In what way
does the opening scene of Apocalypse now use mis-en-scene, sound-editing and
performance to engage and construct meaning?
Micro elements such as mis-en-scene, editing and performance are all
significant in films as they are essential in creating emotion and meaning to
the audience. Within the first 10 seconds of a scene, if the micro elements are
used correctly the audience can get a first impression of the characters,
setting, and atmosphere and also feel emotion. In this essay i will analyse how
these micro elements construct meaning and provoke response from the audience
in the opening scene of Francis Ford Coppola's 1979 Apocalypse now. The film
is an American war epic set during the Vietnam War starring Marlon Brando,
Martin Sheen and Robert Duvall. The film follows the central character, U.S.
Army special operation officer Captain Benjamin L. Willard (Martin Sheen), of
MACV-SOG, on a mission to kill the renegade and presumed insane U.S Army Special
Forces Colonel Walter E. Kurtz (Marlon Brando). The scene I am focusing on is
the opening scene of the film where Captain Benjamin L. Willard is staying in
the hotel room in Saigon and eventually has a nervous breakdown.
The scene fades in with a wide shot of coconut trees to establish to the
audience that the setting is in a tropical location so the audience are straight
away entered in a sensation of green, calmness, peace, pristine and full of
life. Also by using the wide shot, the audience get a sense of the enormity of
the situation. A faded smoke start to rise up from the camera as The Doors “the
end” intro is played. The smoke gives an impression of mystery to the audience
as they don't know where the smoke is coming from and what it’s from. Also the
psychedelic guitar playing of the song adds on to the mystery as it is very
calm, like the coconut trees, but very suspicious because it seems as if its
leading up to something so the audience is not really convinced with the
chilled out atmosphere. The psychedelic music also adds another dimension in
that reality might be manipulated as people in this setting might feel trapped.
As more smoke rises from the bottom when the guitar playing gets louder, the
audience feel more uneasy because they really don't know what is going to
happen but are interested to find out. The rise of the volume as more smoke
rises creates more tension because the music is very suspicious and tense so it
just adds on to the audience's feeling of questioning and not knowing what is
happening. Along with the smoke and non-diegetic sound of the song, helicopter
propellers are heard from a distance as they sound as if they are coming closer
because they are getting louder and louder. This complements the music and
smoke, everything seems more intense and out of control, suggesting a problem
is imminent.
The diegetic sound of the helicopters gives the hint to the
audience that the setting, although very tropical might be affected by war, or
in the middle of a war zone but the smoke and the music just prepare the
audience to think the worst. Above the calm but suspicious palm trees, the
bottom of a helicopter is seen flying by the screen. As soon as the audience
view the helicopter they know they are in the war zone they have been thinking
they were in, as if they are now in the terrible location they knew they were
in but didn’t want to be. As soon as Jim Morrison sings the lyrics "this
is the end", napalm is released on the trees causing them to burst in fire
and completely destroying them. The audience by now are completely shocked
because they didn’t expect the trees to completely go up in flames but although
were expecting something bad to happen, although the juxtaposition of the
tropical relaxed trees to the explosions of fire interests the audience because
it is something original and new so they can expect more of that in the film.
The editing of the sound with the trees is essential because as soon as
Morrison says "this is the end", the trees go up in flames, the
audience could believe that Morrison is talking about the trees reaching their
end or even the end in general, as the napalm and burst of fire could represent
the apocalypse which refers back to the title of the film.
The use and editing of
the non-diegetic song "the end" by The doors is crucial because it
fits in with the main objective of the film which is referring to the Vietnam War
as the apocalypse because it was one of the most horrific wars in the history.
But also because The doors were very famous and important in the time the
Vietnam War was about which was the mid-60s and that is when the film is set.
Also The door's main singer, Jim Morrison, experimented with a lot of drugs
such as LSD, heroin and maruijna, as many other singers in the 60s did so most
of his songs were very psychedelic and hallucinogenic which relates to the American
soldiers in the war because they also took drugs as such to help them survive
the horrors of the Vietnam war and to escape a brutal reality they were living
and stuck in. Coppola’s choreography is masterful in creating some kind of
poetry out of destruction.
The lyrics that Morrison continues to sing are
quite strange as they don't consist of what is happening on the screen such as,
"beautiful friend, this is the end, my only friend, the end". This
confuses the audience because they don't understand what Morrison is trying to
tell them, but it also intrigues them as they want to know or try to guess what
they mean. As the fire and trees continue to burn and dirty brown orange smoke
cover the screen, more helicopters are seen flying past the wide shot. This
could suggest to the audience that helicopters are significant in the film, as
they were significant in the Vietnam War as they were used by American soldiers
to get around. Also the helicopters could be seen as an icon of the Vietnam War
and initially in the film because they are seen a lot and referred to a lot
later on in film. An upside down faded face appears on the screen with the
burnt trees still on the screen, this gives the slight hint to the audience
that the man could be the protagonist of the film as he is the first character
they actually see.
Initial expression of
Sheen’s performance captures our and the soldiers confusion and terror. Also
his face is in a close up shot which could back up that he is the protagonist
but also shows his importance as the director wants the audience to really get
to see his face and facial expressions as they might be significant to what is
happening in the background. By putting a close up of his face in the middle of
the wide shot of the burnt trees and smoke, could suggest that he was a part of
it and is remembering or having some sort of flashback about it. This helps the
audience understand more about his character and where he is from because it
gives them a hint that he might of been a soldier in Vietnam, but also shows
the audience that he isn't so pleased about remembering the past by his facial
expressions which are quite blunt and as his face is sweaty which could connote
he is feeling uncomfortable.
As his face is still on the screen, the burnt
trees in the background fade into a ceiling fan spinning around which could
show to the audience that he is in a room but also could refer to the
helicopter propellers as they make the same movement, this shows us that once
again helicopters are very significant. The fan fades out and the trees fades
in again but this time with a red and orange background which darkens the
trees, with leaves and branches falling from the sky. The colours and the shaded
black trees gives the audience a feeling of danger as they view very negative
images, but also indulges them into an atmosphere which could resemble hell as
the colours orange and red are stereotypically known to be involved with death,
fire and the whole picture of hell. Also referring back to the title of the
film, the images of this hell land clarify to the audience that the Vietnam war
was really like an apocalypse as the images also seem as the end of world
because of the fire, the smoke and branches falling from the sky, which
initially looks like massive mayhem. Also the colours sort of glow that the
audience somehow can feel the heat of the burning and the fire as does the man
remembering the horrors he was involved in, which drags them in to the film
more as they start to build emotion for the character because they feel pity on
him because they are now also experiencing the same horrors as him. The close
up captures his eyes wander around as if he is paranoid as he takes drags of
his cigarette which tells the audience more about his character that he is
slightly insecure and so much frightened about his past that he's eyes wander
around to make sure he doesn't meet his horrors again and somehow make sure he
is not there
A Cambodian statue fades
in on the right of the screen along with furious bursts of fire. The random
statue confuses the audience as they don't know why they are being shown this
but maybe by being shown this at the start of the film it could hint that it is
significant and perhaps will see more of them later on the film. The statue
could also represent the man as they both haven't got speech and both are empty
inside whilst the bursts of fire on the screen and the whole war has sucked the
life out of them. As the statue is being shown, Morrison says the lyrics,
"desperately in need of some strangers’ hand, in a desperate land".
Morrison talks a lot about desperation and strangeness whilst the statue is on
the screen, this could give the hint to the audience that the Cambodian statue
is in the "desperate land" which the man will have to travel to in
later on the film and desperation could refer to the man overall as he is
desperate to forget his past and stop this hallucinations about it as well. The
man takes one long drag on his cigarette and as he does his close up fades into
the burnt trees with helicopters flying past. This could be seen by the
audience that he is inhaling death itself as he disappears when he takes the
drag and the burnt trees once again fades back in which represent death and hell.
The non-diegetic propeller sounds of the helicopter's volume is raised, as the ceiling
fan fades in and out of the screen. This shows the audience that again the man can’t
escape his past and sees the horrors everywhere even in his room, but also the
volume rise of the non-diegetic propeller sound builds up tension as the sound
is quite annoying and repetitive which makes the audience feel uneasy along
with the non-diegetic music of "the end", which reaches a very
psychedelic guitar solo.
The man fades in again but this time in a mid-shot
with the background of the trees as well. We can see the man is lying in his
bed as his top is off and we can see his white bed sheets. The camera moves
slowly around him from a high angle which shows the audience that he is incredibly
thinking about the war and the horrors and that he can’t sleep because if what’s
on his mind, and also that he must of seen a lot of horrors because they are
haunting him even when he is in his most relaxed place, his bed, and he still can’t
sleep, as if his mind is still in the war zone of Vietnam. By having the camera
from a high angle and moving around the mid shot of the man, allows Sheen's performance to be the centre of attention, which reinforces the audience's
idea that he might be the main protagonist. The man once again fades away
leaving only the background of the burnt trees with helicopters still flying
past. The use of the fading images and the fading in and out of the man
clarifies to the audience that the man is haunted by these hallucinations of
his horrified past as if he fades out of his mind for a while and the audience
sees the horrifying stuff he has seen, and then he fades back in to his mind
and the audience sees his reaction. This makes the audience more excited as
they can see the horrors from the protagonist's eyes, but also lets them feel
the sort of heavy dizziness the man feels as the audience are bombarded with
fading images, psycadelic music and slow movement of the camera, as he is
bombarded by horrific unforgettable memories.
3 minutes later into the clip we are obliged, as the audience, to enter the mayhem of Captain Willard's insanity as we view him losing control in his room. The man is in green war paint with huge wide eyes
getting closer to the camera again in a martial arts pose, as he is doing this
before killing someone; the audience are scared that they might actually
witness him killing someone or perhaps himself. His eyes again tells a
different story to the audience, this time they are more provocative and shows
some kind of vengeance that he may be after. The background is pitch black but
some sort of fire is shown which again resembles death and danger as he is so close
to it that he either doesn't care any more, or that he actually is danger and
evil. The mid shot fades away and an extreme close up of his eyes fade in as
they stare into fire which is shown in the reflection of his eyes. This could
show to the audience that his eyes have seen so much horror and evil that the
reflected fire is actually a scar of all the horrors he has seen with his eyes.
His eyes which are so easy to sense emotion are the ones that have actually
been through the hell that they describe.
The audience feel respect for the man
for the pain and hurt that he had to go through when seeing all the horrors but
they are still frightened by the violent fire reflecting on his eyes as if it
is burning him. The fire then fades into the burnt trees we once started with,
they also reflect onto his eyes. The audience now can really see the pain he
went to as it is actually printed on his eyes, which again helps them interact
with the character and are much more excited by seeing it through his eyes because
it is far more intense. Morrison continues to let out screams, grunts and
strange vocal sounds as the shot fades out and we return back to the room to a
long shot of the room with the man standing behind his bed. Sheen creates martial arts poses but in more solid and hysterical manor as he moves
his head a lot and holds his hands in a very strange position, symbolising that something has taken him over, he appears to the viewer as a possessed soul reminding us of intertextuality of horror's purest moments. Coppola creates sympathy for him as he is obviously having a nervous breakdown and
there is no one there to help him, and in some way the audience feel bad about
themselves because they have to witness him losing control.
Sheen suddenly turns to the mirror and punches it,
completely smashing it and cutting his hand. The audience questions his motive because he didn't like his reflection and the way he had
become, he hated himself so much he wanted to get rid of the view of himself. The enigma is created. The audience's emotion towards him is only sorrow as he is really unhappy and
the audience can really feel his unhappiness and negativity as it flows through
his body and face. We cut to him rolling over the bed and staring at his
bleeding hand as if he had never seen blood before, or that he had seen so much
blood in his past that it had brought some unhappy memories again. The audience
are disgusted when he rubs the blood on his face because its as if they can
feel the blood being spread about on their face as well. But as he rubs the
blood on his face the audience realise that he has reached the top level of
insanity, and also as he rubs it he has a sort of relief facial expression as
if it somehow feels good, like some sort of sadistic pleasure.
We cut to him
picking up the bottle of whiskey, as the audience see it as his friend, and
empties it all in his mouth as if he thinks it will make him feel better or
somehow satisfy him even more. We cut to him on the floor of his bed, naked and
embarrassed as he pulls the white bed sheet now covered in blood over his body
to not be seen. He cries in agony and desperation but he cannot be heard
because of the loud non-diegetic music. The audience could see this as his
prayers, of a desperate man with no support, which is representative as the 'unknown soldier', as no one hears him, or he is finally trying to
reach for help but is not heard. The audience feel shocked about how much the
scene escalated into this final nervous breakdown of a man who seemed was just
empty and depressed when really he was full of pain, agony, trouble and
visually scars that no one else could imagine.
The audience by now would have
felt a lot of various different emotions in the first 6 minutes just because
mis-en-scene, editing and performance were used in a way to reach out to them
and help them feel more comfortable in feeling emotions towards the characters,
setting and context of the film. Also by using such graphic images in the
opening scene of the film helps the audience remember it more as if it were
some kind of icon they will remember from the film. The scene fades to black and leaves us in limbo with a whole mass of questions: who is he? What is wrong? how does he relate to the narrative and therefore Francis Ford Coppola has achieved his aim.
