Super Important Poll Vol. 24 - Apocalypse Now vs Full Metal Jacket

Which films hold the crown for you? Best score? Most compelling characters? Most visceral combat sequences? Most bizarre personalities? Most impactful death scenes? The definitive anti-war masterpiece? The best acting...

If this question popped up on an exam, I’d be staring at the paper completely blank. How am I supposed to choose between the two greatest war—or anti-war—films ever made?
Full Metal Jacket (FMJ) gives us that legendary drill sergeant, while Apocalypse Now brings us that unhinged commander leading the Air Cavalry (I love the smell of napalm in the morning... smells like... victory!).
The soundtracks for FMJ are brilliant, and the score for AN is equally genius.
Is it a matter of the law of character vs the law of character?
Vietnam vs Vietnam?
Unforgettable scenes vs unforgettable scenes?
Do you prefer the cold efficiency of strafing innocent villagers from a helicopter, or the chaotic carnage of a whole swarm of helicopters taking out both villagers and Viet Cong alike?
It really comes down to Stanley Kubrick vs Francis Ford Coppola.

Honestly, it would be easier to prove the existence of Mercury using nothing but complex mathematical equations than it would be to settle this debate!

Why didn't you just list them both as options?

This one's easy. FMJ.

I never really loved Apocalypse Now that much, actually... I don't even remember the movie all that well.

Besides that, Kubrick is just the Celluloid God.

Full Metal Jacket without a second thought🙂

AN, always.

FMJ is also a phenomenal movie to me (is that even worth mentioning?), but I have to admit the first half—the training part—feels a bit disconnected compared to the second half out in the war...

AN doesn't have those issues. The whole thing is just one perfectly cohesive unit, and that’s why it has my vote.

(Yeah, maybe a bit blunt, but I don't have the energy to do a deep dive on these films. Everything that needs to be said about both has already been said anyway...)

darksurfer26 said:Vietnam vs Vietnam?

Nah... not quite.

Richard Fowler68 said:FMJ is an absolutely phenomenal movie for me too (is that even worth mentioning?), though I have to admit the first half (the training) feels a bit disconnected from the second part (the war).

I also feel like the final stretch of Apocalypse Now feels off compared to the first part, which drags a bit for me. But that ending is 🙏 pure madness—they’re slaughtering some cow, The Doors are playing "The End" in the background, and that insane scene after the kill when he walks out:



you immediately remember what that woman said... "can't you see? you have two faces, one that kills and one that loves" 🙂 guess which one stayed in the shadows 😉

On the other hand, Full Metal Jacket is a complete masterpiece to me, and honestly, I prefer Kubrick over Coppola, regardless of how great The Godfather was. 🙂

Private Pyle 🙏

Richard Fowler68 As it turns out:
Oof, not quite.

I don't quite follow. 😕
Both films tackle the Vietnam War. If you’re drawing a parallel to the Heart of Darkness novel that served as the foundation for Apocalypse Now, then you're on solid ground.

heheh

I open up this forum and what do I hear? "Paint It Black" starts playing immediately.

Full Metal Jacket FOREVER 🙂

Full Metal Jacket FOREVER

Apocalypse Now is an absolute masterpiece, honestly everything a war movie needs to have... and man, seeing it for the first time really left a massive impression on me, way more powerful than anything else I've seen...

darksurfer26 said:I don't get it. 😕
Both movies take place during the Vietnam War. If you're referencing the Heart of Darkness novel that inspired Apocalypse Now, then fine.

<picajzliranje>
Sure, they're about the Vietnam War, but Apocalypse Now actually takes place in Cambodia. If you had just written "Vietnam War vs. Vietnam War," I wouldn't have said a word.
</picajzliranje>

Whatever, it's fine 😬

Gosh 😬

Full Metal Jacket

And honestly, it isn't even up for debate.

😎

I find myself contemplating the nature of discourse within these digital halls, much like one might observe the slow, steady movement of tectonic plates shifting beneath the vast expanse of the American Midwest. There is a certain gravity to our interactions, a weight that demands a more measured approach than the frantic, disjointed outbursts one typically encounters in the modern social media landscape. I have always believed that true understanding requires a certain patience—a willingness to sit with an idea, to let it breathe, and to examine its contours before passing judgment. It is quite similar to how one might appreciate the complex, layered compositions found in classic American cinema, where the tension builds not through rapid cuts, but through a deliberate, almost agonizingly beautiful accumulation of atmosphere. One cannot simply rush toward a conclusion; one must inhabit the space between the question and the answer. As stated by:
To my mind, the final installment of Apocalypse Now stands in stark contrast to its predecessor, which I have always found to be somewhat overextended in its pacing. However, one cannot deny that the conclusion remains truly profound. 🙏 The sheer brutality of that brand’s aesthetic—those absolute savages hacking away at some cow while The Doors play "The End" in the background—it’s just relentless. And then you get to that damn scene right after the killing, when he finally steps outside into the light... it stays with you.

🙂
Well... honestly... just... wow.

I must admit, I find myself quite overcome with emotion whenever I revisit that particular scene from *American Beauty*—you know, the one where she’s standing there by the window with the plastic bag fluttering in the breeze. It truly leaves me feeling rather breathless.

🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

I haven't watched any of them 😢

Apocalypse Now vs Full Metal Jacket—that preachy, whiny ending is just classic mainstream Hollywood garbage. You've got the good guy riding into the sunset after ten minutes of rambling about the meaning of life and the triumph of good. It’s pretentious trash... typical Kubrick stuff that first-year film students fall for.

urbanhawk28 said:Full Metal Jacket is just some preachy, whiny ending—typical for those mainstream Hollywood trash flicks where everything wraps up with a good guy riding into the sunset after ten minutes of whining about the meaning of life and the triumph of good.

😂 You’re even more unhinged than old Kaćunko! 😵 👏

Mr. Beast said:😂 You're crazier than Kevin Hart! 😵 👏

okay, sorry, I got a bit carried away. Full Metal Jacket is good, but honestly, the ending could have been better...

raw material said:Fine, my bad—I got carried away. FMJ is solid, but honestly, that ending could have landed much harder...

The ending is sarcasm par excellence! You've got the US military marching through the scorched remains of Vietnam, singing the "Mickey Mouse Fan Club" anthem. And right there with them? An anti-war Private Joker, just feeling good.