Heart of Darkness. Apocalypse Now.
 

I have read the first, and now I finally understand the latter. You really should see both works.
Tell me your thoughts on both, and how they intertwine.

That sounds like a "Help, I have this english paper due" kind of post.

It was YEARS ago that I compared and contrasted the movie with the book, and if I remember correctly, they were a good comparison.

Excellent movie, and I agree that if you are unfamiliar with Heart of Darkness, it would leave something missing.

I am continually fascinated with the influences that go into art, theatre, movies, and comedy. It is funny that Homer's Illiad is still rising and falling in popular culture. Maybe we aren't so removed from our ancestors after all, eh?

Sure, the movie is a retelling of Heart of Darkness.

Ultimately, I think it's a failed retelling.

Its exactly what I thought when I re-read my post.:lol: Actually, I just really liked both the movie and the book. At the risk of sounding like a film nerd, the lighting in the movie is phenomenal. And that constant play with the darkness, light creeping through, and the impression of it all being a dream.
"Never get off the boat", never stop till you reach the objective...or absurdity ensues.

I don't see it as a retelling of the book. I think it is better to see the film as inspired by the book. Ultimately, the film is more about Vietnam and all the issues surrounding that war, than any faithful retelling of the book.

Remember, Vietnam as still fresh in the American psyche when this film came out.

Yes, however, I don't think we can call it a war flick, or a movie on vietnam...it would be like saying that HoD was about colonies. I think its more global than that. About the darkness, of humanity, of our own sould, of the unknowns... the war, the colonization, is just a great medium to convey the absurdity of it all.