Apocalypse Now (1979)

Marlon Brando: Col. Walter E. Kurtz

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Quotes 

• Kurtz : We train young men to drop fire on people, but their commanders won't allow them to write "fuck" on their airplanes because it's obscene!

• [last lines] 

  Kurtz : [voiceover]  The horror... the horror...

• Kurtz : I've seen horrors... horrors that you've seen. But you have no right to call me a murderer. You have a right to kill me. You have a right to do that... but you have no right to judge me. It's impossible for words to describe what is necessary to those who do not know what horror means. Horror... Horror has a face... and you must make a friend of horror. Horror and moral terror are your friends. If they are not, then they are enemies to be feared. They are truly enemies! I remember when I was with Special Forces... seems a thousand centuries ago. We went into a camp to inoculate some children. We left the camp after we had inoculated the children for polio, and this old man came running after us and he was crying. He couldn't see. We went back there, and they had come and hacked off every inoculated arm. There they were in a pile. A pile of little arms. And I remember... I... I... I cried, I wept like some grandmother. I wanted to tear my teeth out; I didn't know what I wanted to do! And I want to remember it. I never want to forget it... I never want to forget. And then I realized... like I was shot... like I was shot with a diamond... a diamond bullet right through my forehead. And I thought, my God... the genius of that! The genius! The will to do that! Perfect, genuine, complete, crystalline, pure. And then I realized they were stronger than we, because they could stand that these were not monsters, these were men... trained cadres. These men who fought with their hearts, who had families, who had children, who were filled with love... but they had the strength... the strength... to do that. If I had ten divisions of those men, our troubles here would be over very quickly. You have to have men who are moral... and at the same time who are able to utilize their primordial instincts to kill without feeling... without passion... without judgment... without judgment! Because it's judgment that defeats us.

• Kurtz : [intercepted radio message]  I watched a snail crawl along the edge of a straight razor. That's my dream; that's my nightmare. Crawling, slithering, along the edge of a straight razor... and surviving.

• Kurtz : Did they say why, Willard, why they want to terminate my command?

  Willard : I was sent on a classified mission, sir.

  Kurtz : It's no longer classified, is it? Did they tell you?

  Willard : They told me that you had gone totally insane, and that your methods were unsound.

  Kurtz : Are my methods unsound?

  Willard : I don't see any method at all, sir.

  Kurtz : I expected someone like you. What did you expect? Are you an assassin?

  Willard : I'm a soldier.

  Kurtz : You're neither. You're an errand boy, sent by grocery clerks, to collect a bill.

• Kurtz : [Kurtz dictates to tape]  They train young men to drop fire on people. But their commanders won't allow them to write 'fuck' on their airplanes because it is obscene.

• Kurtz : I worry that my son might not understand what I've tried to be. And if I were to be killed, Willard, I would want someone to go to my home and tell my son everything. Everything I did, everything you saw, because there's nothing that I detest more than the stench of lies. And if you understand me, Willard, you will do this for me.

• Kurtz : Have you ever considered any real freedoms? Freedoms from the opinion of others... even the opinions of yourself?

• Kurtz : What do you call it when the assassins accuse the assassin? A lie. A lie and we have to be merciful.

• Kurtz : Where are you from, Willard?

  Willard : I'm from Ohio, sir.

  Kurtz : Were you born there?

  Willard : Yes, sir.

  Kurtz : Whereabouts?

  Willard : Toledo, sir.

  Kurtz : How far are you from the river?

  Willard : The Ohio River, sir?

  Kurtz : Uh-huh.

  Willard : About 200 miles.

  Kurtz : I went down that river once when I was a kid. There's a place in that river - I can't remember - must have been a gardenia plantation at one time. It's all wild and overgrown now, but about five miles, you'd think that heaven just fell on the earth in the form of gardenias. Have you considered any real freedoms? Freedoms from the opinions of others. Even the opinions of yourself.

• Kurtz : We must kill them. We must incinerate them. Pig after pig... cow after cow... village after village... army after army...

• Kurtz : As long as cold beer, hot food, rock 'n' roll, and all the other amenities remain expected norm, our conduct of the war will only gain impotence.

• Kurtz : [2:58:22]  I've seen horrors. Horrors that you have seen. But you have no right to call me a murderer, you have a right to kill me. You have a right to do that. But you have no right to judge me. It's impossible for words to describe what is necessary to those who do not know what horror means. Horror. Horror has a face and you must make a friend of horror. Horror and moral terror are your friends. If they are not, then they are enemies to be feared. They are truly enemies. I remember when I was with special forces, it seems 1,000 centuries ago. We went into a camp to innoculate the children. We left the camp after we innoculated the children for polio, and this old man came running after us, he was crying, he couldn't see. We went back there and they had come back and they had hacked off every innoculated arm. There they were, in a pile, a pile of little arms, and I remember I cried, I wept like some grandmother. I wanted to tear my teeth out I didn't know what I wanted to do. And I want to remember it, I never want to forget it. I never want to forget. And then I realized like I was shot, like I was shot with a diamond. A diamond bullet right through my forehead. And I thought of the genius of that the genius of that, the genius. The will to do that. Perfect genuine, complete crystalline. Pure. TheI realized that they could stand it, these were not monsters, the mes were trained cadres. The men who fought with their hearts who had families with children who had families who were filled with love, but they had the strength, the strength to do that. If I had 10 divisions of those men, then our troubles would be over here very quickly. You have to have men who are moral, and at the same time who are able to utilize their primortal instincts to kill without judgement without judgement without judgement. Because it's judgement that defeats us.

  [3:01:15]