This film contains scenes which some viewers may find disturbing, very strong language,
graphic violent scenes and discriminatory language which some may find offensive
MUSIC: The End by The Doors
WHIRRING OF HELICOPTER BLADES
# This is the end
# Beautiful friend
# This is the end
# My only friend, the end
# Of all the elaborate plans, the end
# Of everything that stands, the end
# No safety or surprise, the end
# I'll never look into your eyes...
# ..again
# Can you picture what will be
# So limitless and free
# Desperately in need
# Of some stranger's hand
# In a desperate land
# Lost in a Roman wilderness of pain
# And all the children
# Are insane... #
WHIRRING BLADES
# All the children...are insane
# Waiting for the summer rain. #
WHIRRING OF HELICOPTER BLADES
WHIRRING BECOMES LOUDER
'Saigon.
'Shit.
'I'm still only in Saigon.
'Every time I think I'm going to wake up back in the jungle.
'When I was home, after my first tour, it was worse.'
INSECT BUZZES
'I'd wake up and there'd be nothing.
'I hardly said a word to my wife until I said "yes" to the divorce.
'When I was here, I wanted to be there.
'When I was there, all I could think of was getting back into the jungle.
'I've been here a week now.
'Waiting for a mission.
'Getting softer.
'Every minute I stay in this room, I get weaker.
'Every minute Charlie squats in the bush, he gets stronger.
'Each time I looked around, the walls moved in a little tighter.'
MUSIC CONTINUES
'Everyone gets everything he wants.
'I wanted a mission.
'For my sins, they gave me one. Brought it to me like room service.'
Captain Willard, are you in there?
Yeah. I-I'm here.
'It was a real choice mission.
'And when it was over, I'd never want another.'
LOCKS CLUNK AND CLICK
What do you want? Are you OK? What does it look like?
You Captain Willard? Affirmative. 505th Battalion? Yeah.
Hey, buddy! Shut the door!
We have orders to escort you to the airfield.
What are the charges? Sir? What did I do?
There's no charges. You have to report to Com Sec Intelligence at Nha Trang.
I see. All right?
Nha Trang, for me? That's right.
Come on, Captain. You still have a few hours to get cleaned up.
Captain...? Dave, give me a hand. We got a dead one.
Captain, let's take a shower. Nah!
Don't be an ass.
Take a shower, Captain!
Stand underneath this, Captain.
A-a-ah!
'I was going to the worst place in the world and I didn't even know it yet.
'Weeks away and hundreds of miles up a river
'that snaked through the war like a main circuit cable plugged straight into Kurtz.
'It was no accident that I got to be the caretaker
'of Colonel Walter E Kurtz's memory, any more that being back in Saigon was an accident.
'There is no way to tell his story without telling my own.
'And if his story is really a confession...then so is mine.'
Captain. Good. Come on in. Stand at ease.
General.
GENTLE PIANO MUSIC PLAYS
Do you want a cigarette?
No, thank you, sir.
Have you seen this gentleman before?
No, sir. Met the General or myself?
No, sir.
Not personally.
You've worked a lot on your own. Yes, sir.
Specifically counter-intelligence?
I'm not able to discuss that, sir.
Did you not work for the CIA in 'I' Corps?
..No, sir. Did you not assassinate
a government tax collector,
Quang Tri Province, June 18, 1968?
Captain?
Sir, I am unaware
of any such activity or operation.
Nor would I be...disposed to discuss such an operation
if it did, in fact, exist, sir.
I thought we'd have a bite of lunch while we talked.
I hope you brought a good appetite.
I notice that you have...
..a bad hand there. Are you wounded? A fishing accident on R and R, sir.
Fishing on R and R? Yes, sir.
But you're fit? Ready for duty?
Yes, General. Very much so, sir.
Well...roast beef. Usually it's not bad.
Try some, Jerry. Pass it around.
To save a little time we might pass both ways.
Captain...I don't know how you feel about this shrimp,
but if you'll eat it
you'll never have to prove your courage in any other way.
I might just take a piece here.
Captain, you've heard of Captain Walter E Kurtz?
Em... Yes, I've heard the name. Oh, Jesus!
Officer, 5th Special Forces.
Luke, would you play that tape for the Captain, please?
Listen to this carefully, Captain.
October 9, 04:30 hours, Sector Peter, Victor, King.
This was monitored out of Cambodia.
It's been verified as Col Kurtz's voice.
'I watched a snail crawl along the edge
'of a straight razor.
'That's my dream.
'It's my nightmare.
'Crawling, slithering...
'along the edge...
'of a straight...razor...
'..and surviving.'
'Transmission 11, December 30th, 05:00 hours, Sector King, Zulu, King.'
'But we must kill them. We must incinerate them.
'Pig after pig.
'Cow after cow.
'Village after village. Army after army.
'And they call me an assassin.
'What do you call it when the assassins accuse the assassin?
'We lie. We lie and we have to be merciful for those who lie.
'Those...nabobs.
'I hate them.
'I do hate them.'
Walt Kurtz was one of the most outstanding officers
this country's ever produced.
He was outstanding in every way.
And he was a GOOD man, too.
Humanitarian man.
Man of wit and humour.
He joined the Special Forces.
And after that, his...
ideas...
methods...
became...
..unsound.
Unsound.
Now he's crossed into Cambodia with this...
Montagnard Army of his that worship the man like a god
and follow every order however ridiculous.
I have some other shocking news.
Colonel Kurtz was about to be... arrested for murder.
I don't follow, sir?
Kurtz had ordered the execution of some Vietnamese intelligence agents.
Men he believed were double agents. He took matters into his own hands.
Well, you see, Willard,
in this war things get...
confused out there.
Power, ideals, the old morality
and practical military necessity.
But out there with these natives... it must be a...temptation...
..to be God.
Because there's a conflict
in every human heart...
between the rational and irrational.
Between good and evil.
And good does NOT always triumph.
Sometimes, the DARK side...
overcomes what Lincoln called 'the Better Angels' of our nature.
Every man has got a breaking point.
You and I have it...
Walt Kurtz has reached his...
and, very obviously, he has gone insane.
HELICOPTER PASSES
Yes, sir. Very much so, sir. Obviously insane.
Your mission is to proceed up the Nung river,
pick up Colonel Kurtz's path at Nu Mung Ba,
follow it, learn what you can.
When you find the Colonel, infiltrate his team by...
CLEARS THROAT ..whatever means available...
and terminate the Colonel's command.
Terminate...the Colonel?
He's out there operating
without ANY decent restraint...
totally beyond the pale of any acceptable human conduct.
And he's still in the field commanding troops.
Terminate...with extreme prejudice.
You understand, Captain, that this mission does not exist?
Nor will it ever exist.
'How many people had I already killed?
'There were those six that I knew about for sure.
'Close enough to blow their last breath in my face.
'But THIS time it was an American.
'And an officer.
'It wasn't supposed to make any difference to me. But it did.
'Shit. Charging a man with murder in this place was like handing out speeding tickets at the Indy 500.'
'I took the mission. What the hell else could I do?
'But I really didn't know what I'd do when I found him.
'I was being ferried down the coast in a Navy PBR, a type of plastic patrol boat,
'pretty common sight on the rivers.
'They said it was a good way to pick up information, and move without drawing attention.
'That was OK. I needed the time. Only problem was, I wasn't alone.
Morning, Captain!
RADIO PLAYS
'The crew were mostly just kids.
'Rock and rollers with one foot in their graves.'
How old are you? 17.
'The machinist, Chef, was from New Orleans.
'He was wrapped too tight for Vietnam - maybe New Orleans, too.
'Lance, on the forward 50s, was a surfer from LA.
'You wouldn't believe he'd ever fired a weapon.
'Clean...Mr Clean, was from some South Bronx shit-hole.
'And I think the light and space of Vietnam really put the zap on his head.
'And there was Phillips, the Chief. It might have been MY mission, but it sure as shit was HIS boat.
There's about two points where we can draw water to get into the Nung River. Both belong to Charlie.
Don't worry about it.
Don't smoke.
You know, I've pulled a few special ops in here.
About six months ago, I took a man who was going up past the bridge at Do Lung.
He was regular Army, too.
Heard he shot himself in the head.
'At first I thought they handed me the wrong dossier.
'I couldn't BELIEVE they wanted this man dead.
'West Point. Top of his class. Korea. Airborne...
'About a thousand decorations, etc, etc.
'I'd heard his voice on tape, and it really put the hook in me.
'But I couldn't connect that voice
'with THIS man.'
'Like they said, he had an impressive career.
'Maybe TOO impressive.
'I mean...perfect.
'He was being groomed
for one of the top slots - General,
Chief of Staff...anything.
'In 1964, he returned from a tour with Advisory Command in Vietnam and things started to slip.
'His report to the Joint Chiefs of Staff was restricted.
'Seems they didn't dig what he had to tell them.
'During the next three months, he made three requests for transfer to Airborne Training in Georgia.
'And was finally accepted.
'Airborne?
'He was 38 years old.
'Why the fuck would he do that?
'1966, joins Special Forces.
'Returns Vietnam.'
RUMBLING
What's that?
Arc light. B-52 strike.
What's that? Arc light.
CHEF: Every time I hear that, something terrible happens.
Charlie don't never see them or hear them, man.
There they are!
Something terrible will happen! Smoke!
Secondary burning.
Hueys over there. Lots of Hueys.
Let's have a look, Chief.
'It was the Air Cav. First of the Ninth.
'Our escorts to the mouth of the Nung River. But our meet was another 30km ahead.
'Well...Air Mobile. Those boys just couldn't stay put(!)
CRYING, HUBBUB, YELLING
'First of the Ninth was an old cavalry division that had cashed in its horses for choppers
'and gone tear-assing around Nam looking for the shit.
'They'd given Charlie
a few surprises in their time here.
'What they were mopping up now hadn't even happened yet an hour ago.'
Don't look at the camera! Just go by like you're fighting!
Don't look! It's for television.
Keep going!
Where can I find the CO? That's the Colonel coming down.
CO's on that chopper.
Lieutenant, bomb that tree line back about 100 yards.
Give me some room to breathe. Yes, sir!
Bring my body cards! Yes, sir!
I'm the Fourth Tank commander. I've got five tanks broken down.
We're all right with the tanks. It's all right, Captain.
Captain Willard. I carry priority papers with Com Sec Intelligence, Two Corps.
I understand you're briefed
on the requirements of my mission.
What mission?
Your unit is to escort us into the Nung. We'll see. Keep out of my way till this is done.
Let's see what we have.
Two of spades, three of spades, four of diamonds...
six of clubs... eight of spades.
There isn't one worth a Jack!
Four of diamonds...
Hey, Captain, what's that? Death cards. What?
Death cards. Lets Charlie know who did this.
Cheer up, son.
Fire in the hole!
LOUDSPEAKER: 'This is an area that's controlled by the Vietcong
'and North Vietnamese.
'We are here to help you.'
MAN TRANSLATES
'We are here to extend a welcome hand
'to those of you who would like to return to the arms of the South Vietnamese government.'
Move it out!
'This area is controlled by the Vietcong and South Vietnamese...'
What's this?
What IS this? This man's hurt pretty bad, sir.
That pot lid's holding his guts in.
What does he have to say?
He's dirty VC. He wants water. He can drink paddy water.
Get out of here! Give me a canteen.
Dirty VC. Just dirty VC. Get out! Get him OUT of here!
They're killing all our people!
Any man brave enough to fight with this wound is due some water!
Lance Johnson, the surfer is here. Where?
Are you sure? Down there. Dead ahead.
What's your name? Gunner's Mate, Third Class, L Johnson, sir.
Gunner's... Lance Johnson, the surfer? Yes, sir.
It's an honour to meet you, Lance. I admire your cutback. I think you're the best cutback there is.
Thank you, sir. Cut out the 'sir'. I'm Bill Kilgore. A goofy foot.
This guy with you? Yeah.
This is Mike from San Diego, Johnny from Malibu - he's a pretty solid surfer.
None of us are in your class. We do a lot of surfing round here.
We fly down to Vung Tau for the evening glass.
Been riding since you got here? No.
We'll change that.
PRIEST: ..and the unity of the Holy
Spirit,
all honour and glory is Yours.
Let us pray to the Father in the words He gave us.
Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven...
'Kilgore had had a pretty good day for himself.
'They'd choppered in T-bones and beer, and turned the LZ into a beach party.
'The more they tried to make it just like home, the more they made everybody miss it.'
# Love me and let me love you all the time... #
'Well, he wasn't a BAD officer, I guess.
'He loved his boys. You felt safe with him.
'He was one of those guys you just knew wouldn't get so much as a scratch here.'
What happened to your mission? Nha Trang forget all about you?
Sir, two places we can get in to the river.
Here and here. It's a wide delta but these are the only two spots.
That village you're pointing at is kinda hairy. What do you mean 'hairy', sir?
Got some pretty heavy ordnance. I lost a few recon ships in there.
What's the name? Vin Drin Dop, or Lop?
Damn Gook names all sound the same. Mike, you know this point?
That's a fantastic peak.
Peak? It's about six foot.
It has a long right, a left slide and a bowl section.
Why didn't you tell me before? There aren't any good peaks in this whole shitty country.
That's where we lost McDonald, sir.
That's Charlie's point.
Sir, we can go in there tomorrow at dawn. There'll be a good offshore breeze in the morning.
We may not be able to get the boat in, may be too shallow.
Hell, we'll pick your boat up and put it down like a baby right where you want.
I can take that point and hold it
and you can get any place up that river that suits you!
Hell, a six foot peak! Lance, go with Mike.
Pick a board. Bring my Yater Spoon.
Sir... What is it, soldier? It's hairy! It's Charlie's point. Charlie don't surf!
Clean, you won't believe THIS!
CLEAN: Hey, they're picking up the boat!
How are you feeling, Jimmy?
Like a mean motherfucker, sir!
All right, son, let her rip!
I never have got used to a light board.
I use a heavy board. It's a drag.
Do you prefer heavy or light? Heavy. Really? Yeah.
I thought the young guys liked light boards. You can't... Excuse me.
Eagle Thrust Seven, we've spotted it.
Put on heading 2-7-0. Assume attack formation. 'Roger, Big Duke.'
We'll come in low out of
the rising sun and about a mile
out we'll put on the music. Music?
Wagner. Scares the hell out of the Slopes. My boys LOVE it.
Hey, they're going to play music!
How come you guys sit on your helmet?
So we don't get our balls blown off!
Big Duke to Eagle Thrust. Put on psy war op.
This is a Romeo Foxtrot. Shall we dance?
TAPE PLAYS LOUDLY...
MUSIC: Ride of the Valkyries by Wagner
MUSIC BLARES
DOGS BARK, CHILDREN SING
WHIRRING, FAINT MUSIC
WARNING BELL PEALS
SHOUTING
MUSIC GETS LOUDER
MUSIC BLARES
Let's go!
On your right!
Get 'em in there!
Run, Charlie!
Eagle Thrust 7. Spotted a large weapon. We'll check it out.
What a shot! Outstanding, Red Team. Outstanding.
Big Duke 6, 4-1-0. We're over the village right now.
I see a vehicle. I'm going down to check it out. Well done, Hawks.
Want some 20-Mike-Mike-Vulcan along those tree lines.
Got a vehicle on the bridge. He's moving across to re-supply the weapon.
Clear the area. I'm coming down.
Un-ass that shit. Get it out of here!
It's just a flare. Just a flare.
Everyone all right? Lance? I'm fine.
I'm NOT going! I'm NOT going! I'm NOT going...!
PILOT: Got secondaries down in the plaza.
Duke 6, we've got wounded down there.
HE SCREAMS IN PAIN
Get a stretcher over here!
God help me! I can't feel it!
God help me!
Give me some morphine.
Where's that DOCTOR?!
I want my men OUT of there and in the hospital in 15 minutes!
PILOT: Somebody stand tight with Big Duke.
We're gonna GO in for our men.
We got one of the claws checking. Make sure that duster gets out.
Here's your wounded!
She's got a GRENADE! She's got a GRENADE!
The whole thing blew up! Savages.
Holy Christ, she's a SAP.
I'm gonna get that bitch.
It's goddamn eat-up with enemy down here.
I'm taking fire all over.
I'm hit! May Day, May Day, I'm hit. The tail rotor's out.
What do you think? Wow, this is really exciting, man! No, the waves!
Look, breaks both ways, watch. Look, good six foot swells.
Go, Lance! GO.
Let's go. Go, get pumping.
Come here, Lance.
Maybe you ought to surf elsewhere. What do you know about surfing? You're from New Jersey!
Hey, come here! Come here.
Change. Right now, sir? I want to see how rideable that stuff is.
It's pretty hairy.
You want to surf? Yeah.
Good, cos you either surf or fight.
Now, get going. I'll cover for 'em,
and bring a board for Lance.
We can't do shit till the boat gets here. Lance.
I'll bet you can't wait to get out
there. One guy can break to
the right, one left, simultaneous.
I think we ought to wait for the tide to come up. Look!
The tide doesn't come in for six hours. You wanna wait here for six hours?
Chief. Chief!
OK, fellas, quit hiding. Come on, let's go.
Goddamnit, don't you think it's a little risky for R and R?
If I say it's safe to surf
this beach, it's safe to surf!
I'M not afraid to surf this place!
Give me that R-T, soldier.
Dove 4, this is Big Duke 6, goddamnit!
I want that tree line bombed. Roger. Dove 1-3, stand by.
Bomb 'em to the Stone Age, son.
No, ma'am. Let me take care of this now.
Roger. They need some napalm down near the tree line.
Can you get twisted round there?
'What's the target?'
The tree line down there. 'Roger, here we come.'
Give it all you've got.
Tell them to get my chopper, get back to the hospital.
You've got to go with him. Go, go, go!
Get it out of here!
Big Duke 6, the jets are inbound. Get your people back and heads down.
This is going to be a big one.
Don't worry. We'll have this place cleaned up in a jiffy, son.
Give me those shorts.
These are from the Air-Cav, a present from me and the boys.
I want to see you do your stuff out there.
See that? Look.
You smell that?
Do you smell THAT? WHAT?
Napalm, son. Nothing else in the world smells like that.
I love the smell of napalm in the morning.
One time we had a hill bombed for 12 hours and afterwards I walked up.
We didn't find one of 'em, not one stinking dink body.
But the smell, you know, that gasoline smell. The whole hill smelled like...
..victory.
Some day this war's going to end.
Lance! The wind! The Wind! It's blowing onshore!
It's gonna blow this place out. It's gonna ruin it!
Lance! The wind! The wind! Huh?
It's blowing onshore! It's gonna blow this place out. It's gonna ruin it!
Not cool! It's the goddamn napalm, that's what's doing it!
I'm really sorry, Colonel, but I'm afraid that does it.
The kid's got a reputation.
You can't expect him to surf those sloppy waves.
I understand what you're saying.
Yeah, I'm an artist, Bill. I couldn't surf that crap.
Look, I apologise. It's not my fault.
The waves are getting blown out by the napalm.
It's the bombs causing a vortex with the wind.
I accept your apology. Hang around just 20 minutes.
Some other time, Bill. Just 20 minutes!
I'm an artist! Keep walking.
Let's give it a try, guys. One goes left and one goes right.
Look, Lance... You through surfing? Yeah. Wanna say goodbye to the colonel?
No! You sure? Yeah! Then let's get the fuck out of here!
Lance, it's the fucking napalm! Just wait 20 minutes!
Fuck!
Don't leave without me! Where the fuck are you going?
Incoming!
That's the colonel's surfboard! Get the fuck off me! It's mine!
Chef, light up, man, come on, let's get high.
'Some day this war's going to end. That'll be just fine with the boys on the boat.
'They weren't looking for anything
more than a way home.
'Trouble is, I'd been back there
'and I knew it just didn't exist any more.'
Buddha-time. All right!
'If that's how Kilgore fought the war, I began to wonder what they really had against Kurtz.
'It wasn't just insanity and murder, there was enough of that to go around for anyone.'
CHEF: I'm not here. I'm walking through the jungle gathering mangoes
and meeting Raquel Welch.
And make a nice mango cream pudding.
You know, kind of spread it around on us.
See, she's into mangoes, too. She's like one limb above me.
We're both in the jungle here, nude. Hey, Chief? Yeah? Here comes that colonel guy again.
HELICOPTER WHIRS
'I will not hurt or harm you. I will not hurt or harm you.
'Just give me back the board, Lance.
'It was a good board and I like it. You know how hard it is to find a board you like.'
'I will not hurt or harm you. I will not hurt or harm you.
'Just give me back the board, Lance.
'It was a good board and I like it. You know how hard it is to find a board you like.'
Jesus Christ. That guy's too fucking much, man.
Do you think he would've shot us? He would've shot us on the beach, or if he saw me taking his board.
# Let's go surfing now, Everybody's learning how... #
Let's get this board out of my turret. Sucker!
I wonder if that's the same chopper.
Hell, he's probably got them all over the river with that recording.
We'll have to hold up here till dark, Chief.
Don't worry Lance, he won't follow us too far. What makes you say that?
You think that Cav colonel wants everyone upriver to know we stole his board?
I didn't steal it!
Captain? Hm? Just how far up this river are we going?
That's classified, Chief. I can't tell you.
We're going up pretty far.
Is it going to be hairy? I don't know, kid.
Yeah, probably.
You like it like that, Captain? When it's hot, hairy?
Fuck.
Maybe you'll get a chance to know what the fuck you are in some factory in Ohio.
Hey, Chief, I'm going to go get those mangoes now, OK?
Take somebody with you. I'll go with him.
Chef.
Yes, sir.
How come they call you that? What?
Chef. Cos you like mangoes
and stuff?
No, sir, I'm a real chef. I'm a saucier.
Saucier?
Yes, sir. See, I come from New Orleans. I was raised to be a saucier.
A great saucier. What's a saucier? We specialise in sauces.
Got to be a mango tree here somewhere.
Then I—I was supposed to go
to Paris, to the Escoffier School.
Then I got orders for my physical.
BUZZING AND CHIRRUPING
Hell, I joined the Navy. Heard they had better food.
Cook school, that did it. Oh yeah, how's that?
You don't want to hear about that.
They lined us up in front of 100 yards of prime rib,
all of us, you know, lined up looking at it. Magnificent meat, beautifully marbled.
Magnifique!
Next thing they're throwing
the meat into these big cauldrons,
all of it, boiling it.
I looked inside, it was turning grey.
I couldn't believe it. That's when I applied for radio man's school, but they gave me the engine mech...
BUZZING, WINGS FLAP
CHIRRUPING, BUZZING
(What is it?)
(Charlie?)
(Easy.)
TIGER! Come on.
GUNFIRE It's a tiger, man, it's a tiger!
Battle stations!
Captain! Come on. Let's go!
Let's go!
Chief, come on!
Bring that 60.
I've to remember, I've to remember, never get out the boat!
Chef, how many is it?
It's a TIGER! WHAT? Tiger. Tiger?
Goddamnit! You can kiss my ass on the county square, cos I'm buggin' out.
I didn't come here for this. I don't NEED it. I don't want it.
I didn't get out the goddamn
eighth grade for this kind of shit.
All I want to do is cook, I just want to learn to cook, man!
It's all right, it's all right.
You're all right, you're all right.
It's gonna be all right, it's gonna be all right.
Never get out of the boat! Tiger!
'Never get out of the boat.
'Absolutely goddamn right.
'Unless you were going all the way.
'Kurtz got off the boat.
'He split from the whole programme.
'How did that happen?
'What did he see here that first tour?
'38 years old.
'If you joined the Green Berets there was no way you would ever get above Colonel.
'Kurtz knew what he was giving up.
'The more I read and began to understand, the more I admired him.
'His family and friends couldn't understand it, and couldn't talk him out of it.
'He had to apply three times and he put up with a tonne of shit,
'but when he threatened to resign they gave it to him.
'The next-youngest guy in his class
was half his age.
'They must've thought he was some far-out old man, humpin' over that course.
'I did it when I was 19, and it damn near wasted me.
'That tough motherfucker. He finished it.
'He could've gone for General.
'But he went for himself instead.'
"Dear Eva, Today was really a new one.
"Almost got eaten alive by a tiger.
"Really un-fucking-believable, you know?
"We're taking Captain Willard up the river,
"but he hasn't told us yet where we're taking him."
HE SINGS
'October 1967. On special assignment, Kon Tum Province, Two Corps.
'Kurtz staged Operation Archangel with combined local forces. Rated a major success.
'He received no official clearance.
'He just thought it up and did it.
'What balls.
'They were going to nail his ass to the floorboards for that one,
'but after the press got hold of it they promoted him to full Colonel instead.
'Aw, man, the bullshit piled up
so fast in Vietnam
'you needed wings to stay above it.'
This is a bizarre sight in the middle of this shit.
Expecting us this time? Damned if I know.
Jesus.
Hau Phat. You ever been up here before, Chef?
Check out these bikes!
Suzuki, yeah!
This must be the guy. Right over there.
- Three drums of diesel fuel... - Move, you guys. What do you want?
Can I get Panama Red? Panama Red? Yeah.
- Sergeant. - Destination?
I don't have no destination. Sergeant.
I need a destination! Sergeant.
Hey, Sarge, these guys are with me.
Destination's classified.
I carry priority papers from Com Sec Intelligence. OK.
It's a real big night. Eight bucks for that cam...
Hey! Just give them some fuel.
You got it.
The dog starts barking! >
Captain, I'm sorry about tonight.
Take this to the supply desk and you got it.
Would you guys like some seats to the show?
What show?
The bunnies.
Playboy Bunnies?
Hey, listen, Captain, on the house.
No hard feelings, eh?
CHEERS AND WHISTLES
BOOING FROM CROWD
How you doing out there?
AUDIENCE RESPONDS
We all want to say hello to you,
who work so goddamn hard in Operation Brute Force.
Hello, you paratroopers and the marines and the sailors.
BOOING, SHOUTING
We're proud of you out here. And we're going to give you entertainment we know you'll like.
Miss August, Miss Sandra Beatty.
Miss May, Miss Terri Teray. Yeah!
And the Playmate of the Year, Miss Carrie Foster - yeah!
MUSIC: Suzie Q by Flash Cadillac
# Oh, Suzie Q, baby, I love you
# Miss Suzie Q
# I like the way you walk
# I like the way you talk
# I like the way you walk And the way you talk, Suzie Q
# Oh, Suzie Q!
# Suzie Q!
# My Suzie Q!
# Suzie Q!
# Suzie Q! Suzie Q! #
< Get OUT the WAY!
You're cute! I'm here, baby.
I'm here!
You fucking bitch! Take it off!
Want us to come over?
I sure DO.
CHANTING: Take it off, take it off, take it off!
Come on, baby!
Let's go! Let's go!
'Charlie didn't get much USO.
'He was dug in too deep or moving too fast.
'His idea of great R and R was cold rice and a little rat meat.
'He had only two ways home -
'death or victory.
'No wonder Kurtz put a weed up command's ass.
'The war was being run by a bunch of four-star clowns who would end up giving the whole circus away.
You know, man, that was far fucking out. I collected every picture of her since she was Miss December.
Hey, Clean, look at that. She was here, man! I even wrote to the cunt. She didn't write me back.
You can get really hung up on these broads, like that cat in the delta. Yeah. What cat?
The one that went up for murder? He was an army Sergeant.
This cat, he really dug his Playboy, man.
I mean, this cat, when the thing arrived, he was there to meet it, man!
Look at these beautiful fucking jugs, man!
Anyway, he was working ARVN patrols, had one of them cocky gook asshole lieutenants,
and one day the gook took his magazine and wouldn't give it back!
Cat said "Gimme my magazine back!" Gook said, "You shut up. I have you court martialled", you know?
Typical fucking ARVN, man. The gook went too far. Chef, take the wheel.
HELICOPTER PASSES
Sticking pinholes and mutilating the centrefold and shit like that.
And the Sergeant said, "You better not do that to her. You leave your shitty little gook hands
"off of that girl!" Gook say, "Fuck you!" In Vietnamese, right?
Sergeant, man, he just couldn't handle it no more. He just picked up his iron...
..flipped it to rock and roll and, boom!
Gave that little zero a long burst straight through the Playboy mag.
It blew his ass clear out off the dock.
There wasn't no more lieutenant that day. That was it for his ass.
They burn him for it? The Sergeant? Yeah, man.
They stuck his ass in the LBJ. It's too bad he didn't get no medals or nothing.
Fucking ARVN, man. They should've killed the fuck.
Should've given that fucker a Silver Star.
Bummer for the gooks, though, ain't it?
RADIO JINGLE PLAYS
Good morning, Vietnam. I'm Army Specialist Zack Johnson on AMNV.
It's about 82 degrees in downtown Saigon right now, also very humid...
..and we have an important message for all GIs who are living off base
from the mayor of Saigon. He's like you to hand the laundry up indoors, instead of the windowsills.
The mayor wants you to keep Saigon beautiful. And now, here's another
blast from the past going out to Big Sam,
who's all alone out there with the First Battalion,
35th Infantry, and dedicated by the Fire Team and their groovy CO. The Rolling Stones, Satisfaction.
Work out, Clean! Get down, bubba!
# I can't get no-o sat-is-faction... #
Hang on, Lance!
# I can't get no satisfaction And I've tried, and I've tried
# I've tried and I've tried
# I can't get no-o satisfaction
# I'm driving in my car
# And a man comes on the radio
# He's telling me more and more
# About some useless information
# Trying to fire my imagination... # Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!
# But I can't get no no, no, no... #
"Commitment and Counterinsurgency" by Walter E Kurtz.
"As long as our officers and troops perform tours of duty limited
"to one year, they will remain dilettantes in war, and tourists
"in Vietnam.
"As long as cold beer, hot food, rock and roll, and all the
"other amenities remain expected norm, our conduct of the war will only gain impotence.
"We need fewer men, and better.
"If they were committed, this war could be won with a fourth of our present force."
You ain't shitting. It's chicken time.
What's going on?
Is that you, Lazaro?
Chief, don't chicken out!
Your old lady gives good head.
Fire on the canopy!
I got it, I got it! Get out of there!
Lance, Lance! Put that out, man!
'Late summer - autumn 1968.
Kurtz's patrols in the highlands coming under frequent ambush.
'The camps started falling apart.
'November: Kurtz orders assassination of three Vietnamese men and one woman.
'Two of the men were Colonels in the South Vietnamese Army.
'Enemy activity in his old sector
'dropped off to nothing.
'Guess he must have hit the right four people.
'The Army tried one last time to bring him back into the fold.
'And if he'd pulled over it all would have been forgotten.
'But he kept going.
'And he kept winning it HIS way.
'And they called me in.
'They lost him.
'He was gone.
'Nothing but rumours and random intelligence, mostly from captured VC.
'The VC knew his name by now and they were scared of him.
'He and his men were playing hit-and-run all the way into Cambodia.
CLEAN: I know where I'm going.
I'm going to the White House to have dinner with the President of the USA.
Hey, Chef, put the cover on that.
How long's that kid been on this boat?
Seven months. He's really specialising in busting my balls.
He might think the same of you.
What do you think, Chief?
Orders say I'm not supposed
to know where I'm taking this boat
so I don't. But I KNOW it'll be hot.
We're going upriver about 75 clicks
above the Do Lung Bridge.
That's Cambodia, Captain. That's classified.
We're not supposed to be in Cambodia but that's where I'm going.
Just get me close to my destination
and I'll cut you and the crew loose. All right, Captain.
"Dear son, I'm afraid that you and your mother will have been worried at not hearing from me.
"But my situation here has become a difficult one.
"I have been officially accused of murder by the Army.
"The alleged victims were four Vietnamese double agents.
"We spent months uncovering them and accumulating evidence.
"When absolute proof was complete we acted. We acted like soldiers.
"The charges are unjustified.
"They are, in fact, and in the circumstances of this conflict, quite insane.
"In a war there are many moments for compassion and tender action.
"There are many moments for ruthless action,
"what is often called ruthless, but may in many circumstance be only clarity -
"seeing clearly what there is to be done and doing it, directly, quickly, awake, looking at it...
"I will trust you to tell your mother what you choose about this letter.
"As for the charges against me, I am unconcerned.
"I am beyond their timid, lying morality and so I am beyond caring.
"You have all my faith, your loving father."
INDISTINCT ARGUING
You're the only fucking prick
I see around here.
Lay off, Chef.
Chef, I said LAY OFF! >
CHEF, knock it off, give him a break!
And give your jaws a rest. This ain't the Army. You're a sailor.
So get out of that frizzly Army lookin' shit and stop smokin' that dope, you hear me?
Lance, what's with all
the green paint?
Camouflage. So they can't see you.
- They're everywhere. - Stay awake, man, you got a job to do.
Sampan off the port bow.
Let's take a look. Lance,
bring 'em in. Clean, on the 60. Chef, get a 16.
Clean, GET ON that 60!
What's up, Chief?
A junk boat, Captain. We'll take a routine check.
Let's forget routine now and let 'em go. These boats are running supplies in this delta.
I'm going to take a look. Chief, my mission's got priority here.
Until we reach your destination you're on for the ride.
Stand by, Lance. All right, come on, let's bring it over.
Lance, look in that forward hooch.
Come on, hurry, MOVE IT!
You too, come on now.
< Keep your eyes open, Clean.
I got you, Chief.
OK, that's them, they're OK.
Board it and search it.
Just baskets and ducks, bananas. < What's wrong, Chef?
Go on and search it. Just a goat, some fish. Chef!
GET ON THAT BOAT. There's nothing... Well, ALL RIGHT.
Move it, assholes, goddamn it!
A pig, mangoes. What's in the rice bag? RICE!
Look in there! Fish!
More coconuts, rice.
RICE.
What's in that vegetable basket? Get out of here, come on!
Shut up, Slope! There ain't nothing in here.
Look in that rusty tin can. It's just rice, THAT'S ALL!
Check that yellow can she sat on! >
CHEF!
Cocksuckers!
< HOLD IT.
Let's kill 'em. Cocksucker mothers.
HOLD IT. Let's kill them ALL and shoot the shit out of 'em!
< What did you DO that for?
I'm good.
< You OK, Lance?
Look what she was hiding, huh?
See what she's running for?
A puppy.
Gimme that dog.
Gimme THAT DOG. NO, you're NOT getting it.
Chef, Chef, she's moving behind you. Check her out.
CHEF! Yes? She's moving behind you. Check her out.
Come on, Clean. Yeah, go give him a hand.
Just take it easy, take it easy. >
< Slow down and take it easy.
She's hurt. She's bleeding.
Bring her on board. We're taking her to an ARVN. What's that? She's wounded, she's not dead.
I told you not to stop, now let's go.
'It was a way we had over here of living with ourselves.
'We'd cut 'em in half with a machine-gun and give 'em a Band-Aid.
'It was a lie and the more I saw of them, the more I hated lies.
'Those boys were never going to look at me the same way again.
'But I felt like I knew one or two things about Kurtz that weren't in the dossier.
'Do Lung Bridge was the last Army outpost on the Nung River.
'Beyond it there was only Kurtz.'
Lance!
Hey, Lance, what do you think? It's beautiful.
Huh? I mean, what's the matter with you? You're acting kind of weird.
You know that last tab of acid I was saving? Yeah. I dropped it. You dropped acid?
Far out.
SHOUTS AND YELLS ON SHORE
Take me home!
I want to go home!
You creeps! Goddamn!
Is there a Captain Willard on board?
Yeah, who's that? Lt Carlson, sir.
Get that light off me! I was sent from Nha Trang with these
three days ago. Expected you here a little sooner.
You don't know how happy this makes me. Why?
Now I can get out of here if I can find a way.
You're in the asshole of the world, Captain!
Captain!
Where you going? I got to find somebody, I need some information.
Somebody go with him. Pick me up over the bridge.
LANCE: Chef, I'll go, I want to go.
Where can I find the CO? You came right to it, son-of-a-bitch.
Lance!
Get down here!
You still got a commanding officer?
Beverly Hills.
What? Straight up the road there's a concrete bunker called Beverly Hills.
WHERE else do you think it would be?
POP MUSIC BLARES FROM RADIO
GUNFIRE, EXPLOSIONS
Goddamnit, you stepped in my face!
We thought you were dead.
You thought wrong!
I told you to stop bugging me! You think you're so bad!
What are you shooting at, soldier?
Gooks!
Sir, there are gooks out there.
I think I killed them.
Listen! >
CHANTING: GI, I kill you.
You think you're SO bad!
They're dead. >
There's one still alive! > Who's the commanding officer?
Ain't you?
I kill you, GI!
I got something for you, nigger! >
MACHINE-GUN FIRE
< There's nothing but bodies, man.
Go get The Roach, man!
Go get The Roach, nigger!
Roach!
Got slopes on the wire, man. > Do you hear?
Lance! Do you hear them? >
We'll get you, GI!
Well, bust them!
< Hey, GI, fuck you.
MUSIC BLARING
MUSIC OFF
< Hear him out there on the wire, man?
< I kill you, GI.
Yeah.
Do you need a flare?
No.
He's close, man. He's REAL close.
< I kill you, GI.
< GI, fuck you!
GI, fuck you!
Motherfucker.
Hey, soldier...
Do you know who's in command here?
Yeah.
Holy shit!
Hey, Chief, two guys
just got blown off that bridge.
Hang on. You'll be OK.
What's that?
Mail, man. Mail!
Later! Watch them trees.
I've picked up some ammo. Let's move out.
Did you find the CO? There's no CO here.
Let's just get going.
Which way, Captain?
You know which way, Chief.
You're on your own, Captain.
Still want to go on?
It's like this bridge. We build it every night - Charlie blows it up. Just so the road is open(!)
Think about it.
Don't make no sense. Just get us upriver!
Chef! On the bow. Stand by, Clean!
CHEF:
Yep, you got one, Miller.
I got some, too.
CLEAN:
Whose package is that?
You got another one, Clean!
Is that it? That's it for you. Lance!
Mr LB Johnson, there you go!
Far out, man! I've been waiting for this one.
I got another one. I got a box from Eva.
LANCE:
"Sue and I went to Disneyland.
Sue skinned her knee..."
I'm going to get back to Antoine's! Oh, man, you know that's the best!
"Could there ever be a place like Disneyland...?"
Jim, it's here. It really is here.
'There has been a new development regarding your mission, which we must now communicate to you.
'Months ago a man was ordered on a mission identical to yours.
'We have reason to believe he is now operating with Col Kurtz.
'Saigon was carrying him MIA for his family's sake.
'They assumed he was dead.
'Then they intercepted a letter he tried to send...
'Captain Richard Colby.
'He was with Kurtz.'
Far out, man! This is better than Disneyland!
"Manson ordered the slaughter of all in the home as a protest..."
Purple Haze! Look!
I got a tape from my mom.
Eva can't picture me in Vietnam.
She pictures me at home watching TV.
Hey, Lance, man!
Come on, Lance! Lance, give us a break!
Eva's not sure she can have a relationship with me.
Here I am 13,000 miles away trying to keep a relationship with my ass!
ON TAPE: 'If this tape is any good, I will have dad and the family send you a tape of their own.'
Over there!
Check out Clean! Captain, Clean's hit!
Where'd the dog go?
CHIEF: Check out Clean!
We got to go back for the dog!
Clean! Cle-an...!
TAPE: 'I got one good child...
'And soon...I'm hoping...
'that pretty soon...not TOO soon...' SOBBING
'I'll have a lot of grandchildren to love and spoil.
'And then your wife will be mad at me.
'Even Aunt Jessie and Mama will come to celebrate your coming home.
'Granny and Dad are trying to get enough money to get you a car
'but don't tell them, because that's our secret.
'Anyhow, stay out of the way of the bullets
'and bring your hiney home all in one piece.
'We love you very much. Love, Mom.'
Hold on. Throw me the glasses.
Lance. Get the 16 on the bow. Chef, on the 60.
Fuck me.
Vous etes encircle.
Rentrez-vous.
Laissez vos armes.
Ne tirez pas! Ne tirez pas! They're French, they're French.
Je basse mon arme.
Chef! Pick up that weapon! Pick it up! Stand fast!
Nous sommes americains! Nous ne voulons pas vous aggresser.
Ca va? Laissez vos armes!
All right, you men. Put down your weapons.
Nous sommes americains. Nous sommes des amis. Nous sommes des amis, nous sommes des amis.
We lost one of our men.
We French always pay respect to the dead of our allies.
You're all welcome. My name is Hubert DeMarais.
This is my family's plantation. It has been such for 70 years,
and it will be such
until we are all dead.
HE SHOUTS COMMANDS
BUGLE PLAYS
Captain, accept the flag of Tyrone Miller, on behalf of a grateful nation.
This food is really wonderful, isn't it? The wine, the sauces.
I can't believe it. Can I speak with the chef?
The chef speaks only Vietnamese.
No kidding. He cooks like this and he can't even speak French?
Hey, Lance, the chef's a slope.
Hey, Lance!
CHILD RECITES IN FRENCH
THEY SPEAK FRENCH
Allez au lit, tout le monde.
Bon nuit.
This is Baudelaire.
It is a very cruel poem for children, but they need it,
because life sometime is very cruel.
And you can see.
Attack repels by the family. Just for this war.
Vietcong, '58.
North Vietnamese, 12. South Vietnamese, 11.
Americans, six? Yes.
Yes, well, there were perhaps mistakes.
Ah, Roxanne... HE SPEAKS FRENCH
Non, j'avais faim seulement.
May I present Captain Willard, he is of a Paratroop regiment. Madame Sarrault. Captain.
THEY SPEAK FRENCH, CHUCKLING
I'm sorry, Captain. It was just a little story
about people starving during the war. They are all around the table,
and there was a silence, somebody say, "An angel is passing by."
So somebody said, "Let's eat it!"
How long can you possibly stay here?
We stay forever.
No, I mean, uh, why don't you go back home to France?
Well...
I mean, this is our home, Captain. Sooner or later you...
No! SHE SPEAKS FRENCH
You don't understand our mentality! The French officer mentality!
At first, we lose in Second World War.
I don't say that you Americans win, but we lose. Oh, Papa.
HE SHOUTS IN FRENCH
In Dien Bien Phu, we lose! In Algeria, we lose!
In Indochina, we lose. But here, we don't lose!
This piece of Earth, we keep it! We will never lose it! Never!
The Vietnamese are very intelligent. You never know what they think.
The Russian ones who help them,
"Come and give us their money, we are all Communists.
"Chinese, come and give us guns. We're all brothers."
They hate the Chinese!
Maybe they hate the American less than the Russian and the Chinese.
If tomorrow the Vietnamese are Communists, they will be Vietnamese Communists.
And this is something that you will never understood, you American.
I don't know. Maybe in the future we can make something with the Viet Minh.
Don't you understand? The VC say, "Go away! Go away!"
That's finish for all the white people in Indochina.
If you're French, American, that's all the same. "Go!"
They want to forget you. Look, Captain...
SPEAKS FRENCH
Look, this is the truth.
An egg.
The white left.
But the yellow stay.
THEY SPEAK FRENCH
All you white people are shit. They are fighting. Fighting for freedom.
Freedom? Bullshit.
Dine Bien Phu! All soldier know they are already dead.
You know anything about Dine Bien Phu?
Yeah, I know. No, you don't. Not really.
It was an error. A military mistake. A mistake?!
A voluntary mistake! Voluntary!
Our paratroopers jump at 90 metres! I mean, you know, 90 metres!
70 metres! That's crazy!
No army in the world can do that!
And they only do that to be dead with their friends.
The French Army were sacrificed.
Sacrificed by the politicians safe at home.
They put the army in an impossible situation where they couldn't win!
HE SPEAKS FRENCH
The students are marching in Paris, protesting, demonstrating.
They stab the soldiers in their back!
The soldier would open the grenade, it wouldn't work.
A piece of paper would fall... HE SPEAKS FRENCH
"Union of the French Woman. We are all for the Viets." Traitors!
Communist traitors at home!
ACCORDION PLAYS
Dine Bien Phu, OK.
The French is shit. No-one care. No-one want to...
HE SPEAKS FRENCH
Why don't you Americans learn from us, from our mistakes?
Mon Dieu, with your army, your strength,
your power...you could win if you wanted to!
SPEAKS FRENCH
You can win.
You know, I'm sure we can make something here.
I'm sure about it, you know?
I never do something wrong to the people here.
That's true, but the Communists at home have never been traitors.
THEY SPEAK FRENCH
Excuse me. Captain, goodnight.
SPEAKS FRENCH
We can stay. I know we can stay.
THEY SPEAK FRENCH
You know, we always helped the people, we work with the people.
So we can be friends, we are agreed.
THEY SPEAK FRENCH
So when you ask me why we want to stay here, Captain,
we want to stay here because it's ours, it belongs to us.
It keeps out family together. I mean, we fight for that!
While you Americans,
you are fighting for the biggest nothing in history.
Bon nuit, Roxanne.
I apologise for my family, Captain.
We have all lost much here.
Hubert - his wife and two sons.
And I have lost a husband.
I understand. You are tired of the war.
I can see it in your face.
It was the same in the eyes of the soldiers of our war.
We called them "Les Soldat Perdus."
The Lost Soldiers.
If you like we can have some cognac.
No, uh...
I have to see about my men and...
The war will still be here tomorrow.
Yeah, I guess you're right.
I noticed you had no wine at dinner.
No, I, uh, don't drink wine.
I do like cognac, but I don't want any now, thank you.
Well...
Then, I must drink alone.
Will you back after the war - to America?
No. Then you're like us, your home is here.
Do you know why you can never step into the same river twice?
I used to prepare a pipe for my husband.
It was the morphine he took for the wounds he suffered in his heart.
He would rage and he would cry, my lost soldier.
And I said to him, "There are two of you, don't you see?
"One that kills and one that loves."
And he said to me, "I don't know whether I am animal or a god."
But you are both.
You want more?
All that matters is that you are alive.
You are alive, Captain.
That's the truth.
There are two of you, don't you see?
One that kills... and one that loves.
SHOUTING
CHIEF: Can't see nothing. We're stopping.
You're not authorised to stop this boat, Chief. I'm stopping.
I ain't risking no more lives.
I'm in command. You'll do as I say.
SHOUTING
You see anything, Chef?
Why don't they fucking attack, man?! < MOANING
Watch it over here, Chief!
Lance!
'He was close.
'He was real close.
'I couldn't see him yet but I could feel him.
'As if the boat were being sucked upriver and the water was flowing back into the jungle.
'Whatever was going to happen, it wasn't going to be the way they called it back at Nha Trang.'
WHOOSHING
Look out! >
FIRE! Fire!
Open up! Fire!
Lance! Fire!
Chef! CHEF! It's okay, quit firing.
Quiet!
Chief, tell them to stop firing. They're just trying to scare us.
QUIET!
You got us in this mess and you don't even know where you going!
DO YOU?
You son of a bitch!
Lance, get this wheel!
< You son of a bitch!
A spear...
HE GASPS
GROANING
My mission is to make it up into Cambodia.
There's a Green Beret Colonel up there who's gone insane. I'm supposed to kill him.
That's fucking typical! Shit.
Damn Vietnam mission!
We gotta go up there so you can kill one of our own. That's just GREAT, man!
Shit! That's crazy.
I thought you were going in to blow up a bridge or some railroad tracks or something!
That's all right. No! Wait, wait.
We'll go together, on the boat.
We'll go with you, but on the boat. OK?
'Part of me was afraid of what I would find and what I would do when I got there.
'I knew the risks, or imagined I knew.
'But the thing I felt the most,
'much stronger than fear,
'was the desire to confront him.'
Just keep moving.
Lance, keep your hands away from the guns.
It's okay! It's all been approved! >
I ain't coming in! Them bastards attacked us.
Zap 'em with your siren, man. Zap 'em with your siren!
SIREN BLARES
There's mines over there, and there.
And those monkeys bite! >
Move it right in, towards me. >
I'm an American. An American civilian!
Hi, Yanks. Hi. American.
American civilian. It's all right.
And you've got the cigarettes I've been dreaming about.
Chef... Who are you? Who are YOU?
HE CHUCKLES
I'm a photo-journalist.
I've covered the war since '64.
I've been in Laos, Cambodia, Nam.
Hoo-ey! Hoo-ey, baby!
I tell you one thing, this boat is a mess.
Who are all these people?
They think you've come to... to take him away. I hope that isn't true. Take WHO away?
Him...
Colonel Kurtz.
These are all his children, man. Out here, we're all his children.
Could we...talk to Colonel Kurtz? Hey, man,
you don't talk to the Colonel.
Ah... Well, you LISTEN to him.
Um, the man's enlarged my mind.
He's a poet warrior in the classic sense.
I mean, sometimes he'll...
Well, you'll say hello to him, and he'll just walk right by...
And suddenly he'll grab you and say, "Do you know that 'if'
"is the middle word in 'life'? If you can keep your head
"when all about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you.
"If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you..."
I mean, I can't...
I'm a little man... A little man.
He's a GREAT man.
I should have been a pair of ragged claws scuttling across...
Stay with the boat.
Don't go without me, OK? I want to get a picture.
BIRDS CAW
He can be terrible and he can be mean.
And he can be right.
He's fighting the war. He's a great man.
DISTANT SHOUTING
I mean...
I wish I had words, you know.
I can tell you the other day he wanted to kill me...
Why did he want to kill you? Because I took his picture.
He said, "Take my picture again,
"I'm going to kill you."
And he MEANT it.
See, just lay cool, lay cool, lay back, dig it, he gets friendly again. He really does.
But you don't...you don't judge the Colonel.
Not like an ordinary man.
HE WHISTLES
OK, watch it now. These are
Americans! Americans!
Feel the vibes of this place!
Let me take a picture. Hey, hello, could you hold it?
CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS
Colby.
The heads.
You're looking at the heads.
I... Sometimes he goes too far.
He's the first one to admit it.
He's gone crazy. Wrong! Wrong. If you could have heard the man.
Just two days ago - if you could have heard him then. God, you can't call him crazy. Fucking A.
I just want to talk to him.
Well, man, he's gone away.
He disappeared out in the jungle with his people. I'll wait.
He's comfortable with them. He forgets himself with his people.
He forgets HIMSELF.
Captain, maybe we should wait back at the boat.
OK, we'll go back to the boat.
Yeah...stay with Lance.
CHOPPING
This Colonel guy, he's whacko.
He's worse than that, he's evil!
That's what the man has got set up here, pagan idolatry!
Shit, he's loco!
Then, you'll help me? I'll help you.
I'll do anything to get out of this joint.
We could blow them all away. It'd be easy, they're so spaced out.
I ain't afraid of all them skulls and altars and shit.
I used to think that if I died in an evil place
then my soul wouldn't make it to heaven.
Now...fuck.
But...I don't care where it goes as long as it ain't here.
So what do you want to do? I'll kill them. No.
Get out of here. I need you here.
I'll go up with Lance, scrounge around, check the place out, see if I can find the Colonel.
Well, what do you want ME to do? Dammit!
Well, here, you take the radio...
..and if I don't get back by 22:00...
..you call in the air strike.
Air strike? The code is "Almighty".
Co-ordinates 0-9-2-6-4-7-1-2.
It's all in there.
0-9-2-6-4-7-1-2...
'Everything I saw told me that Kurtz had gone insane.
'The place was full of bodies.
'North Vietnamese, Vietcong, Cambodians.
'If I was still alive, it was because he wanted me that way.'
Hey!
Lance!
HE YELLS OUT
'It smelled like slow death in there.
'Malaria.
'Nightmares.
'This was the end of the river all right.'
COUGHING
Where are you from, Willard?
I'm from Ohio, sir.
Were you born there?
Yes, sir.
Whereabouts?
Toledo, sir.
How far are you from the river?
The Ohio River, sir?
Uh-huh. About two hundred miles.
I went down that river once when I was a kid.
There's a place in the river, I can't remember,
it must have been a gardenia plantation or a flower plantation at one time,
it's wild and overgrown now.
But for about five miles you'd think that heaven just fell on the Earth in the form of gardenias.
Have you ever considered...
..any REAL freedoms?
Freedoms from the opinion of others...
..even the opinions of yourself?
Did they say why...Willard?
Why they want...
..to terminate my command?
I was sent on a classified mission, sir.
It's no longer classified, is it?
What did they tell you?
They told me...
..that you had gone...totally insane.
And...that your methods...
..were unsound.
ARE my methods unsound?
I don't see...
..any method...at all, sir.
I expected...someone like you.
What did you expect?
Are you an assassin?
I'm a soldier.
You're neither.
You're an errand boy...
..sent by grocery clerks...
..to collect the bill.
INSECTS BUZZ, BIRDS CAW
Why?
Why would a nice guy like you
want to kill a genius?
Feeling pretty good, huh?
Why?
Do you know, do you know that the man...
..the man really...likes you?
He likes you. He really likes you.
He has something in mind for YOU.
Aren't you curious about that?
I'm curious. I'm VERY curious. Are YOU curious?
There's something happening out here, man.
You know, I know something that you don't know.
That's right, Jack.
The man is clear in his mind but his SOUL is mad.
Oh, yeah.
He's dying, I think. He hates all this. He HATES it.
But...the man's a...
He reads poetry out loud, all right?
And a voice...a voice...
He likes you cos you're still alive.
He's got plans for you.
No, I'm not going to help you. You're going to help him.
What will they say when he's gone?
Cos he dies when it dies! When it dies, he dies.
What will they say? He was a kind man, a wise man?
He had plans? He had wisdom? Bullshit!
Am I going to be the one to set them straight?! Look at me! Wrong!
You.
Almost eight hours.
I'm asleep...
I'm asleep and dreaming I'm on this shitty boat...
RADIO CRACKLES
Hello. Almighty, Almighty.
This is PBR Street Gang. Radio check. Over.
'PBR Street Gang. This is Almighty. Standing by. Over.'
THUNDER RUMBLES
HE YELLS, GRUNTS
Oh, Christ!
We are the Hollow Men
We are the Stuffed Men, leaning together
Headpiece filled with straw, alas
Our dried voices when we whisper together are as meaningless
As wind in dried grass Or rats' feet under broken glass...
Oh, he's REALLY out there.
Shape without form Shade without colour
Paralysed force
Gesture without motion...
Do you know what he's saying?
This is dialectics. Very simple dialectics. One through nine.
No maybes, no fractions. You can't go out into space without like, with fractions!
What will you land on, one-quarter, three-eights? That's dialectic physics.
Dialectic logic is you either love someone, or you hate them.
THIS is the way the world ends. Look at this shit we're in, man!
Not with a bang, with a whimper. And with a whimper, I'm splitting!
'On the river I thought that the minute I looked at him, I'd know what to do.
'But it didn't happen.
'I was with him there for days. Not under guard.
'I was free. But he knew I wasn't going anywhere.
'He knew more about
what I was going to do than I did.
'If the generals back in Nha Trang
could see what I saw,
'would they still want me to kill him?
'More than ever, probably.
'And what would his people back home want if they ever learned how far from them he'd really gone?
'He broke from them. And then he broke from himself.
'I've never seen a man so broken up and ripped apart.'
I've seen horrors... horrors that you've seen.
But you have no right to call me a murderer. You have a right to kill me.
You have a right to do that.
But you have no right to judge me.
It's impossible for words...
..to describe...
..what is...necessary...
..to those...
..who do not know...
..what horror means.
Horror.
Horror has a face...
And you must make a friend of horror.
Horror and mortal terror are your friends.
If they are NOT... then, they are enemies to be feared.
They are truly enemies.
I remember when I was with Special Forces...
It seems... a thousand centuries ago.
We went into a camp to inoculate...some children.
We'd left the camp after we had inoculated the children for polio.
And this old man came after us. He was crying, he couldn't see.
We went back there.
And THEY had come and hacked off every inoculated arm.
There they were in a pile, a pile of...little arms.
And...I remember...
I-I cried... I wept...
..like...some...grandmother.
I wanted to tear my teeth out. I didn't know what I wanted to do.
And I want to remember it. I never want to forget it.
I never want to forget.
And then I realised...
..like I was shot.
Like I was shot with a diamond,
a diamond bullet right through my forehead.
I thought "My God, the genius of that!"
The genius... The will to do that.
Perfect, genuine, complete, crystalline, pure...
Then I realised THEY were stronger than we because they could stand it.
These were not monsters. These were men, trained cadres.
These men, who fought with their hearts,
who have families, children, who are filled with love,
that they had the strength, the STRENGTH...
..to do that.
If I had...ten divisions of those men...
then our troubles here would be over very quickly.
You have to have men... who are moral...
..and at the same time who are able to...
..utilise their primordial instincts to kill...
..without feeling, without passion...
..without judgment, without judgment.
Because it's the judgment that defeats us.
INSECT BUZZES
I worry that my son...
..might not understand what I've tried to be.
And...if I were to be killed... Willard,
I would want someone
to go to my home and tell my son everything.
Everything I did, everything you saw.
Because there's nothing that I detest more
than the stench of lies.
And if you understand me, Willard...
..you WILL do this for me.
RADIO: 'PBR Street Gang. This is Almighty. Over.
'PBR Street Gang. This is Almighty. Standing by. Over.'
'PBR Street Gang. This is Almighty. How do you copy?'
'They were going to make me a Major for this.
'And I wasn't even in their fucking army any more.
'Everybody wanted me to do it.
'Him most of all.
'I felt like he was up there waiting for me to take the pain away.
'He just wanted to go out like a soldier.
'Standing up.
'Not like some poor, wasted, rag-assed renegade.
'Even the jungle wanted him dead.
'And that's who he really took his orders from.'
MUSIC: Let The Good Times Roll
# Come on, baby, take a chance with us
# And meet me at the back
# Of the blue bus
# Do the blue rug on the blue bus
# Come on, girl... #
We train young men to drop fire on people,
but their commanders...
..won't allow them to write FUCK on their aeroplanes
because...it's obscene!
MUSIC BUILDS
The horror...
CLATTER
WEAPONS CLATTER ON GROUND
RADIO:
'Calling PBR Street Gang.
'PBR Street Gang. This is Almighty. Do you read me? Over.
'PBR Street Gang.
'This is Almighty...'
SWITCHES RADIO OFF
'The horror...
'The horror...'