And the countdown continues in my quest to watch and find something inspiring in every single one of Yahoo’s 100 Movies to See Before You Die…
I’ve got to be honest here. This movie did nothing for me. Here are a bunch of World War I POWs trying desperately to escape even though they have it cushier than I do in my daily life. They get care packages from home, free entertainment, plenty of time to shoot the shit. Boo effing hoo. I struggled to find something — ANYTHING — inspirational. In the end, I will concede that the most inspirational thing about this movie was when I finally gave up and turned it off halfway through. To paraphrase Lieutenant Maréchal: This movie’s too deep for me. I prefer “Dirty Dancing.”
Kurtz: Did they say why, Willard, why they want to terminate my command?
Willard: I was sent on a classified mission, sir.
Kurtz: It’s no longer classified, is it? Did they tell you?
Willard: They told me that you had gone totally insane, and that your methods were unsound.
Kurtz: Are my methods unsound?
Willard: I don’t see any method at all, sir.
Kurtz: I expected someone like you. What did you expect? Are you an assassin?
Willard: I’m a soldier.
Kurtz: You’re neither. You’re an errand boy, sent by grocery clerks, to collect a bill.
On the other end of the spectrum, there’s a brilliant wartime movie. A film that conveys emotion with beautiful cinematography, with well-written storyline, with a soundtrack worthy of praise. Take for example the scene when the troops fly into battle listening to The Flight of the Valkyries. Or the haunting sound of The Doors’ “The End.” Then there are the visuals. Willard is on a mission to wipe out a rogue colonel, and the scene when he infiltrates Col. Kurtz’s camp is breathtaking, one of my faves. He floats on the river through the mist, and suddenly he’s parting scores of white-painted men standing on small boats. It’s so surreal. I can only aspire to capture a scene this fantastic with my camera.
