In this section of our Colossus Movie Guide for Apocalypse Now, we will explain the film’s ending.
Cast
- Martin Sheen – U.S. Army Captain Benjamin Willard
- Marlon Brando – Colonel Walter Kurtz
- Robert Duvall – Lieutenant Colonel William “Bill” Kilgore
- Frederic Forrest – Engineman 3rd Class Jay “Chef” Hicks
- Albert Hall – Chief Petty Officer George Phillips
- Sam Bottoms – Gunner’s Mate 3rd Class Lance B. Johnson
- Laurence Fishburne – Gunner’s Mate 3rd Class Tyrone “Mr. Clean” Miller
- Dennis Hopper – an American photojournalist
- G. D. Spradlin – Lieutenant General R. Corman
- Jerry Ziesmer – Jerry Moore
- Harrison Ford – Colonel G. Lucas
- Scott Glenn – Captain Richard M. Colby
A recap of the ending
The PBR glides into the desolate heart of Kurtz’s outpost—an abandoned Angkor temple now teeming with indigenous Montagnards. The temple grounds are a chilling sight, littered with the grisly remains of victims, a stark testament to the power Kurtz holds over this corner of the jungle.
Willard, Chef, and Lance disembark from the boat, the weight of their mission hanging heavily in the air. They are greeted by an eccentric American photojournalist, a seeming acolyte of Kurtz, who lauds Kurtz’s genius in feverish tones. Amid the chaos, they come across Colby, a previous would-be assassin of Kurtz, now reduced to a near-catatonic state—a chilling reminder of their mission’s high stakes.
With Lance at his side, Willard ventures deeper into the compound, leaving Chef behind with specific orders: call in an airstrike if they fail to return, effectively annihilating the outpost.
Inside the compound, Willard is brought before the elusive Kurtz, who is shrouded in shadows, his voice echoing around the gloomy room. In a sinister move, Kurtz imprisons Willard and eventually places Chef’s severed head into his lap, a ghastly sight that successfully prevents the called airstrike.
Once released, Willard becomes a captive audience to Kurtz’s chilling monologues. Kurtz praises the Viet Cong’s ruthlessness and shares tales of his family back home, imploring Willard to tell his son about him once he’s dead.
Under the shroud of the night, as the Montagnards engage in a ceremonial slaughter of a water buffalo, Willard stealthily infiltrates Kurtz’s chambers. The compound echoes with the sounds of the ceremony and the death throes of the buffalo as Willard raises his machete and delivers the fatal blow, ending Kurtz’s reign of terror.
Willard emerges from the compound, a manuscript of Kurtz’s writings tucked under his arm. The sight of him sends the Montagnards into a state of reverence, and they bow down to him, acknowledging his dominance. Ignoring the gestures, Willard collects Lance, a lost soul in the middle of chaos. They board the PBR, turning its nose away from the temple, away from the Montagnards left in disarray. The boat pushes off, churning the water as it retraces its path down the river, leaving the horrors of the outpost behind. We hear Kurtz whisper “the horror” repeatedly as they float away.
The end of Apocalypse Now explained
The symbolic meeting of Willard and Kurtz
The scene in Apocalypse Now where Willard finally meets Kurtz is a critical moment in both Willard’s character journey and the film’s overarching thematic exploration. This encounter with Kurtz brings the central themes of the film into sharp focus and is visually and narratively potent.
Meeting Kurtz represents the culmination of Willard’s journey into the heart of darkness. This moment is not just about confronting Kurtz as a man but confronting what he symbolizes: the deepest, darkest recesses of the human psyche when exposed to the brutality of war. The encounter highlights the internal struggle that Willard has been grappling with throughout his mission: how to navigate the thin line between savagery and civilization, madness and sanity.
The conversation between Willard and Kurtz is revelatory. Kurtz’s monologues touch upon the themes of the duality of man, the nature of war, and the fine line between savagery and civilization. They reveal the transformation of a once noble officer into a being that embodies the primal instincts of mankind—aggression, dominance, survival at any cost. The encounter with Kurtz pushes Willard to question his own understanding of war, morality, and humanity.
The visual representation of Kurtz, bald and shrouded in shadows, further intensifies the meaning of this encounter. The baldness can be interpreted as a symbol of Kurtz’s raw exposure to the brutalities of war, stripped of any pretense or shield. He stands as a stark embodiment of the destructive transformation that war can precipitate in a man. While the shadows visually represent the obscurity and complexity of the themes being explored. Kurtz, much like the core themes of the film, is not easily understandable or definable. He exists in a moral gray area, a space that is neither entirely light nor entirely dark. This visual portrayal suggests that the exploration of the human condition in the context of war isn’t black and white—it’s filled with shades of gray.
Kurtz and the water buffalo
The intercutting of the killing of Kurtz and the water buffalo in Apocalypse Now is a powerful cinematic technique that heightens the symbolism and impact of these scenes. This juxtaposition provides a striking commentary on the film’s exploration of the themes of savagery, ritual, and the cyclical nature of violence.
The water buffalo’s slaughter represents a ritualistic, primitive act of violence, resonating with the themes of savagery and the primitive instincts within mankind that the film explores. This act of killing an innocent creature is a stark reminder of the brutal, primal nature of violence, an aspect that is paralleled in the act of war represented throughout the movie.
Simultaneously, the killing of Kurtz by Willard represents a different, albeit equally brutal, form of violence. While Willard’s act is borne out of a military order, the act itself takes on a personal, intimate nature as he battles his own inner demons. The killing of Kurtz can be seen as a symbolic act of slaying the manifestation of the darkest aspects of humanity, a manifestation brought forth by the atrocities of war.
Intercutting these two acts of violence underscores the cyclical nature of violence—it is present in both “primitive” rituals and “civilized” warfare. It suggests that despite our perceived advancement or civility, the capacity for savagery and violence is inherent in all of us.
The juxtaposition of these killings also provides a reflection on the theme of duality: the savagery in civilization and the civilization within savagery. The brutal killing of the water buffalo in a ritualistic manner contrasts starkly with the reasoned, sanctioned killing of Kurtz. Yet, both acts stem from the same primal instinct—to kill.
Willard stands as a god
There are two ways to read the moment where Willard emerges from killing Kurtz to a crowd of Montagnards that bow to him—a darker reading, and a more hopeful reading. Let’s start with the first reading, which argues for Willard’s descent into savagery, and finish with a reading that argues Willard transcends the darkness. In truth, both readings can exist at the same time, depicting a complicated picture of the psychological turmoil of war.
Reading #1: Willard succumbs to savagery
The concluding scene in Apocalypse Now, where Willard stands on the landing after killing Kurtz and everyone bows down to him, is deeply symbolic. It brings together key themes from the film about power, deification, morality, and the human capacity for savagery.
The act of bowing down to Willard, the new master of the compound, is striking in its suggestion of deification. Throughout the film, Kurtz has been portrayed as a kind of god, ruling over his own self-made domain outside the traditional rules of society. By stepping into Kurtz’s role, Willard assumes this god-like status. This moment speaks to the desire for and danger of absolute power—it is seductive and destructive at the same time. It blurs the lines between leader and tyrant, man and god.
This scene underscores the film’s exploration of moral ambiguity and the capacity for savagery. Willard, who was initially on a mission to end Kurtz’s reign, finds himself in the very place Kurtz once stood. It suggests that anyone, given certain circumstances, can become a Kurtz, losing sight of their moral compass and becoming masters of their own, often destructive, domains. It underscores the notion that we all carry within us the capacity for good and evil.
The face statues scattered around Kurtz’s compound have been used throughout the film as motifs representing the timeless, unchanging nature of human savagery. As Willard stands amid these statues in the final scene, they serve as silent witnesses to the cyclical nature of power and the propensity for violence. They bear witness to the transformation of Willard into a figure akin to Kurtz, suggesting the universality and timelessness of this cycle of savagery and power.
Willard’s journey throughout the film has been one of transformation, where he confronts not only Kurtz but also his inner darkness. The completion of his mission does not bring a sense of triumph but rather an unnerving realization of his potential for savagery. Killing Kurtz and stepping into his position suggests the completion of his descent into the “heart of darkness,” emphasizing the film’s exploration of the blurry line between civilization and savagery, sanity and madness.
Reading #2: Willard transcends the darkness
Considering the final scene of Apocalypse Now from the perspective of Willard’s transcendence over the darkness paints a different picture. This shift in interpretation suggests that by killing Kurtz, Willard doesn’t become another version of him, but instead, he rejects the path that Kurtz had taken, thereby asserting his own agency and humanity.
Kurtz, for much of the film, represents the extreme effects of war—how it can break a man and lead him to embrace the most savage aspects of humanity. Willard’s mission to kill Kurtz symbolizes his personal battle with these very same forces. Kurtz’s death, then, can be seen as Willard’s rejection of this potential within himself. He confronts his own ‘heart of darkness’ and overcomes it, suggesting an act of personal catharsis.
When Willard stands on the landing, amid the face statues and the bowing followers, he indeed assumes a god-like status—but not in the vein of Kurtz. He doesn’t revel in power for power’s sake. Instead, he represents a different kind of ‘god’—one who has faced the abyss, wrestled with his darker instincts, and has chosen a different path. He emerges not as a ruler, but as an enlightened individual who has mastered his own inner demons.
By choosing to take Lance back home, Willard affirms his humanity and compassion. He rejects the cycle of violence and madness that Kurtz was trapped in. This act is a powerful reaffirmation of his humanity and a rejection of the dehumanizing effects of war.
The face statues that have been present throughout the film serve as silent observers to this act of transcendence. They bear witness to a different outcome than Kurtz’s, a deviation from the path of savagery and towards a reclaiming of one’s humanity.
Viewed through this lens, Willard’s journey in Apocalypse Now culminates not in a descent into darkness, but in a triumphant ascent. He faces the same trials and tribulations as Kurtz, yet makes a conscious choice to reject the path of savagery and instead embraces his humanity. The final scene stands as a testament to Willard’s inner strength and resilience, and his ability to retain his humanity amid the horrors of war.
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