Check out this video about Apocalypse Now (1979). In the short four-plus minute Heart of Coppola film, Brian Carroll uses scenes from the classic movie and the 1991 documentary Hearts of Darkness mixed with interviews of Coppola for a must-see video for fans of Apocalypse Now. The film also features Orson Welles reading from Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, the book that was the basis for the film.
Slate and the Open Culture websites have some additional information about the film. What is your favorite part of Apocalypse Now? Leave your two cents in the comments.
Is there another actor who has been in more classic movies from different film categories than Robert Duvall? If you consider various movie genres and the top handful of movies in each category, a large number of those groups include movies with Robert Duvall. Consider:
(1) Gangster Movies: Godfather I and II (2) Sports Movies: The Natural (3) Lawyer Movies: To Kill a Mockingbird (4) War Movies: Apocalypse Now (5) Westerns: Lonesome Dove (and True Grit) (6) Social Commentary: Network (7) Satire: M*A*S*H and Network. (8) Preacher Movies: The Apostle (9) Singer Movies: Tender Mercies (and Crazy Heart) (10) Cop Movies/Car Chase Movies: Bullitt
In each category, the movies listed are among the top few. And yes, we are using a loose definition of “genre,” and the list is starting to stretch for categories a little at the end. But we stopped before adding “Military Family/Angry Father Movies” (The Great Santini).
The list is for movies where he appeared, so To Kill a Mockingbird qualifies even though he had a very small (yet important) part. Also, Lonesome Dove was a TV mini-series, but it still ranks up there among the very top classic westerns, and Duvall has said it was his favorite role. But if you do not like that one, replace it with the original True Grit (see the Chimesfreedomcomparison of the two versions of True Grit). Two other Duvall westerns, Open Range and Broken Trail were excellent, but not top classic status.
Although Duvall is respected, he usually is not mentioned with quite the same respect as actors like Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino. But few actors have the range of work shown from the genre list above, due largely to his ability to become a character besides “Robert Duvall.” In one great scene from Lonesome Dove where he embodies the classic character of Gus McCrae, you can see the pain in his face when he has to hang an old friend who has fallen in with a bad gang. In particular, he conveys a world of meaning in the first few seconds after the hanging just through his face and his body language. [Update: Unfortunately a clip of that scene is no longer available on YouTube, but another scene from the miniseries is below.]
The movies in the genre list are true classics, among the best in each category. Through acting skill, excellent movie choices, and some luck, maybe no other actor has accomplished a similar feat of being in classic movies in so many different categories.
What is your favorite Robert Duvall Movie? Can you think of another actor who appeared in Great Movies in so many categories? Leave a comment.
