Apocalypse Now

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)

????

Continuity mistake: Hubert de Marais says to Captain Willard, "And this is something that you never understood, you American". The gentleman in the tan jacket to his left lowers his cigar towards the ashtray. In the next shot his hand is resting on the table with the cigar between his fingers then he puts it in the ashtray. (02:06:50)

????

Continuity mistake: Captain Willard introduces himself to Colonel Kilgore and says, "I carry priority papers from Com-Sec intelligence, II Corps". There are three guys in Kilgore's helicopter watching the filming by the side door. This is a wide shot and no other soldier is there but three seconds later another soldier appears standing by the pilot's window. (00:27:25)

????

Other mistake: The map that Harrison Ford points to as Captain Willard recalls back to lunch at General Corman's is an altered prop. The name of the fictitious "Nung River" has been stamped on to the pre existing map of Vietnam using a different colored ink. The actual name of the river can be seen slightly to the left of the stamped in name. (01:18:25)

????

Apocalypse Now mistake picture

Continuity mistake: In the first shot of them having dinner at the French Plantation a Vietnamese waiter speaks to the woman at the right of the table. In the next shot he's speaking to the man sitting next to her. (02:02:40)

????

Continuity mistake: Just as the rocket attack starts on the boat Chef is reading his mail and says, "hey Lance ". Look closely at the bullets on the machine gun right behind him, they're all draped to the left of the gun, no one has touched them but in a previous shot they were draped to the right the gun. The M-16 has also been moved. (01:51:40)

????

Apocalypse Now mistake picture

Continuity mistake: Chef says to Captain Willard, "I thought you were going in to blow up a bridge or some railroad tracks or something" and he has something strapped around his waist. He never touches it but ten seconds later when we see him again it's strapped across the middle of his chest. (02:24:30)

????

Apocalypse Now mistake picture

Continuity mistake: As they pull Colonel Kilgore's surfboard into the boat it's sitting sideways on the railing of the boat. Then in the next shot the tail fin is back in the water. (00:51:30)

????

Continuity mistake: On the boat while Captain Willard reads Kurtz' file Clean starts making noise by tapping his drumsticks. This annoys the captain and as he gets up to confront him we see, at the right of the screen, the helmet that Clean is drumming on. In the next shot the helmet and its strap have been moved around the metal pole that holds up the roof. (01:19:05)

????

Continuity mistake: Colonel Kurtz sits reading articles from Time magazine facing the captain and the sun is behind him shining right into the doorway. When we first see Captain Willard locked up in this room he's facing Kurtz and the beams of sunlight are coming in from his left, which is 180 degrees in the opposite direction from the shots of the colonel. (02:48:30)

????

Apocalypse Now mistake picture

Other mistake: When we're introduced to Lance on the patrol boat he's sun bathing at sunset facing the wrong way with the sun reflector not reflecting on his face. (00:21:20)

????

Continuity mistake: Captain Willard walks over to Colonel Kurtz' typewriter and sees his manuscript laying there. As he first looks down at the manuscript it's totally in the dark but in the next shot as he thumbs through it it's in the light. (03:10:55 - 03:13:20)

????

Apocalypse Now mistake picture

Continuity mistake: As the captain smokes his cigarette Dennis Hopper says " but he's got something in mind for you, aren't you curious about that". The bloodstain on the bamboo pole to the left of the captain disappears between shots. (02:43:25)

????

Apocalypse Now mistake picture

Continuity mistake: Hubert says to Captain Willard, "We took the Vietnamese, work with them, make something" and the guy sitting on the right of Roxanne who got up and left several shots ago is back. (02:12:15)

????

Continuity mistake: When the soldiers carry Clean's body to it's grave his head and feet are not covered. The next time we see him they are. The cords tied around his body are also in a different position. (02:00:35)

????

Apocalypse Now mistake picture

Continuity mistake: There are four shots of the fighters that drop the napalm. The first time we see the jets there's only three of them and the part of the nose in front of the cockpit is painted black. The second time we see them there are five planes, the third time we see them there are four without black paint and the last time we see them there are three. (00:47:55 - 00:48:45)

????

Apocalypse Now mistake picture

Continuity mistake: On the boat after leaving Kilgore Chef lights up a joint and hands it to Lance who holds it between his thumb and index finger. In the next shot it's between his 1st and 2nd fingers as he offers it to the Captain. (00:52:25)

????

Apocalypse Now mistake picture

Continuity mistake: As the men walk on the shore looking for Colonel Kilgore there's a field behind them across the bay. There's only a tank there but in the previous shot as they landed there were four helicopters along with the tank. (00:25:30)

????

Apocalypse Now mistake picture

Continuity mistake: When Colonel Kilgore leans down to give the VC soldier a drink from the canteen watch closely as the roses on the rosebush to the left of the injured soldier disappear and then reappear between shots. (00:29:25)

????

Continuity mistake: Two other patrol boats pass them on the river going the other way and Chief Phillips yells over the megaphone "is that you Lazaro?". The guy whose pants fall down has a cigarette in his mouth, and his pants are down further in the front as the boats approach. In the next shot after they pass by, he has no cigarette in his mouth. (01:16:20)

????

Willard: Hey soldier, do you know who's in command here?
Soldier: Ain't you?

More quotes from Apocalypse Now
More trivia for Apocalypse Now

Question: Why was only one officer (Captain Willard) sent to assassinate Colonel Kurtz? Isn't it very unlikely for a captain like Willard to be able to kill a powerful and influential and "insane" colonel like Kurtz?

L0gical

Chosen answer: Kurtz was protected by political connections and his military record from being relieved of command, and the Montagnard people whose village he was in were considered American allies, so they couldn't just send a force in to kill him or relieve him of command, but an individual assassin. (The US Government's "official" policy is that they do not engage in assassination, which is why "this mission does not exist, nor will it ever exist").

Captain Defenestrator

More questions & answers from Apocalypse Now

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.