Puppy Boat Massacre: The Making of This Scene | Ep16 | Making Apocalypse Now

Summary

This video delves into the chilling 'Puppy Boat Massacre' scene from 'Apocalypse Now', exploring its last-minute addition, the real event that inspired it, and the actors' involvement. It discusses the scene's significance to the story, its connection to the My Lai Massacre, and the improvisational nature of its filming. The video also touches on the characters' development through this sequence and the contrasting portrayal of war's impact on soldiers.

Takeaways

• 🎬 The script discusses the 'Puppy Boat Massacre' scene in 'Apocalypse Now', highlighting its significance and the real-life event that inspired it.
• 🐕 The scene was a last-minute addition to the film, suggested by editor Walter Murch, and was referred to as a 'My Lai Massacre' in the script.
• 🎭 The actors in the scene, including Sam Bottoms who played Lance, contributed ideas for their characters, possibly influencing the scene's development.
• 🇻🇳 The My Lai Massacre, a war crime where US soldiers killed around 500 unarmed South Vietnamese citizens, is directly related to the scene's narrative.
• 👥 The scene was improvised by the cast, with director Francis Ford Coppola setting up the scenario and allowing the actors to bring the scene to life.
• 🎥 The filming of the scene was the second-to-last sequence shot for the movie, and it was highly praised by the cinematographer Vittorio Storaro.
• 🐾 The puppy in the scene symbolizes innocence and is used to progress the character arcs of the patrol boat crew, especially Lance.
• 🔫 The character Clean, a 17-year-old, is depicted as the one who ultimately kills the civilians, showing the transformation of a young man into a killer due to war.
• 🌉 The Do Lung Bridge sequence that follows the 'Puppy Boat Massacre' marks a shift in tone and visuals for the movie and is the last army outpost before reaching Kurtz.
• 📡 The script also mentions a cut scene involving a floating bed for a dead baby, which was part of a local ritual and was destroyed by Chief in the movie.
• 🌐 The video script includes a promotional segment for Atlas VPN, offering a deal for streaming services and online privacy.

Q & A

What is the 'Puppy Boat Massacre' scene in 'Apocalypse Now'?

The 'Puppy Boat Massacre' scene in 'Apocalypse Now' is a horrifying sequence where the crew of a patrol boat encounters a small sampan boat, leading to a tragic and unnecessary massacre of civilians, including a woman concerned for her puppy.

How was the 'Puppy Boat Massacre' scene added to the movie?

The scene was a last-minute addition suggested by editor Walter Murch to director Francis Ford Coppola, who was not present on set at the time. It was inspired by the My Lai Massacre and was intended to portray the fear and brutality of war.

What is the significance of the puppy in the scene?

The puppy symbolizes innocence amidst the horrors of war. When the woman runs towards the basket containing the puppy, it triggers a tragic series of events, leading to the massacre and highlighting the fear and misunderstanding that can lead to such atrocities.

How did the actors contribute to the development of the 'Puppy Boat Massacre' scene?

Sam Bottoms, who played Lance, suggests that the cast had a hand in the scene's creation, as they all wanted to experience something akin to the My Lai Massacre. Their input and improvisation during filming contributed to the scene's final form.

What was the real-life event that inspired the 'Puppy Boat Massacre' scene?

The scene was inspired by the My Lai Massacre, a war crime where US soldiers killed around five-hundred unarmed South Vietnamese citizens. The event was a result of the soldiers' increasing brutality towards civilians after suffering heavy losses to Viet Cong snipers and land mines.

How did the actors who played the sampan inhabitants contribute to the scene's authenticity?

The actors who played the sampan inhabitants were actual Vietnamese refugees who had fled their country just two days prior to filming. Their desperation and real-life experiences added a layer of authenticity to the scene.

What was the filming process like for the 'Puppy Boat Massacre' scene?

The scene was largely improvised, with director Francis Ford Coppola setting up the scenario and letting the actors' creativity flow. The first take was reportedly so powerful that it left the crew, including cinematographer Vittorio Storaro, stunned.

How does the 'Puppy Boat Massacre' scene differ from other war movie depictions of similar events?

Unlike other movies that might focus on the actions of sociopaths or the anger driving soldiers, 'Apocalypse Now' frames the scene to show how normal people can be turned into killers in the context of a needless war, emphasizing the tragic transformation of a young boy into a violent participant.

What is the role of the puppy in Lance's character development throughout the movie?

The puppy serves as a symbol of Lance's innocence. As he carries the puppy through the Do Lung bridge sequence, it signifies his naivety and the preservation of his youthful spirit amidst the chaos of war.

How does the 'Puppy Boat Massacre' scene reflect on the characters' arcs in the movie?

The scene significantly progresses the arcs of the patrol boat crew members. It shows the clash of objectives between Willard and Chief, the fear and desperation of Chef, the naivety and shock of Clean, and the carefree, almost tourist-like participation of Lance.

What was the significance of the scene being shot as the second-to-last scene of the movie?

Shooting the 'Puppy Boat Massacre' as the second-to-last scene likely added to the intensity and realism of the performance, as the actors had already developed a deep understanding of their characters and the overall narrative of the movie.

Outlines

00:00

🎥 'Puppy Boat Massacre' Scene Analysis

This paragraph delves into the infamous 'Puppy Boat Massacre' from 'Apocalypse Now', discussing its last-minute addition to the script, the real-life My Lai Massacre that inspired it, and the actors' involvement in its creation. The scene is portrayed as a significant narrative element, highlighting the fear and brutality of war. It also touches on the improvisational nature of the scene and its impact on the characters, with a focus on the young soldier Clean and the tragic loss of innocence symbolized by the puppy.

05:03

🎬 Behind the Scenes of the Sampan Sequence

The second paragraph provides insights into the filming of the Sampan scene, revealing the improvisational approach taken by the actors and director Francis Ford Coppola. It discusses the backgrounds of the actors playing the sampan inhabitants, the intense and emotional response to the first take, and the creative freedom afforded to Coppola due to his refusal to compromise with the US Department of Defense. The paragraph also explores the character development within the scene and the thematic implications of the puppy's presence.

10:06

🌉 The Do Lung Bridge and Atlas VPN Promotion

The final paragraph shifts focus to the Do Lung Bridge sequence in 'Apocalypse Now', marking the last army outpost before Kurtz's territory and symbolizing the crew's point of no return. Additionally, it includes a promotional segment for Atlas VPN, detailing its features such as changing IP addresses to access region-restricted content, blocking ads and malware, and providing a secure browsing experience across all devices at an affordable price.

Keywords

💡Puppy Boat Massacre

The 'Puppy Boat Massacre' refers to a fictional event depicted in the film 'Apocalypse Now', symbolizing the horrors of war. It is a key scene in the movie that reflects the psychological impact of war on soldiers and civilians alike. In the script, this scene is described as a horrifying and disturbing sequence that was suggested by editor Walter Murch to director Francis Ford Coppola, illustrating the fear and violence that can arise in the chaos of war.

💡My Lai Massacre

The 'My Lai Massacre' is a historical event where U.S. soldiers killed around five hundred unarmed South Vietnamese citizens during the Vietnam War. This term is used in the script to draw a parallel between the real-life atrocity and the fictional 'Puppy Boat Massacre' in the movie, emphasizing the film's exploration of the moral complexities and brutalities of war.

💡Viet Cong

The 'Viet Cong' was the common name for the National Liberation Front, a communist political front and its military branch that fought against the South Vietnamese government and its allies during the Vietnam War. In the video script, the Viet Cong are mentioned as the perceived enemy, creating a backdrop of fear and suspicion that leads to the tragic events in the 'Puppy Boat Massacre'.

💡Chief

In the context of the video, 'Chief' is a character who takes his role in the military very seriously and insists on following protocol, even when it leads to tragic outcomes. His actions in the 'Puppy Boat Massacre' scene highlight the tension between duty and the human cost of war.

💡Clean

'Clean' is a character in the script who, due to his young age and naivety, reacts with shock and confusion to the violence he is part of. His portrayal in the 'Puppy Boat Massacre' scene underscores the loss of innocence and the dehumanizing effects of war on young soldiers.

💡Lance

Lance is depicted as a character who is somewhat detached from the war's gravity, participating more like a tourist than a committed soldier. His interaction with a puppy in the script serves as a symbol of innocence amidst the brutality of war.

💡Sampan

A 'Sampan' is a type of small boat commonly used in Southeast Asia. In the video script, the Sampan boat becomes the focal point of the 'Puppy Boat Massacre', where a misunderstanding and fear lead to a tragic massacre, illustrating the cultural and communication barriers in war.

💡Protocol

In the military context, 'protocol' refers to the standard procedures that must be followed. In the script, Chief's insistence on adhering to protocol to search the Sampan boat leads to a series of tragic events, highlighting the sometimes tragic consequences of rigid adherence to rules in the face of human judgment.

💡Willard

Willard is a character in the script who has a secretive mission that is more important to him than the immediate situation on the boat. His character represents the larger objectives of war that can sometimes override the immediate human concerns of the soldiers involved.

💡Do Lung Bridge

The 'Do Lung Bridge' is mentioned in the script as the last army outpost on the Nung River before reaching Kurtz, symbolizing the final point of no return for the patrol boat crew. It marks a significant shift in the narrative and the visual tone of the movie, indicating the progression towards the climax.

💡Improvisation

Improvisation in the context of the script refers to the unscripted and spontaneous acting by the performers during the filming of the 'Puppy Boat Massacre' scene. This approach allowed for a more authentic and raw portrayal of the characters' reactions to the events, contributing to the scene's powerful impact.

Highlights

The 'Puppy Boat Massacre' scene in 'Apocalypse Now' was a last-minute addition to the film.

The scene was inspired by the real-life My Lai Massacre, a war crime committed by US soldiers.

The idea for the scene was suggested by editor Walter Murch to director Francis Ford Coppola.

Sam Bottoms, who played Lance, implies that the cast contributed to the scene's concept.

The My Lai Massacre involved the killing of around five-hundred unarmed South Vietnamese citizens.

Only one soldier was convicted for the My Lai Massacre, with his sentence later commuted by President Nixon.

Journalist Seymour Hersh, who uncovered the My Lai story, described the military units' increasing brutality towards civilians.

The 'Puppy Boat Massacre' scene was filmed in mid-April 1977 and was the second-to-last scene filmed.

Actors playing the sampan inhabitants had fled Vietnam as fugitives and were desperate for money.

The scene was largely improvised, with director Coppola setting up the scenario and letting the actors perform.

Cinematographer Vittorio Storaro was deeply affected by the scene, considering it one of the best he'd ever seen.

The scene explores the transformation of ordinary soldiers into killers due to the war's circumstances.

The puppy in the scene symbolizes innocence and is taken by Lance, who is portrayed as a relaxed and innocent character.

The scene's improvisational nature allowed for a more authentic portrayal of the characters' reactions to the massacre.

Coppola's refusal to compromise with the US Department of Defense gave him the freedom to depict the war's harsh realities.

The scene's impact on character development, showing the different reactions and motivations of the patrol boat crew.

A deleted scene involving a sampan filled with monkeys and a corpse tied to a sail was considered too intense for inclusion.

Transcripts

In this video, we’re taking a look at the story  

behind the horrifying ‘Puppy Boat  Massacre’ scene in Apocalypse Now,

Get on that boat!

There’s nothing on it, man!

Get on it!

Well, alright!

including its last-minute addition, the real  event that inspired it, the strange backstory  

of the actors in the scene, and why this small  scene is actually really important to the story.

Check  

the yellow can.

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After the silly fun of Playboy Show and the  Medevac Sequence, we get another funny bit with  

Chef ragging on Clean while cooking soup on the  boat’s engine and Lance paints his face because…

So they can’t see you. They’re everywhere, Chief.

There was another bit here that was cut  out of the movie where there is a small  

floating bed for a dead baby, which  seems to be some kind of ritual for  

the locals. Lance wants to keep it, but  Chief yells at him before shooting it.

You know they booby trap them things.

Chief is annoyed wrangling the crew because they  

are like children. They’re having  too much fun for a war setting.

And stop smoking that dope! You hear me?!

And that fun is about to end.

Chief sees a Sampan boat and insists they  search it as protocol demands. Willard  

tells him to let the Sampan go, but we’ve  seen how seriously Chief takes his job.

Chief forces Chef onto the Sampan to check if  they are hiding supplies for the Viet Cong.  

Frustrated with Chief, Chef tears apart  the boat and when he gets to a basket,  

the woman runs over and Clean shoots  her and the rest of the civilians.

The woman was concerned about her puppy,  

showing that the situation that has been  created by the war has instilled a fear  

that made Clean think that she must be  running for a weapon to kill them with.

Producer Fred Roos said, "The scene where  they come upon the little sampan boat;  

the fear of the Americans on that boat,  triggers the killing that went on,  

and I think the truth of that scene so portrayed  what that war must have been like" (Travers 134).

This disturbing sequence of events was  actually suggested to Coppola by editor  

Walter Murch when Coppola was back in  California during December of 1976.

Coppola: “It was Walter’s idea that we add to the  script–it wasn’t in it–a kind of My Lai Massacre.  

And I thought about it, I went back,  

he was not there. He was in California. We  had come back and he told me, ‘What you need  

is a massacre scene.’ And so I cooked up  the ‘puppy sampan’ as it became known.”

Sam Bottoms, who played Lance, implies that  it was the cast that came up with the idea,  

so maybe it was a combination of Much and the  cast. Bottoms said, "Francis had us all list a  

set of things they wanted their characters  to do, and I remember we all wanted to do  

a sort of My Lai massacre,...We thought an  interrogation of the boat, and firefight,  

and the loss of many lives; we wanted to  experience something like that” (Travers 134).

“In the winter of 1968, Charlie Company was  losing men to an enemy they could not see or  

catch–the Viet Cong. Army intelligence  told Charlie Company that everyone in  

the Vietnamese village of My Lai was  a Viet Cong. They were deadly wrong.”

The My Lai Massacre, which happened around  the same time that the movie takes place,  

was a war crime committed by US soldiers  in which they killed around five-hundred  

unarmed South Vietnamese citizens of all  ages–some of the stuff they did was too  

unspeakable to mention here (My Lai Wiki).  Only one soldier was convicted and [quote]  

“was originally given a life sentence, but  served three-and-a-half years under house  

arrest after President Richard Nixon  commuted his sentence” (My Lai Wiki).

According to Seymour Hersh–the journalist  who uncovered the story–the military units  

involved had lost around 20% of their men  to the Viet Cong snipers and land mines,  

but never saw the enemy (Hersh Interview).  Over the following weeks the units became  

“increasingly brutal” to civilians until they  were ordered to go to My Lei and engage the  

North Vietnamese who were reportedly there  for some payback, but when they arrived drunk  

and stoned they found only South Vietnamese  civilians cooking breakfast (Hersh Interview).

The My Lai Massacre was more directly  referenced in other movies like Casualties  

of War and Born on the Fourth of July,  but perhaps none moreso than in Platoon  

where the soldiers are convinced that  the villagers are working with the Viet  

Cong and commit atrocities against  them and the village is burned down.

In Apocalypse Now, this scene is framed  differently. We know the patrol boat crew  

now. We know that none of them are sociopaths  who think of killing lightly. The character  

who ultimately kills the civilians is Clean, the  17-year-old, who shoots when he sees the woman run  

for the basket. Whereas Platoon says, ‘look at how  psychos take advantage, look at what anger does,  

look at how you can lose yourself, look at the  courage it takes to go against what seems like the  

inevitable sickness of human nature,’ Apocalypse  Now says, ‘look at how these normal guys were  

snatched up and used as cannon fodder for a  needless war,’ ‘look at how this boy, who should  

be living the life of a seventeen-year-old,  has been turned into a killer.’

That’s my interpretation anyway.

The scene was shot in mid-April of 1977 and  was the second-to-last scene they filmed.  

The actors who played the inhabitants of  the sampan had fled Vietnam as fugitives  

only two days before shooting this  scene and “included a lawyer and a  

doctor” (Cowie 96). They were “desperate” for  money and agreed to be in the movie (Cowie 96).

Frederick Forrest said, "The whole scene where  we shoot up the sampan was improvised…It flowed  

like music. Francis set it up so the  improv really flowed. Before we started,  

he gave each of us something to do. For instance,  I was to search the sampan” (Travers 134).

Albert Hall: “I felt that he just thought a lot of  his actors. We were gems who would bring his ideas  

to life and he also took a lot of  our creative input. Once he set  

that feel for us we just started improvising  everything that was happening on the boat.”

Forrest said that they “just let  the cameras roll” and the first  

take [quote] “knocked everyone out” (Cowie 96).

Steven Travers writes that a scene like  this was not something screenwriter John  

Milius would have ever included in the script  considering how ultra-patriotic his version  

was (Travers 134). But seeing as Coppola  refused to give any concessions to the US  

Department of Defense and was, therefore,  receiving no aid from the US military,  

he was completely untethered and free to  explore this aspect of the war. It almost  

feels like something someone in Coppola’s  unique position would feel obligated to do.

Forrest said, "When we had finished, it  was absolutely quiet. [Cinematographer]  

Vittorio Storaro was just stunned. He  said it was the best scene that he'd  

ever seen. But none of it was  written down" (Travers 134).

When it turns out that the woman  was running for her puppy, Lance  

demands Chef give it to him and ultimately  yanks the puppy away from Chef violently.

Perhaps the sounds of the puppy  yelping were added in later,  

but this was obviously too violent  and I wish they hadn’t done that.

Lance takes the puppy through  the Do Lung bridge sequence,  

which you could say that it was  a lucky charm that kept Lance  

from getting killed after leaving himself  open to get shot while tripping on acid.

Shortly after, the puppy goes missing when Clean  is killed, which could be interpreted as a loss  

of innocence, or maybe the puppy was added on a  whim and Coppola didn’t want to have to figure  

out how to incorporate it into the rest of the  movie. And the Sampan scene and Clean’s death  

were the last things filmed, but I’m assuming  the puppy was somewhat planned because it is  

featured pretty heavily in the Do Lung sequence.  That said, when I watched the Final Cut version  

of the movie on IMAX, I noticed that the  puppy reappears on the boat right before  

Willard leaves to go kill Kurtz. I’m pretty sure  that’s the puppy and not a monkey or something. I  

remember it being really clear on IMAX, but  on the blu-ray, it’s a little hard to see.

What’s great about the Sampan sequence is how  much it progresses each character’s arc in a  

single scene. Willard and Chief clash because  it is important to Chief that he has control  

over his boat and his crew. He  feels his job is important and  

has a pride in fulfilling his duties by  the book. He is trying to prevent chaos  

on the boat with his child-like crew by  instilling a sense of order and protocol.

Until we reach our destination,  Captain, you’re just on for the ride.

Willard’s mission, while secretive,  

superseded everything else and by the end of  the scene, we see how serious he is about it.

I told you not to stop now let’s go.

Both of these objectives clash with Chef,  whose only mission is to get the hell out  

of Vietnam in one piece. He has no stake in being  an asset to the war effort or Willard’s mission.

Clean, at such a young age, doesn’t seem to  grasp the weight of what is happening. He  

seems a bit shocked at the carnage, but  he is too naive to feel responsibility  

for it. And as expendable people are in this  setting, he will be the first of the patrol  

boat crew to die and we will never even  see who was responsible for his death.

Finally, Lance, like Chef has no sense of  duty to the war effort, but while Chef is  

terrified and trying to claw his way out of  the situation, Lance, like the surfer he is,  

is mostly relaxed. He’ll participate, but he  participates like a tourist on vacation. He  

paints his face for fun. In the next scene,  he drops acid. And now he has just been given  

the symbol of his innocence–a puppy–to go through  the story like himself–just going with the flow.

Semi-related, there was this insane moment  that was cut from the movie where the patrol  

boat passes by a sampan filled with monkeys and  has the corpse of a man tied to the boat’s sail.  

This is intercut with the ritual at the  Kurtz compound from the end of the movie,  

but the people are singing  ‘Light My Fire’ by the Doors.

Come on, baby, light my fire.

Come on, baby, light my fire. It’s comin’ from where we goin’, Captain”

It was the way we had over here of living  with ourselves. We would cut them in half  

with a machine gun and give them a bandaid. It was  a lie. The more I saw them, the more I hated lies.

On the next episode of Making Apocalypse Now,  the crew of the patrol boat finally reach the  

Do Lung Bridge–the last army outpost on the  Nung River in a surreal sequence that would  

mark the final point of no return for the crew  and a shift in tone and visuals for the movie.

Do Lung bridge was the last army outpost on the  Nung River. Beyond that there was only Kurtz.

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