Apocalypse Now

Audio problem: As Playmate of the Year Carrie Foster is brought out to the audience carried by two Green Berets watch the band behind her closely. The bass player stops playing as he scratches his head but the bass on the soundtrack keeps going. (01:07:55)

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Audio problem: On the beach Colonel Kilgore takes the radio phone from one of his soldiers and calls in the napalm attack on Vin Din Dop. If you look closely at his lips they do not go along with what he's saying. This happens again two shots later when he sends the Vietnamese woman and her baby to the hospital by helicopter. (00:47:25)

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Audio problem: Approaching Kurtz' compound Lance starts drumming on two tin cans and if you listen closely they get the overdub wrong. At first we hear two distinct pitches, which are the actual sounds, picked up by the microphone but the last time he hits it we hear a third higher pitch which was overdubbed. There are only two cans not three and he doesn't change the way he's holding them therefore you can only have a maximum of two audible pitches. (02:29:05)

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Audio problem: As Chef says to Clean, "Should've given the f***er a silver star" after hearing his story about a Vietnamese lieutenant his vocal track cuts out for a few seconds then comes back. (01:13:45)

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Audio problem: On the boat after they offer the joint to Captain Willard, Clean says, "All right, that's great" and his lips don't match what he's saying. (00:52:40)

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Audio problem: Lance is singing while he's in the water with Chief Phillips' body and his lips do not match his vocalizing. (02:24:35)

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Audio problem: Colonel Kilgore takes the megaphone and says to the surfers, "Okay give it a try guys, one goes left and one goes right "and his lips do not match what he says. In these several shots he's saying a lot more than what we hear. (00:50:50)

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Audio problem: When Clean says that great line, "Well I'm next ma'am," to the Playboy bunny, he also says something else that was edited out. (01:32:50)

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Audio problem: Sitting on the boat listening to the B-52 strike, when Clean says, "Charlie don't never see 'em or hear 'em, man." his lips do not match his words. (00:24:20)

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Audio problem: When they first spot Lazaro's boat Clean says, "Chicken time" followed by some other choice hyperbole. He says more that has been edited out. (01:16:00)

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Audio problem: On the French plantation dock Captain Willard walks over towards the Frenchman and they do an excellent job of overdubbing the sound of his helmet strap each time it hits his chest. Two shots later they don't put in the sound as the helmet strap hit's against his chest several more times. (01:58:00)

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Audio problem: When they first meet Captain Willard asks Dennis Hopper who he is and he answers with a question, "Who are you?". If you look at the Captain's lips he answers the question but it was edited out. (02:29:55)

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Audio problem: We hear an over-dub of Playmate of the Year Carrie Foster shooting her cap guns three times. But if you look closely there's smoke only the first two times and the third time she doesn't actually pull the trigger. (01:08:40)

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Audio problem: Just before the flare flies into Colonel Kilgore's helicopter, Lance says, "Nice shot, Bill" but his lips are not moving. (00:41:50)

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Audio problem: As Bill Graham comes out of the Playboy helicopter he takes a microphone and says to the audience, "how ya doin' out there, I said how ya doin' out there?" and his lips are not in sync with what he's saying. (01:06:35)

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Audio problem: On the French plantation dock Lance picks up what looks like the sole of an old shoe and smells it. If you look closely you hear a sniffing sound that isn't in sync with the movement of his chest because he doesn't really inhale while that horrible thing is near his nose. (01:57:05)

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Audio problem: On the boat while reading Kurtz' file Captain Willard narrates to himself, "dear son, I am afraid that both you and your mother well have been worried at not hearing from me during the past weeks, but my situation here has become a difficult one". At this point they show the actual letter that he's reading from and the text of the letter is not the same as what we are hearing. (01:20:40)

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Audio problem: After Captain Willard says, "They're just little sticks. They're just trying to scare us", Chief Phillips has some prime words that he shouts at the captain which are edited out. (02:22:05)

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Audio problem: As Willard, Lance and Chef are approaching Kurtz's compound, Lance is playing come creepy sounds with 2 tin cans and a drumstick. The sounds do not match the number of times that he hits the cans nor coincide with when he hits them. (01:45:40)

luchador

Audio problem: On there way to Vin Din Dop the music for "The Ride of the Valkyries" is an overdub as the VU meters do not move when the tape recorder is running. (00:37:25)

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Apocalypse Now mistake picture

Revealing mistake: In the major helicopter scene when Ride of the Valkyries is played, the actual tape isn't going over the playing heads. (00:37:29)

More mistakes in Apocalypse Now

Kilgore: I love the smell of napalm in the morning.

More quotes from Apocalypse Now

Trivia: Harvey Keitel was originally cast as Captain Willard. Two weeks into filming, director Francis Ford Coppola felt Keitel wasn't taking the role seriously enough, so he fired him and reshot scenes with Martin Sheen as his replacement.

More trivia for Apocalypse Now

Question: Would anyone happen to know what song is playing in the background on the radio beside the intelligence officer sitting at the bar when Martin Sheen enters the Generals trailer and is being interviewed by Harrison Ford for the first time?

Answer: It's not any specific song; it's just the kind of generic piano music you'd hear at dinner at a high-class restaurant of the era. Think of scenes in movies, films, etc. set or made in the '50s and '60s, where the characters go to a nice dinner and there's someone at the piano playing unobtrusive music to accompany the food/conversation.

More questions & answers from Apocalypse Now

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