Apocalypse Now analysis

 for the cinematography, in the opening scene there is a long shot of the jungle followed by the same long shot but now with the burning jungle. It first highlights the beauty of nature as the camera pans from the left to the right but it then turns to disaster as then nature is being destroyed by the fire. There is a silhouetted, close up shot of his face in the dark room which contrasts nicely with the bright, orange flames playing over in the background as the two scenes merge with one another. His face is upside down while the planes are moving across to show his craziness.

For editing, the burning forest transitions to a shadowy shot of the mans face. In the scene there are two things playing out . The plane also transitions into a ceiling fan in his room which shows a similarity to the moving engines off the plane. There is also a silhouetted shot of his face moving from the right of the screen to the left while the burning jungle plays out in the same scene. the order of shots starts with the  jungle  but the next shot shows the jungle on fire with planes more planes flying past in the scene to show the difference and the disaster happening and how the beauty of nature can be destroyed.

For the mise-en-scene, the setting is Vietnam which takes place during the Vietnam war. A meaningful object in this scene is the ceiling fan as its meant to represent the planes engines as they fly over the jungle setting. The planes engines are played out as the fan is spinning round to give the character flashbacks of the war. The hotel room is another key object as this is where he has his breakdown. The planes are important as they fly over the jungle .

For sound, as the loud drumming is played over Martin Sheen having a breakdown as he drinks and punches the air makes the scene even more intense. There is a song 'the end' that plays over the burning jungle in the background.  The planes engines playing over the spinning fan is called a sound bridge and it makes us question whether the sound is in his head over is its the plane as both scenes blend in to each other. The sound of the planes engines plays over the spinning fan in his room.

For the performance, our main character is lying on the bed when that scene in his room merges with the forest. This highlights his suffering and the torment he's been put through. There is no dialogue or communication with someone else but is instead walking around the room while drinking. This indicates his mental state is deteriorating as the scene goes on when he smashes the mirror and getting drunk. He is also kicking and punching the air which shows his mind is somewhere else. 

The only women with spelling lines in the film are the three playboy bunnies that have come to entertain the lustful, rowdy crowd of American soldiers. They are presented as sexual objects whose here for entertainment purposes. Soon after the women begin their dancing, the men start acting savage, screaming things like ''Take it off, you bitch!'' These actions highlight men's sensitivity to the presence of women and that gender roles have become sharpened in the eyes of the soldiers. 

On Apocalypse Now, an example of a production context that effected the content were the natural disasters that were taking place where they were filming, various people were coming down with tropical diseases and the helicopters uses in combat scenes were constantly being recalled to be used to fight the war against anti-government rebels.