apparently just a coincidence–the  set designer liked using oranges to add a bit of  

color to the scenes. The colored smoke motif was  revealed to be intentional by Coppola himself.

And for as much colored smoke bombs we'll see  throughout the movie, it was interesting to  

find out that they each cost twenty-five dollars  (Coppola 195). Adjusting for inflation, that would  

be a little over ninety dollars today. And keep  in mind that they would usually do several takes.

The colored smoke was integral to the visual style  that cinematographer Vittorio Storaro was trying  

to achieve. He said, "When I was planning the  visual strategy for the film, I began thinking  

that I could convey the conflict of cultures by  creating a visual conflict between artificial  

light and natural light. The first time I saw that  we would be using colored smoke to convey specific  

military messages, I thought it was wonderful,  because when these artificial colors were placed  

next to the natural colors of Vietnam, it created  that sense of conflict that I wanted" (AC).

On May fifth, nineteen  seventy-six, Eleanor Coppola wrote,

"We got to the set about ten-thirty. It was  like a real war going on [...] About eight  

helicopters circled and landed in smoke flares,  ground rocket fire and water hits. Lines of  

GIs off-loaded and ran up the beach, crouching,  firing and advancing. Between takes we got a boat  

to take us close to where the main camera was. We  waded ashore with our gear and got up the beach,  

near enough to get some good shots of Bobby  Duvall in his cavalry hat, taking the beach.  

He looked terrific, he knew it, and was real  up and radiating energy" (Coppola 51, 52).

Coppola made a note in the script calling  Kilgore [quote] "The Victor – civilizer in a  

savage land" (Cowie 40). When Kilgore  doesn't react to a nearby explosion,

Incoming!

Coppola writes: "He knows he's  won. He's invulnerable" (Cowie 40).

There was a problem though. The production  needed a large Chinook helicopter or a flying  

crane capable of lifting the patrol boat to drop  in the river, but the Philippine government didn't  

have one and the United States military refused  to cooperate with the production (Travers 107).

In his letter to Donald Rumsfeld that we  talked about earlier, Coppola noted that  

the John Wayne Vietnam movie, The Green Berets,  was allowed to rent what they needed from the US  

military (Coppola 35). Eleanor Coppola wrote, "He  really needs a Chinook helicopter to lift the PBR  

[river patrol boat] into the river for that scene  at Village Two. The Philippine Air Force has no  

lifting helicopters. It seems like the Defense  Department is exerting a kind of censorship.  

A film about World War Two gets all  sorts of cooperation" (Coppola 35).

By this time, Coppola got a response  from Assistant Secretary of Defense  

William T. Greener confirming that there were  [quote] "no Chinook helicopters assigned to  

the US forces in the Philippines" and there  were no US helicopters in the area capable  

of lifting the eight ton boat, and that  the Department of Defense would not loan  

Coppola the F-4 Phantoms for the napalm  drop without script changes (Cowie 49).

Producer Gray Frederickson had budgeted  for only two plastic PBRs (Cowie 49). I'm  

assuming they took the engine out of  the boat and everything else they could,  

but when they tried having a Huey lift the boat  for the shot, it was still too heavy and the Huey  

"dropped it into the lagoon, splitting open the  fabric" wrecking one of their boats (Cowie 58).

This was four days after  filming the napalm explosion,  

but we'll talk about that in a bit (Cowie 58).

So the production would have to figure  out how to get a shot of a helicopter,  

unable to lift the boat, to lift  the boat and drop it in the water.

The solution was to make a lighter version  of the boat just for this shot (Commentary).

Here, we can see one of the Huey's  holding the boat. And next to it,  

you can see the size of a Chinook that's  actually capable of lifting a real boat.

Ok, fellows, quit hiding. C’mon!

The surfing here is more than  just bizarre and interesting,  

it has a deeper meaning according  to screenwriter John Milius.

He thought of the Vietnam War as a Californian  war because American culture during that time  

seemed to be centered around Californian  culture with the rise of the hippies and  

the soldiers had a Californian aesthetic (Milius  Interview). According to Milius, all the World  

War Two movies featured characters from New  York or the Midwest (Milius Interview). He  

said that the idea for Apocalypse Now was  that it was like Asian communist culture  

clashing with the sixties Californian  psychedelic surf culture (Milius Interview).

John Milius: “That Vietnam, Indochina, had  resisted the French, had resisted everything–” 

Francis Ford Coppola: “The Chinese.” John Milius: “Yeah, resisted the Chinese,  

and had absorbed and resisted everything.  And now it had this thin film of communism  

on it. But underneath was this deep,  Oriental mysticism, this wonderful, you know,  

inscrutable Orietnal character that  was coming up against California.  

Against rock and roll. You know? Drugs,  you know, and immense fire power.”

The Doors' song 'The End' that opens  and closes the movie features the lyric:  

"The West is the best. Get here and we'll do the  rest." The Doors was formed in Southern California  

in nineteen sixty-five and were a big part of  the California culture Milius was talking about.

The other reason for the surfing was that Milius  had read an article about the Six-Day War between  

June fifth and tenth in nineteen sixty-seven  and an Israeli Major-General named Ariel Sharon  

who captured the city of Aqaba (Akahbah) in Jordan  (Milius Interview). After Sharon's forces captured  

the city, Sharon caught and ate some fish that  were only found in the Gulf of Aqaba saying in  

essence, "Not only have we captured their city,  we're eating their fish" (Milius Interview). Not  

only did Kilgore's men capture Charlie's  point, they're surfing Charlie's waves.

Charlie don't surf!

This episode’s companion PDF features the story  of Ariel Sharon in the Six-Day War that inspired  

this scene. It’s just one dollar and it really  helps the series. Or you can join CinemaTyler  

on Patreon at the five-dollar level and get  access to all the Companion PDFs I’ve made.

Robert Duvall wanted to know  exactly what each surfing term meant  

and had Milius tell him all  about it (Milius Interview).

I think you're the best cutback there is. Hey thank you, sir. 

You can cut out the 'sir' crap, Lance.  I'm Bill Kilgore, I'm a goofy-foot.

He also went to Malibu to watch the  surfers in action (Milius Interview).

All the big explosions going off on the beach  during this portion would blow the water  

everywhere. You can see here that it  almost looks like it's starting to rain.

Eleanor Coppola wrote on May fifth, "set dressing  is sprinkling bags of dry sand so the beach will  

not look so wet. During the last take, the  water explosions rained down on everything.  

In the shot, there was green, purple and yellow  smoke, bloody bodies, helicopters landing,  

GIs taking the beach and water explosions.  Now the wardrobe department is changing the  

main actors into dry costumes. They’re about ready  for another take. The helicopters are warming up.  

The sky is gray with orange, casting unusual  light. Everybody is excited and up for this shot.  

There are so many explosions. The ones in the  lagoon are about a hundred and fifty yards away;  

when they go off the beach shakes with a heavy  tremor, like an earthquake" (Coppola 52).

A portion that was cut from the movie for  the theatrical release, but was put back  

in for the Redux version was a moment where  Kilgore helps a wounded child and his mother.

Take care of this, alright. Get that out of here! I’m  

sorry. Come here, now.

Get him back into my chopper, get him  to the hospital. Get going. No no no,  

you got to go with him. Go, go!

Robert Duvall:  

“And he cut it. To this day I’ll never  know why he cut it. And it wasn’t so much a  

controversy––because the movie didn’t come out  til, what, three years later. Had it come out  

six months later or a year I would have been more  vehement about it, but it came out so much–it took  

so long for the movie to come out. When it came  out I felt it was no longer my movie because it  

was his, because it had been so long. But to this  day–I mean they cut to a reconnaissance plane,  

and here was a guy who saved the life of a  baby, probably just had killed the father,  

sent the mother with it in the helicopter back  and while he’s doing it he’s looking at the  

waves to see if they’re good for–what kind  of surfing, you know. And it was Franicis’  

idea to put it in there. We had heard it from  certain technical advisors, how these interesting  

contradictions happened. You know, I mean, not  to make somebody all one color or whatever.  

And to me it was strange to cut it out. I mean  I don’t know why, I still don’t know why.”

In a separate interview, Duvall said he thought  that the moment kept the character from being  

so black and white (Travers 120). I sort  of think Coppola cut it initially to put  

more focus on the giant spectacle that is  the napalm drop because the redux version  

cuts between Kilgore helping the child  and the jets approaching with the napalm.  

When Duvall confronted Coppola about it, Coppola  told him that he would put it in when Apocalypse  

Now went to television (Travers 120). Coppola  noted that the moment adds a nice dichotomy  

between Kilgore ordering the bombing of the  tree line and all the NVA soldiers in there to  

be burned alive by napalm and, at the same time,  helping a young child and his mother (Commentary).

And let's not forget, Kilgore's main motivation  

for ordering the napalm drop  was so that Lance would surf.

Dove Four, this is Big Duke Six.  

Goddammit I want that treeline bombed! Big Duke Six, roger. Dove One-Three, standby. 

Bomb it into the stone age,  

son!

On May sixth, the day before  filming the napalm explosion,  

Eleanor Coppola accompanied David Butler  on an MU-2 jet to rehearse how they would  

film the fighter jets in the sky using  an Astrovision camera (Coppola 53).

Here's an example of what an  Astrovision rig looks like.

Eleanor writes, "We took off and got above  the clouds. David started looking for the  

Philippine F-5 fighters to photograph while they  rehearsed for tomorrow’s shot of the napalm drop.  

The camera was mounted on the belly of the  plane. David operated it by remote control  

as he looked at a video screen inside the cabin.  The copilot had a VHF radio pressed to his window,  

trying to contact the jets. The pilot and David  were looking out both sides and yelling over  

their headsets. The idea was to line up the  MU-2 with the Philippine jets and fly as close  

as possible at an angle so the camera could  photograph them. David would yell, “Where are  

they? Where are they?” Then the jets would streak  past on the left in some other position entirely.  

David would leap out of his seat, yelling  and looking out both sides" (Coppola 53).

Meanwhile, Kilgore gives Lance a gift–a  pair of special Air Cav swim trunks.

These are from the Air Cav,  

present from me and the boys. I wanna see  you do your stuff in them. Out there. Ok?

Here, we can actually see Coppola  discussing this moment with Duvall.

To get the giant napalm explosion, special effects  coordinators A. D. Flowers and Joe Lombardi  

filled a half-mile-long pipe  with "twelve hundred gallons of  

gasoline" (Commentary, Cowie 57). Flowers,  who was in his late fifties was sick with a  

fever and losing weight while they  were doing this effect (Cowie 57).

They had to wait because the scene  so far had been filmed in overcast,  

but the sun was out and the  light didn't match (Coppola 54).

At ten-thirty AM on May seventh–the day  of the napalm drop–Eleanor Coppola wrote,  

"The wind is blowing the jet fuel exhaust from  the helicopters toward us. It is nauseating.  

Everybody is really hustling because the  F-5 jets are coming over at eleven A.M.  

They can only make three passes. On the third,  they’ll drop the canisters that look like napalm,  

and special effects will set off a huge fire in  the palm trees using thousands of gallons of fuel.  

They set it from bunkers dug into the beach.  Security has been tightened, but a bunch of  

kids snuck out on the set earlier this morning.  They are praying they can keep everybody away.  

The big effects are really dangerous. There is an  air of excitement and anticipation" (Coppola 55).

The jets took a half-hour to fly to the  location (Commentary). Coppola says that  

they had five cameras set up to capture the  

action–although editor Walter Much says  there were six (Commentary, Salon).

Everything was ready. Flowers and Lombardi  hid in their bunkers dug into the beach  

and when the timing was just right,  they triggered the explosion (Cowie 57).

The gasoline lit up in a huge fire-ball lasting  "about a minute and a half" (Coppola 55). Eleanor  

Coppola, who was "about a half a mile away"  felt "a strong flash of heat" and wondered  

what it must have felt like for the extras  on the other side of the lagoon (Coppola 55).

Editor Walter Murch said that the last camera  

angle was filming with a telephoto lens  that flattened out a close shot of the  

tree line at a hundred and twenty  frames per second for slow-motion  

and that was the angle that was eventually used  for the opening image of the movie (Salon).

They were experimenting with sin-surround–a  type of surround sound–for the sounds of the  

bombers (Commentary). What's interesting though,  is that Walter Murch, who spent a full day working  

on the sound mix for just the napalm drop actually  used a recording of a real napalm drop that the  

Swiss Army had made (Salon). Murch said, "We built  on that. The trick is always to articulate it,  

not to have everything hit at once  or else it turns into a ball of mush.  

You have to let the ear hear fragments of  each thing so that the ear builds it together,  

rather than have the film build  it for the audience" (Salon).

And this is where we hear one of the most  famous lines of dialogue in cinema history.

I love the smell of napalm in the morning.

Cinematographer Vittorio Storaro said,  

"It doesn't matter to [Kilgore] how many  people are dying; he's somehow enchanted  

by the beauty of napalm. This is the point  of view that Kurtz is denouncing" (AC).

The line was an invention of screenwriter John  

Milius. Milius isn't a stranger to  iconic lines, having also written:

You know the thing about a shark, he's got  lifeless eyes, black eyes, like a doll's eyes.

Crush your enemies, see them driven before you  and to hear the lamentations of their women.

You’ve got to ask yourself one question:  “Do I feel lucky?” Well, do ya punk?

A little side-note here: In her diary, Eleanor  Coppola described a moment that was cut from  

this part of the movie where a Viet Cong prisoner  is shot in the head on the beach (Coppola 55).

I imagine this might be a reference  to this famous Pulitzer Prize winning  

photo of a Viet Cong member about to be executed.

There was a long discussion about how the actor  should fall to hide the blood tube rigged to his  

back and in the behind-the-scenes  footage on The Final Cut blu-ray,  

we actually get to see a shot of the man with  the blood tube. Apparently the military advisor  

on set said that if the man was shot at close  range with a .45 pistol, it would blow the  

man's head off and it wouldn't matter how he  fell–maybe that's why they cut it (Coppola 55).

Kilgore's napalm drop made the beach safe to surf,  

but the explosion caused the wind  to change, ruining the waves.

It’s blowing on shore, it’s coming on shore. It’s  going to blow this place out. It’s going to ruin  

it! Not cool!

Kilgore begs Lance to wait twenty minutes, but  Lance and Willard make their way toward the boat.

Filming the Valkyries sequence  was, as you can imagine,  

extremely taxing on Coppola. It was  taking much longer than anticipated  

and he was stressed and depressed and wondering  if the production was going to fall apart  

before it really began (Commentary). This  shot of Kilgore throwing the megaphone in  

anger at losing his chance to surf with Lance was  actually Duvall doing an impression of the way  

Coppola would throw his radio in frustration  while filming this sequence (Commentary).

The radios were expensive and  get this, there was actually a  

crew member assigned to try and get the radio  from Coppola before he threw it (Commentary).

During the time they were trying to  get Steve McQueen to play Willard,  

Coppola wanted Willard to "take-on"  Kilgore and out-do him somehow (Cowie 41).

John Milius had grown up studying  literature and, while writing these scenes,  

he thought of Kilgore as being similar  to the Cyclops in Homer's The Odyssey  

and Willard would have to fool him by  using surfing (Milius Interview). So,  

Willard uses surfing and Kilgore's admiration for  Lance to manipulate him into doing what he needs.

This guy with you? Yeah.

That’s Charlie’s point. 

Sir, we can go in there tomorrow at dawn. There’s  always a good offshore breeze in the morning.

I know, I’m really sorry Colonel  but I’m afraid that does it. I  

mean the kid’s got a reputation, you can't  expect him to surf those sloppy waves.

Milius had written in the script, a part here  where Lance and Willard are running for the boat:

"Suddenly Lance sees something and stops -  Willard continues - In a pile of equipment  

that the Hueys have left are two surfboards -  Lance runs over - ...Lance grabs the nearest one  

and dashes down through the water" (Screenplay).

In the margins, Coppola wrote  "Willard should steal it!!... And  

risk his life to do it. That might tell  us something interesting about Willard:  

that he'd risk his life to steal  [Kilgore's] surf-board" (Cowie 41).

Incoming! Let go of that surfboard!

This didn't appear in the theatrical cut because  Coppola thought people would think the movie was  

too strange and long, but it was put back in  for Redux and the other versions (Commentary).

Francis Ford Coppola: "But we were very anxious  to kind of make the film, at first, into more  

of a conventional war film. So we even cut out  that nice opening where the helicopter lands and  

Kilgore steps out, we saved a little time there,  we saved the stealing of the boards, we cut out  

the–you know, we cut out a lot of stuff. John Milius: “Oh yeah.” 

Francis Ford Coppola: “And then later  on, it sorta, the movie started–people  

kept going to see it at the cinerama dome. And  then, many years later, we said, ‘Well, let’s  

put it all back in!’ You know. And that's  how it comes that there are two versions.”

Back when Kilgore was still  called Colonel Kharnage,  

Coppola wrote: "Maybe [Willard] had to trick  Kharnage to make this happen. A wily Ulysses — he  

succeeded in accomplishing this aspect of his  mission . . . At this point Willard must have  

won us over to him and we must be clear as to the  process that has begun within him." (Cowie 41).

By the time Coppola finished shooting the  Valkyries sequence, the first major test  

for his vision, he began to realize that the  classic war movie ending they had in the script  

was not going to work (Commentary).  Coppola could see that the movie was  

taking him in a more and more  surreal direction (Commentary).

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