This Magic Moment

Don't know why, but this seems perfect for the current political mood.



I've always liked this film, and think it ranks with the first two Godfathers. I prefer Redux to the original, which was Coppola's intended cut. Much dreamier, surrealistic, beautifully lit, framed and shot. I can't think of a more original American war film. Eastwood's Flags Of Our Fathers haunts me, and I like the look of Jarhead. But Apocalypse Now occupies its own terrain. And to think that initially, Coppola, George Lucas and John Milius planned to shoot it in Vietnam on 16 millimeter while the war was still raging. That Apocalypse wouldn't have had the visual poetry of the eventual film, but it sure as fuck would have been immediate.

Will there ever be a trippy movie about our present imperial wars? Something that will endure and be a reference for wars yet to be waged? Here's hoping that some young film students/geeks are popping Afghan tabs, minds exploding with terror, music and color. Our dying empire deserves no less.