The opening scene of Apocalypse Now can certainly be described as âintenseâ. The scene opens with an aerial view of a forest of Palm trees. Simultaneously, you can hear the chopping sound of a helicopter propeller cutting into the wind â and in the background, the start of the song âThis is the Endâ by the Doors. As the introduction to the song progresses, elements in the film change and smoke enters the scene amongst the palm trees. It isnât until the very start of the first set of lyrics to the song that the forest completely incinerates into flames. The lyrics begin with the sentence âthis is the endâŠâ Then, the scene begins to fade and, therein, introduces a cross-cut scene including a very young Martin Sheen.
The premise of the film is based on the Vietnam War (1955-1975). In my interpretation of the movie, the opening scene was the precursor for the way chaos and war was going to be depicted in the film; the viewers are immediately introduced to aspects of war, such as chaos and catastrophic events â circumstances very real in a war setting, at the start of the movie. Bits of information would reveal itself throughout the opening scene. On a night stand are formal documents fanned out and a vintage photograph of a female; additionally, the viewer is shown a bottle of cognac, a lit cigarette in the characterâs hand, and a gun resting just below his pillow.
The camera primarily focuses the viewerâs attention onto the characters forehead and eyes, while simultaneously showing the previous scene of the trees caught on fire and helicopters. Perhaps, insinuating the character’s involvement in the catastrophic event. From the viewerâs perspective, itâs easy to infer that the film takes place during a time of chaos. Likewise, chaos becomes a continuous aspect presented throughout the entire film.
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I like your interpretation a lot and it makes sense with the plot of the story. For me, I see a rather darker interpretation of this opening. For me, this scene representing the chaos of war is too on-the-nose. As humans, deep down, we all search for that eternal nirvana. We try to do good things to go to heaven if you believe in that kind of stuff. Soldiers do horrible, sometimes revolting things during war. The government encourages him and that soldier truly believes he is a good human being whilst doing these horrible things. He truly believes he will get to that nirvana. But in the end his mind cannot forget what his eyes had seen and what his hands had done. It’s too much for his psyche. He now knows that his heaven is far out of reach and that there is nothing he can do to extend his arm far enough. In his eyes he is irredeemable. So he waits willingly for the scorching hellfire to engulf him whole..
That’s my interpretation.