Episode #254

Apocalypse Now

(1979)

War is hell.

Any sample of the AFI Top 100 wouldn’t be complete without Francis Ford Coppola, and he is the real star of this ambitious, disturbing, madness-inducing look into the horrors of the Vietnam War based on the novella “Heart of Darkness.” Starring Martin Sheen and a veritable cavalcade of other recognizable actors, this film might just be the best representation ever made of how war feels. Like Sheen’s Willard, it nearly cost Coppola his own sanity to make . . . and that might just be perfect. Let’s head down the river, kids. Everything will (not) be fine. It’s number 6 on our AFI Starter Pack.