Apocalypse Now Vs. Platoon (Ep. 0023)

The moral ambiguity of the Vietnam War attracted prolific filmmakers such as Stanley Kubrick, Oliver Stone, and Francis Ford Coppola. Although different, Apocalypse Now and Platoon are two iconic interpretations of one of the most divisive periods in history. Hop in the riverboat with Kyle, Drew, and Phil as we try to determine who “...smells like victory”

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Apocalypse Now 

In Vietnam in 1970, Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) takes a perilous and increasingly hallucinatory journey upriver to find and terminate Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando), a once-promising officer who has reportedly gone completely mad. In the company of a Navy patrol boat filled with street-smart kids, a surfing-obsessed Air Cavalry officer (Robert Duvall), and a crazed freelance photographer (Dennis Hopper), Willard travels further and further into the heart of darkness.

Rating:

R

Genre:

War, Drama

Original Language:

English

Director:

Francis Ford Coppola

Producer:

Kim Aubry, Francis Ford Coppola

Writer:

Joseph Conrad, John Milius, Francis Ford Coppola, Michael Herr

Release Date (Theaters):

Aug 15, 1979  Original

Release Date (Streaming):

May 18, 2010

Box Office (Gross USA):

$78.8M

Runtime:

2h 33m

Distributor:

Paramount Pictures, Miramax Films, United Artists

(Information courtesy of Rotten Tomatoes https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/apocalypse_now) 

Platoon 

Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen) leaves his university studies to enlist in combat duty in Vietnam in 1967. Once he's on the ground in the middle of battle, his idealism fades. Infighting in his unit between Staff Sergeant Barnes (Tom Berenger), who believes nearby villagers are harboring Viet Cong soldiers, and Sergeant Elias (Willem Dafoe), who has a more sympathetic view of the locals, ends up pitting the soldiers against each other as well as against the enemy.

Rating:

R

Genre:

War, Drama

Original Language:

English

Director:

Oliver Stone

Producer:

Arnold Kopelson

Writer:

Oliver Stone

Release Date (Theaters):

Dec 19, 1986  Original

Release Date (Streaming):

Aug 15, 2000

Box Office (Gross USA):

$138.5M

Runtime:

2h 0m

Distributor:

MGM/UA Home Entertainment Inc., Orion Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

(Information courtesy of https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/platoon)