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)
Apocalypse Now (1979)
Ending / spoiler
Directed by: Francis Ford Coppola
Starring: Robert Duvall, Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Frederic Forrest
The only people on the PBR Streetgang to survive are Willard (Martin Sheen) and Lance (Sam Bottoms). Lance practically becomes a member of all Kurtz's people and takes part in the animal sacrifice. While Willard slowly contemplates killing Kurtz (Marlon Brando). He eventually carries out his orders and eliminates Kurtz by chopping him to pieces. Willard reads a page from Kurtz's journal, where Kurtz had written 'DROP THE BOMB, EXTERMINATE THEM ALL'. Willard walks out, where all of Kurtz's people stand their motionless watching him. He walks through them, grabs Lance and heads back to the boat. They sail off. (Redux Version) The Destruction of the Kurtz Compound by airstrike is added.
More mistakes in Apocalypse Now
Chef: Why do all you guys sit on your helmets?
Soldier: So we don't get our balls blown off.
Trivia: Laurence Fishburne (who played Tyrone "Clean" Miller) lied about his age to get cast. He was 14 when production started, but told director Francis Ford Coppola that he was 17.
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.
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