Episode 98: Civil War & Apocalypse Now

Cinema in Context

War-torn "road trips". Sarah Watt, Jeremy Downing and William Chen discuss Civil War (2024) and Apocalypse Now (1979). We begin by discussing the different versions of Apocalypse Now and our reaction to the different elements in each film. We shift to talk about Civil War and how the film evokes a visceral response and gets the audience thinking. We talk about the connection to Heart of Darkness, the work of Marlon Brando and the ideas present in Apocalypse Now. We commend the work of Kirsten Dunst and Jessie Plemmons in Civil War and their wider careers. We discuss the music in both films, individually and the similarities between the two. We commend the work of Martin Sheen, Robert DuVall and Dennis Hopper in Apocalypse Now. We finish with a conversation about the politics of both films, what they are trying to achieve and how it has been received by the public.