47 Years Later, This Is Still The Greatest Quote In War Movie History

It has been 47 years since one of the greatest war movies of all time was released, and it contains a line that remains the best quote in war movie history thanks to its connotations. On August 15, 1979, Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now hit theaters and delivered a harrowing, dark story that shows the true cost of war on men's souls. It also includes a quote by Robert Duvall's Lieutenant Colonel Kilgore that stands the test of time.

Apocalypse Now is a movie that stars Martin Sheen as U.S. Army Captain Benjamin L. Willard, a veteran serving his third tour in Vietnam. He is ordered to find Colonel Walter Kurtz, a highly decorated U.S. Army Special Forces officer who has deserted and gone rogue. Willard is ordered to find and kill Kurtz, who is running his own military unit in Cambodia.

While this is the main story, there are several other characters as the war in Vietnam rages on, and that is where Kilgore comes into play: the commander of 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, a composite of several real-life officers who served in Vietnam. It is Kilgore who delivers the quote that even people who have never seen Apocalypse Now can quote to this day.

Apocalypse Now's "I Love The Smell Of Napalm In The Morning" Quote Explained

Colonel Kilgore is with his men at the start of the movie when the military is bombing the forest in Vietnam. With the death and destruction from the bombing underway, Kilgore looks at his men and delivers his memorable and often-repeated line: "I love the smell of napalm in the morning." This is an important moment because it is part of Willard's journey, as he meets different people who show the war's impact on them.

Each of the people Willard crosses reveals, through their actions, quotes, and reflections, how the Vietnam War has impacted, influenced, and been perceived by them. That makes Kilgore's quote such a big deal in the story Coppola is telling here. Kilgore delivers this line after he orders the strike on the fields, and he delivers the quote in the middle of telling his soldiers a story.

This quote reveals what the war has done to Kilgore, who is still one of the most competent and dependable soldiers in the movie. He romanticizes the smell of napalm after an attack in a way that is disturbing because this is an attack that kills anyone and everything in its path. According to Kilgore, the smell of napalm is the smell of victory because he just slaughtered all his enemies.

Why Apocalypse Now's Napalm Quote Is The Best In War Movie History

This is a highly problematic quote, and one that makes it the best in war movie history. War movies are not meant to glamorize war. They are meant to show the horrors of war, including death, the loss of innocence, and the fact that they all lead to nothing but death and destruction. Kilgore delivers a line that shows he has lost all humanity when it comes to the value of life, and his idea of patriotism is filled with the death of the perceived enemy.

It is a case where the movie doesn't show the horrors of war to shocked eyes, but rather shows the horrors of war played out as a victory for a man who has fought for so long that he has lost all sense of empathy. Willard meets many people along his journey, and when he meets Kilgore, he meets a good man who has developed a dark heart and has lost most of his humanity. His happiness while slaughtering countless people shows the true cost of war.

Apocalypse Now Holds Up As One Of The Best War Movies Ever Made

Coppola's Apocalypse Now remains a benchmark when it comes to the best war movies of all time. Like other movies of its era, including Platoon and Full Metal Jacket, this is an anti-war movie because it refuses to glamorize war, while still presenting characters who show everything that is wrong with war to begin with.

People like Kilgore show that victory is achieved by killing more people. Kurtz is shown to have lost his soul completely as he becomes increasingly disillusioned by the war in general. Willard is there as the audience's avatar, seeing these people and realizing that war destroys even the winners. Apocalypse Now is a movie that shows the descent into the human soul, and how all is lost when all a person knows is death.