Apocalypse Now

AGENT: Two whole drums --

WILLARD: We can use some fifty caliber and a 16 too --

AGENT: I don't know what you're talking about -- Get fucked --

WILLARD: I will -- I assure you that -- You got a fifty on that H-34 -- leave the ammo in boxes -- I'll get my men to bring the first drum with 'em --

WILLARD: You make some of your closest friends in the army -- war has a way of bringing men together.

AGENT: Get out --

WILLARD: Men of all races -- nationalities --

AGENT: You're out of your skull --

WILLARD: We have a lot of pride in our unit --

AGENT: How far do you think you can push -- what kind of people do you think --

WILLARD: Esprit de corps --

AGENT: No -- absolutely not --

WILLARD: One for all -- all for one --

AGENT: You can keep your fucking fuel --

AGENT: What's there to talk about -- this whole thing disgusts me.

WILLARD: My men --

AGENT: What !

WILLARD: That's what there is to talk about -- my man -- I take a good care of my men --

WILLARD: We need all our fuel anyway.

AGENT: Wait -- wait -- don't get up tight -- what I meant was we'd need a whole drum for that --

WILLARD: Sit down -- we'll talk about it.

AGENT: Look -- you know who that is, Captain -- you know what she's saying -- you'll never see stuff that good outside of a magazine for the rest of your life.

WILLARD: I'm not that fond of blondes -- maybe I like brunettes --

AGENT: Take your pick -- they all like you -- I can tell --

WILLARD: I like all of them --

AGENT: Good -- like I said, take your pick.

WILLARD: I said I like all of them.

AGENT: Now just a second -- I'm doing you a favor, buddy -- what're you trying to pull?

AGENT: Oh -- I see -- Well, girls, this is Captain -- eh --

WILLARD: Captain Willard -- go ahead.

AGENT: Look -- we got in a little trouble -- they rudely took our helicopter for MedEvac work on this -- uh Operation Brute Force -- They just brought it back this morning.

WILLARD: Yeah.

AGENT: Well I mean like they also took our fuel -- We've been here two days.

WILLARD: Dreadful.

AGENT: Look -- the girls could get killed -- we're not supposed to be this close combat, I mean real combat.

WILLARD: Well --

AGENT: We could use some fuel -- just a half drum -- just enough to get us out a here.

WILLARD: We need all our fuel.

AGENT: You came in on that boat, didn't you?

WILLARD: Yeah --

AGENT: Where are you headed?

WILLARD: What's it matter? Get to the point.

AGENT: Look -- you know the girls -- Thta's Terri -- she was playmate of --

WILLARD: Yeah, I caught your show at Hau Fat.

WILLARD: Who the hell are you?

AUSTRALIAN: Moonby. Got any Winstons?

WILLARD: Moonby what?

AUSTRALIAN: Moonby, 4th battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, Task Force. Ex-Corporal Moonby, deserted.

WILLARD: What is this?

WILLARD: We've been attacked.

AUSTRALIAN: I know, I know, it's all right. Come in this way. It's mined over there. This way. It's all right.

CAPTAIN: Headquarters 11 Corps -- 405th A.S.A Battalion -- S-2 -- Com-Sec -- Intelligence -- Nha Trang.

WILLARD: Who are you ?

CAPTAIN: That's quite an array of ribbons...

WILLARD: Let's talk about you.

CAPTAIN: I was an FO for the 25th.

WILLARD: Tracks ?

CAPTAIN: Yeah.

WILLARD: Fat. That's real fat.

CAPTAIN: Sometimes.

WILLARD: At least you always have enough water. How many gallons does each one of those damn things carry ?

CAPTAIN: Thirty -- sometimes fifty.

WILLARD: You know, I can remember once, getting back below the DMZ -- and the first Americans we ran into were a track squadron. I just couldn't believe how much water they had. We'd been chewing bamboo shoots for almost a week, and before that, for two weeks, we'd been drinking anything -- rain water, river shit, stuff right out of the paddies. And there were these guys standing by their trucks spilling water all over. I could've killed them. I swear to God I would have, too, if ...

CAPTAIN: I didn't know we had units up there in North Vietnam.

WILLARD: We do.

CAPTAIN: How long were you up there ?

WILLARD: A long time.

CAPTAIN: A year ? Waiter another beer.

WILLARD: I go up on missions. Listen Captain, buy me all the beer you want, but you better tell that asshole over there you're not going to find out anymore about me.

CAPTAIN: Were you Longe Range Recon --

WILLARD: No -- I worked too far north for LRRP.

CAPTAIN: That's good gin.

WILLARD: I'm sure it is, but I had hepatitis.

CAPTAIN: Delta ?

WILLARD: No.

CAPTAIN: North ?

WILLARD: Yeah. Way north.

CAPTAIN: What unit were you with ?

WILLARD: None.

CAPTAIN: Rangers, eh?

WILLARD: Sort of.

CAPTAIN: Winning the war by yourself.

WILLARD: Part.

CAPTAIN: Which part is that ?

WILLARD: My part. Beer, with ice and water.

CAPTAIN: How about a drink ?

WILLARD: Sure, thanks.

CHEF: Holy shit.

CLEAN: What did you put in all those ammo boxes?

CHEF: So what happened ?

CLEAN: He was working A.R.V.N. patrols and had one a them little cocky gook asshole Lieutenants -- anyhow, the Lieutenant took his new Playboy one day, sat on the end of the dock, and wouldn't give it back.

CHEF: Yeah -- typical A.R.V.N.

CLEAN: Then went too far -- he sat there and starts mutilating the centerfold. Poking pins in her an' all that. Sergeant says, don't do her like that. You leave your shitty little hands off that girl. Gook Lieutenant says Fuck you in Vietnamese -- Sergeant says, don't do that again. You'll wish you hadn't. Then he stood up, flicked his iron to rock and roll and gave the little zero a long burst through the Playboy mag. Man, it blew him clean off the dock -- Hell, just the magazine was floatin' there all full of holes.

CHEF: It's really too much -- I mean I've collected every picture of her since she was Miss December.

CLEAN: Yeah -- you can really get hung up on them like the cat in the Delta.

CHEF: This is evil -- evil, Captain. We're all gonna die here.

WILLARD: Yeah, I know.

CHEF: I don't get it -- You said your mission was to kill him. Let's do it, an' get our asses outta here. This Kurtz is ruining the war; I mean, this don't look good for America !

WILLARD: ... he's an amazing officer.

CHEF: You got to kill this sonuvabitch -- Lance and me, we don''t understand none of this -- Jesus, Captain -- I don't wanna die here -- Do it quick.

CHEF: He killed that guy without feeling anything.

WILLARD: Not a thing.

CHEF: When you kill Cong, don't you feel something.

WILLARD: Sure. Recoil... I feel the recoil of my rifle.

CHEF: What are we doing here?

WILLARD: Kurtz. I'm supposed to kill him, just like he said.

CHEF: Captain -- they've been probed all this week -- Cong and NVA regulars. There's gonna be a big offense any time.

WILLARD: I know.

CHEF: Charlie?

WILLARD: Looks that way.

CHEF: Who's he?

WILLARD: God knows.

WILLARD: That's a light down there --

CHEF: Yeah, it is.

WILLARD: And the grass?

CHEF: Still got a lot of that stuff from Nha Trang. But we're running low on the other.

CHEF: There's some bad holes, man, and the cracks -- water's coming through the cracks. Food's shot to hell.

WILLARD: How much is left?

CHEF: Less than half -- sure is a mess down there.

CHEF: I know it sounds stupid, but I feel like the goddamn jungle's watching us.

WILLARD: Probably is.

CHEF: Whatdoya think it thinks.

WILLARD: That we're dumber than we look.

WILLARD: What do you see?

CHEF: I don't know.

WILLARD: I've arranged with those people we saw at Hau Fat to give us some 50 caliber in trade for a couple a drums of fuel --

CHEF: No shit.

WILLARD: Chef -- since you're such a fan of Miss December's I think you should be detailed with Lance and Clean to take the first drum up there.

CHEF: I don't believe you --

WILLARD: Chef.

CHEF: Yes, sir --

WILLARD: Why they call you that?

CHEF: Call me what, sir?

WILLARD: Chef -- is that 'cause you like mangoes an' stuff?

CHEF: No, sir -- I'm a real chef, sir -- I'm a sauciere --

WILLARD: A sauciere --

CHEF: That's right, sir -- I come from New Orleans -- I was raised to be a sauciere.. a great sauciere. We specialize in sauces; my whole family. It's what we do. I was supposed to go to Paris and study at the Escoffier School; I was saving the money. They called me for my physical so I figured the Navy had better food.

WILLARD: What are you doing out here?

CHEF: Cook school -- that did it.

WILLARD: How?

CHEF: They lined us all up in front of a hundred yards of prime rib -- magnificent meat, beautifully marbled.. Then they started throwing it in these big cauldrons, all of it -- boiling. I looked in, an' it was turning gray. I couldn't stand it. I went into radio school.

WILLARD: Arch light.

CHEF: I hate that -- Every time I hear that noise something terrible happens.

CHEF: Flood.

CHIEF: No -- most of 'em are still standing -- might've been disease.

CHIEF: What'd he say?

CHEF: Said I speak French like a Spanish cow.

CHIEF: Elevate Lance, in the tree. No, I saw another.

CHEF: Thirty meters up, Lance; I saw the fucking flash.

CHIEF: You forgot the mangoes, didn't you?

CHEF: Mangoes? There as a fucking tiger in the woods -- I could've been eaten alive. I'm never going into that jungle again. I gotta remember never get out of the boat; never get outta the boat.

CHEF: Can I go get those mangos now?

CHIEF: I'll go with you in a while -- judt hold tight awhile --

WILLARD: Two hours after the fog lifted, we moved slowly to a spot we thought was roughly a mile and a half below Kurtz's camp. We approached a long sand-bank stretching down the middle of the river.

CHIEF: Which way? Right or left?

WILLARD: Who knows? Right.

CHIEF: Looks pretty shallow.

CHIEF: Will they attack?

WILLARD: If they have boats ... or canoes... they'd get lost in the fog. We can't move either -- we'll end up on the shore.

WILLARD: Listen.

CHIEF: What is it?

WILLARD: Listen.

WILLARD: Whoever put'em there didn't do it to kill people -- They put 'em up as signs --

CHIEF: Signs?

WILLARD: Yeah -- like keep out --

CHIEF: Why -- Charlie put it there to kill --

WILLARD: Thta's not Charlie's work --

WILLARD: Rocks, sand -- those two men who deserted.

CHIEF: When'd you do it?

WILLARD: While you were sleeping.

CHIEF: I --

WILLARD: I am -- I'm Captain B.L. Willard. This is Chief Warrant Officer Phillips -- it's his boat. We were shot up bad downriver and need repairs and food -- we can pay you in gold.

WILLARD: They're not Cong.

CHIEF: We're Americans.

CHIEF: What the hell is it?

WILLARD: In the middle of the jungle -- a goddamn light.

WILLARD: Get in there !

CHIEF: This is my crew and my fucking boat, and I'm the responsible party.

WILLARD: Get in there now or I'll bury you in this river.

WILLARD: Well, get in there.

CHIEF: This whole area is lousy with V.C. -- We don't stand a chance. Lemme turn around and we'll be in Hau Fat in six minutes.

WILLARD: What about ducking into one of those tributaries till this river slows down?

CHIEF: Who knows what's up there?

WILLARD: Can't be any worse than this. What do you think?

CHIEF: I think this river wants to take us home fast. I'm practically goin' in reverse.

CHIEF: Wow, you must a found the C.O., eh?

WILLARD: We found some bodies -- let's get out a here.

CHIEF: What're you trying to say, Captain --

WILLARD: You'll see soon enough -- get going, sailor --

CHIEF: No shit -- hot damn --

CHIEF: Careful, Captain, they've been known to charge.

WILLARD: All right I got a little surprise for you --

CHIEF: Yeah, Chef -- go ahead -- take Lance with you --

WILLARD: I'll go with him --

WILLARD: We could go in tomorrow at dawn -- there's always off-shore wind in the morning.

CHIEF: The draft of that river might be too shallow on the point.

CHIEF: Yeah -- fishing village -- helicopters over there. Hueys, lots of 'em.

WILLARD: First Air Cavalry. They're the ones gonna get us into the River.

CHIEF: Smoke !

WILLARD: Where ?

CHIEF: The Delta closes off to us about ten miles out of Hau Fat. We'll be able to pick up some supplies -- bit I think there are only two points we can draw enough water to get into the Nung River. It's all Charlie's turf from there on out.

WILLARD: We're gonna have some help to get in the river. You know these waters, Chief ?

CHIEF: 'Bout six months ago I took a man up to Lo Mung Bridge. He was regular Army too. Shot himself in the head. I brought his body back down.

WILLARD: Shot himself. What for ?

CHIEF: Beats me -- the sun was too much for him, or the mud. Who knows ?

WILLARD: I met the P.B.R. crew; they were pretty much all kids, except for Phillips, the Chief -- Gunner's Mate Third Class L. Johnson -- Lance Johnson; Gunner's Mate Third Class J. Hicks -- The Chef -- Radio Operator Second Class T. Miller; they called him Mr. Clean.

WILLARD: Chief, try to keep out of where we're going -- Why we're goin' and what's gonna be the big surprise.

CHIEF: All right with me, I used to drive a taxi.

WILLARD: Let's go.

CLEAN: Jesus -- that guy's too damn much.

CHIEF: I wonder if that was the same copter.

CHIEF: Forget that extra drum -- it's too damn hot.

CLEAN: Clear on starboard -- Where's Lance an' the Captain?

CHIEF: I saw that Colonel's Huey on the point --

CHIEF: They nail him for it bad ?

CLEAN: He's in the L.B.J. -- didn't give him no medals or nothing --

CHIEF: What cat ?

CLEAN: One that went up for murder -- he was an Army Sergeant.

CHIEF: I never heard about that.

CLEAN: Yeah -- he really dug his Playboy mag, man -- I mean like he was there when it arrived -- He just knew.

CHIEF: Anybody see some smoke ?

CLEAN: Too far inland.

WILLARD: Our Recon flight ?

CIVILIAN: Ours.

WILLARD: Touchy.

CIVILIAN: You can see, of course, the implications, if any of this -- even rumours leaked out.

WILLARD: You want me to clean it up -- simple and quiet.

CIVILIAN: Exactly -- you'll go up the Nung River in a Navy P.B.R. -- appear at Nu Mung Ba as if by accident, re-establish your acquintance with Colonel Kurtz, find out what's happened -- and why. Then terminate his command.

WILLARD: Terminate ?

CIVILIAN: Terminate with extreme prejudice.

CIVILIAN: What does that mean ?

WILLARD: Maybe it's not Kurtz. I don't believe he's capable of that. I just don't believe it.

CIVILIAN: You didn't like him.

WILLARD: Anyone got a cigarette.

WILLARD: I only met Kurtz once.

CIVILIAN: Would he remember you ?

WILLARD: Maybe.

WILLARD: What do you want ?

CIVILIAN: If you're B.L. Willard, 4th Recon Group, we'd like you to come with us.

WILLARD: Whose orders ?

SOLDIER: Spooky.

CLEAN: Charlie?

SOLDIER: No, it'd be spooky without the war -- give 'em back.

SOLDIER: You got a chance in that boat -- by morning you could be five miles down the river.

CLEAN: We ain't goin' down the river.

SOLDIER: It's to everyone I really knew -- the first girl I screwed -- my brother -- best friend -- I wanted to tell 'em how much I enjoyed knowing 'em -- it's been a great twenty years. I gotta let 'em know.

CLEAN: What're you askin' me for -- put 'em in the first helicopter comes in tomorrow.

SOLDIER: Nobody comes in here.

SOLDIER: Hey, buddy, that boat still runs, eh?

CLEAN: Yeah, it still runs.

SOLDIER: Do me a favor buddy, please.

CLEAN: What is it?

WILLARD: Yeah.

COLBY: Colonel Kurtz, he's dead.

WILLARD: Yeah.

COLBY: How did they know?

WILLARD: They must have seen the fire.

COLBY: Who is he?

WILLARD: He was the tragedy -- the tragedy of this war.

COLBY: What -- happened here.

WILLARD: Charlie?

COLBY: NVA regulars. They're coming again tonight. Tet -- their big -- assault.

WILLARD: I thought he was a lame.

COLONEL: A lame ?

WILLARD: This is years ago, before he joined Special Forces, I guess. We had an argument.

COLONEL: About what ?

WILLARD: I don't know. He was a lame, that's all.

COLONEL: But why ?

WILLARD: He couldn't get through a sentence without all these big words; about why we kill.

COLONEL: Well, he's killing now.

WILLARD: Maybe.

WILLARD: Yeah.

COLONEL: He's commanding the detachment at Nu Mung Ba.

COLONEL: You know much about about Special Forces; Green Berets, Captain ?

WILLARD: I've worked with them on occasions and I saw the movie , sir.

WILLARD: No, sir.

COLONEL: This gentleman or myself ?

WILLARD: No, sir.

COLONEL: I believe on your last job you executed a tax collector in Kontum, is that right ?

WILLARD: I am not presently disposed to discuss that, sir.

WILLARD: Captain B.L. Willard, G-4 Headquarters, reporting as ordered, sir.

COLONEL: Okay, Willard, sit down.

WILLARD: I guess this is whAt men of war do -- eh?

GASTON: We endure, captain -- you can blow up the house and we will live in the cellar -- destroy that and we'll dig a hole in the jungle and sleep on it. Burn the forest and we'll hide in the swamp. all the while, we do but one thing -- clean the blood off our bayonets. Au revoir, Captain.

GASTON: Two of my men deserted last night. It happens from time to time. I assume my daughter told you of our conditions.

WILLARD: Your daughter.

GASTON: Upriver? Why upriver? There is nothing there, only jungle.

WILLARD: Do you know that jungle?

GASTON: When I was a boy, my father would take me there, to hunt. There are a few savages, but no man can live there, no white man.

WILLARD: What about an American named Kurtz?

GASTON: Attacks repulsed, as I was saying. This is only for this war, Captain. Viet Cong -- 54; North Vietnamese regular forces -- 15; South Vietnamese -- 28 -- regular forces and otherwise. Americain -- 6. Of course, they were, perhaps, mistakes, Captain.

WILLARD: Of course. I -- Once we make our repairs, we could send word, we could have you evacuated from here.

GASTON: Captain?

WILLARD: You'll get blown outta here some day.

GASTON: We will never 'evacuate', Captain -- this is our home. Indochina is ours; it has been so for a hundred and twenty-one years, there is something to say for that.

WILLARD: The Vietnamese think it's theirs -- I guess the Americans do, too.

GASTON: But we civilized it. A place belongs to those who bring light to it, don't you agree.

WILLARD: I always thought the French came here to get the rubber.

GASTON: It is very good -- there is no current -- It is very good. I have never seen one like it in all Indochina. I was in Paris when it arrived -- do you know what might have caused --

WILLARD: Looks like a two thousand pound to me. Yeah, a two thousand pound bomb.

GASTON: No, I've seen those in Normandy. This is much better. My country -- my country could never originate this. Magnificent.

WILLARD: A habit of men of war, sir -- you understand.

GASTON: Of course, Captain -- an unfortunate necessity.

WILLARD: We don't want to bother you any, we --

GASTON: A man of war is never bothered to aid an ally -- you will follow me, Captain.

WILLARD: American weapons?

GASTON: We took them from the dead. Now -- I assume you want to rest, to shower. We'll attend to your repairs after dinner.

GASTON: Fifty calibers, eh, Captain --

WILLARD: As I said, we can pay you in gold.

GASTON: Entirely unnecessary, Captain.

LANCE: Yeah, I'm an artist, goddamit !

KILGORE: Yeah -- yeah, I can understand how you feel.

KILGORE: The wind --

LANCE: What?

KILGORE: You smell that. You smell that?

LANCE: What?

KILGORE: Napalm, boy -- nothing else in the world smells like that --

KILGORE: They far enough?

LANCE: Sure -- fine --

KILGORE: You think that section on the point is ridable, Lance?

LANCE: I think we ought to wait for the tide to come in.

KILGORE: Good swell.

LANCE: What, sir?

KILGORE: I said it's a good swell -- hell of a good swell 'bout six feet. Let's get a look at it.

KILGORE: Where've you been riding, Lance?

LANCE: I haven't surfed since I got here.

KILGORE: That's terrible -- we'll change that -- I'd like to see you work -- I've always liked your cutback; got a hell of a left turn, too.

KILGORE: It's an honor to meet you Lance. I've admired your nose-riding for years -- I like your cutback, too. I think you have the best cutback there is.

LANCE: Thank you, sir.

KILGORE: You can cut out the sir, Lance -- I'm Bill kilgore -- I'm a goofy foot.

KILGORE: What's your name, sailor ?

LANCE: Gunner's Mate, Third Class -- L. Johnson, sir.

KILGORE: Lance Johnson? The surfer?

LANCE: That's right, sir.

KILGORE: Change.

MIKE: Wh -- what?

KILGORE: Change -- get out there -- I want'a see if it's ridable -- change.

MIKE: It's still pretty hairy, sir.

KILGORE: You want'a surf, soldier?

KILGORE: Why the hell didn't you tell me about that place -- a good left. There aren't any good left slides in this whole, shitty country. It's all goddamn beach break.

MIKE: It's hairy ,though. That's where we lost McDonnel -- they shot the hell out of us. It's Charlie's point.

KILGORE: How big it is?

MIKE: Six to eight feet.

KILGORE: Mike, you know anything about the point at Vin Drip Drop?

MIKE: Boss left.

KILGORE: What do you mean?

MIKE: It's really long left slide, breaks on the short side of the point -- catches a south swell.

KILGORE: Eagle Thrust Four -- Big Duke Six. Join me in sparaying some trees.

RADIO: Affirmative, Big Duke Six -- We're even got some rockets left.

KILGORE: Take her in low, Lieutenant.

RADIO: This is Baker Delta Four -- Captain hit bad -- need dust-off. Receiving heavy automatic weapons fire from huts about thirty yards to our left.

KILGORE: Big Duke Six to Baker Delta Four -- hold -- we're right over you.

KILGORE: Big Duke Six to Hell's Angels Four -- bring it in on along tree line and huts.

RADIO: Hell's Angels Four to Big Duke Six -- we'll need green smoke -- suggest you have the FAC mark it.

KILGORE: Haven't got time, Hell's Angels -- lay it right up the tree line.

KILGORE: It's gonna blow this place out. It's gonna ruin it ...

WILLARD: The kid can't ride sloppy waves.

WILLARD: You know, some day this war's gonna end..

KILGORE: Yes, I know.

WILLARD: I'm waiting for the fucking boat, Colonel.

KILGORE: It'll get here, soldier.

KILGORE: Sonuvabitch -- anybody hurt?

WILLARD: Automatic weapons flashes along those trees -- probably eleven millimeter guns and AK-47's.

KILGORE: The trees, eh...

KILGORE: Fucking savages.

WILLARD: Who?

KILGORE: The enemy. Who else?

KILGORE: We'll come in low out of the rising sun -- We'll put on the music about a mile out.

WILLARD: Music?

KILGORE: Yeah. Classical stuff -- scares the hell out of the slopes -- the boys love it.

KILGORE: Why the hell you wanna go up to Nu Mung Ba for?

WILLARD: I got bored in Saigon.

KILGORE: What's the furthest you been in?

WILLARD: Haiphong.

KILGORE: Haiphong? Shit, you jump in ?

WILLARD: No. Walked.

KILGORE: What'd you do for supplies?

WILLARD: Mercenaries -- agents, traitors -- they put out caches.

KILGORE: Can you trust them?

WILLARD: No. They put out two or three for every one I needed. When you get to the one you'll use, you just stake it out. If something feels wrong, you just pass it up. On one mission, I had to pass up three and ended up living on rats and chocolate bars.

KILGORE: Nu Mung Ba. Last I heard, Walter Kurtz commanded a Green Beret detachment at Nu Mung Ba.

WILLARD: When did you hear?

KILGORE: 'Bout a year ago? Is Kurtz still alive?

WILLARD: Who knows.

KILGORE: Seems to me he got himself fragged. i heard some grunt rolled a grenade in his tent. Maybe a rumor. Helluva man -- remarkable officer. Walter Kurtz woulda been a General some day. General of the Army. Shit, Head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Did you knew Kurtz?

WILLARD: I met him.

KILGORE: Don't you agree?

WILLARD: He musta changed ! I got to get into the Nung River, here or here.

KILGORE: That village you're pointing at is kinda hairy.

WILLARD: Hairy ?

KILGORE: I mean it's hairy -- they got some pretty heavy ordnance, boy -- I've lost a few recon ships in there now and again.

WILLARD: So? I heard you had a good bunch of killers here.

KILGORE: And I don't intend to get some of them chewed up just to get your tub put in the mouth of the goddman Nung River. You say you don't know Kurtz?

WILLARD: I met him.

KILGORE: You talk like him. I don't mind taking casualties, Captain, but I like to keep my ratio ten to one in this unit -- ten Cong to one.

WILLARD: You'll find enough Cong up there.

KILGORE: What about this point here?

WILLARD: My orders are from Com-Sec Intel -- B.L. Willard, 4th Recon --

KILGORE: Just hold up a second, Captain -- I'll get to you soon enough -- We've got things to do here.

WILLARD: Captain B-L. Willard, sir -- 4th Recon Group -- I carry priority papers from Com-Sec Intelligence 11 Corp -- I believe you understand the nature of my mission.

KILGORE: Yeah -- Na Trang told me to expect you -- we'll see what we can do. Just stay out of my way till this is done, Captain.

KURTZ: My river... my people... my jungle... my ideas... my country... my wife... ... my death.

WILLARD: You had immense plans... immense plans...

KURTZ: Yes...

WILLARD: I'm taking you back.

KURTZ: Go away -- hide yourself.

WILLARD: What are you doing?

KURTZ: Going back - to the jungle to die.

WILLARD: I'm taking you back. You can still live.

KURTZ: I had immense plans.

WILLARD: I'm gonna get you out of here.

KURTZ: I was on threshold of great things.

KURTZ: You could never figure it because it doesn't make sense.

WILLARD: Fuck no.

KURTZ: I'll tell you what makes sense ! Air strikes ! White Phosphorus ! Napalm ! We'll bomb the shit out of them if they don't do what we want.

WILLARD: We'll exterminate the fuckers !

WILLARD: How did we get here?

KURTZ: Because of all the things we do, the thing we do best -- is lie.

WILLARD: I think think a lie stinks.

KURTZ: Oh Captain, that is so true.

WILLARD: Stinks. I could never figure -- I could never figure how they can teach boys how to bomb villages with napalm -- and not let them write the word 'fuck' on their airplanes.

KURTZ: Gimme water.

WILLARD: No water.

KURTZ: You know what you're doing? You are interfering with my plans !

KURTZ: No -- I don't want to sleep. I want to think. Water. Give me water.

WILLARD: You can't have water after morphine.

KURTZ: Still playing by the rules. You're a damn good kiler.

WILLARD: How's the pain?

KURTZ: How's yours?

WILLARD: I can handle it.

KURTZ: Pain is easy to handle -- but nobility.. the nobility of a man is judged by how much Truth he can handle.

WILLARD: What Truth?

KURTZ: The truth that you were sent here to murder me, ans so far you haven't done it. And do you know why? Yes, you know why. Your mission makes about as much sense as those idiots who sent you on it. Asshole ! Schmuck ! How long does it take you to figure out that nobody knows what they're doing here. Except me.

WILLARD: You've gone crazy.

KURTZ: No. My thinking is clear. But my soul has gone mad.

KURTZ: Do you?

WILLARD: Yeah, I like it...

KURTZ: I love it.

KURTZ: I said get the fuck out ! I'm going to kill the little weirdo myself tomorrow. He's only stayed alive this long because he's a good orderly and medic. He knows how to use a hypodermic.

WILLARD: You're gonna get hit tonight, bad -- a whole regiment of NVA regulars.

KURTZ: That's right, the little gook- pricks. But they are noble little gook-pricks, noble. Because they fight with their guts, like animals. And for an idea ! That's rich. We fight with ingenious machines and fire, like Gods, and for nothing. But I'll call in a major blotto airstrike tonight. We'll have ourselves a helluva airstrike tonight, a lightshow. How do you like The Doors': 'C'mon Baby Light My Fire...'

KURTZ: Yeah, I can see that. He's fuckin nuts --

WILLARD: Yeah.

WILLARD: Do you know me?

KURTZ: Yes.

KURTZ: Why did you come to ... my province.

WILLARD: We were attacked -- down river. We need supplies and medical help.

KURTZ: You were not coming here, to see me?

WILLARD: No -- no, sir.

KURTZ: You came up my river -- in that small boat. So simple. I always thought the final justice would come from the sky, like we did. You are the final justice, aren't you?

WILLARD: What do you mean, Colonel?

KURTZ: What other reason could you have come? A Captain. Ranger. Paratrooper. Graduate of the Recondo School. Am I right about these things?

WILLARD: You know you're right.

WILLARD: Colonel Kurtz, I guess.

KURTZ: I'm Kurtz.

WILLARD: Captain B.L. Willard reporting his presence, sir.

KURTZ'S WIFE: Did you know him very well?

WILLARD: You get to know each other pretty well out there.

KURTZ'S WIFE: And you admired him?

WILLARD: He was a remarkable man. It was impossible not to --

KURTZ'S WIFE: Love him... Yes, it is true. That's the hard part for me... I knew him better than anyone ... I knew him best.

WILLARD: You knew him best.

KURTZ'S WIFE: You were his friend... You must have been, if he had given you this... If he sent you to his home. He was the best this country had -- he was --

WILLARD: Yes, I know...

KURTZ'S WIFE: I'll never get over it -- But I'll always remember him...

WILLARD: Both of us...

KURTZ'S WIFE: Men looked up to him... He died as he lived...

WILLARD: His death was -- yes, he died as he lived.

KURTZ'S WIFE: Were you with him, when...

WILLARD: Yes I was... He said his last words to me.

LANCE: What?

WILLARD: Bring your rifles, that's all. Take us to him.

LANCE: The other one --

WILLARD: No -- leave it --

LANCE: What's this tiger shit?

WILLARD: No shit... I think I shot the hell out of him.

LANCE: You think?

WILLARD: I wasn't looking.. I was running.

LANCE: Captain -- that was all true about the rats and chocolate and stuff?

WILLARD: Sure.

LANCE: And you could just tell when the supplies were booby trapped?

WILLARD: It's a feeling you get in the jungle. When you get good, you can find a track and tell not only how many they are, but their morale, how far they're going, whether they're near their camp, the weapons they're carrying.

WILLARD: I don't think he'd of shot us on the beach but -- he'd of shot us if he saw me taking the board --

LANCE: A Yater spoon is hard to get -- especially here.

WILLARD: He's a man who knows what he wants -- he does know what he wants.

LANCE: You hear it again?

WILLARD: No -- I don't think so. But it'll be back. They were circling. It'll be back.

LANCE: You think he'd of shot us?

WILLARD: When?

LANCE: Any time -- us -- Americans.

LANCE: Maybe we better stay in under the trees till dark -- we got his Yater.

WILLARD: He didn't look like he'd take that sitting down.

WILLARD: This one , Lance?

LANCE: Yeah, Jesus Christ !

LANCE: No -- no, Captain.

WILLARD: Which one's the Colonel's?

LANCE: The Yater -- the clear one with the thin stringer.

WILLARD: Are you finished surfing?

LANCE: Yeah... thanks.

WILLARD: Want to say goodbye to the Colonel?

LANCE: Nah.

WILLARD: Then let's get the hell out of here.

LANCE: He'll kill us.

WILLARD: He can't kill us. We're on his side.

WILLARD: What's that?

LANCE: Just something I read in the Free Press.

LANCE: Maybe he'll get tubed.

WILLARD: What?

LANCE: Maybe he'll get inside the tube -- where -- where they can't see him.

LIEUTENANT: You don't know how happy that makes me, sir.

WILLARD: Why?

LIEUTENANT: Now I can get out a here -- if I can find a way out.

WILLARD: We'll be needing some supplies and fuel -- do you know anybody who can give me a hand?

LIEUTENANT: I'd just clear out as soon as I could if I were you, sir. They're gonna start working on the bridge with torches again. Charlie will start throwing it in hard --

WILLARD: What is this bridge?

LIEUTENANT: It's of strategic importance for keeping the highway into Bat Shan open -- the generals don't like to admit that Bat Shan is surrounded.

LIEUTENANT: Captain Willard?

WILLARD: That's me.

LIEUTENANT: Captain Willard -- we got these from Nha Thrang two days ago -- they expected you here then --

WILLARD: Who are you?

MOONBY: His name is...

WILLARD: I'm not ever goin' to tell you to shut up again.

MOONBY: Right on -- he's been waiting for --

WILLARD: And shut up.

WILLARD: Sounds like he's gone crazy.

MOONBY: No, Colonel Kurtz couldn't be crazy -- if you heard him talk, just last week, you'd never think he was crazy.

WILLARD: Is that where he is? By the shrunken heads.

MOONBY: Those heads, yes. Well, the rebels...

WILLARD: We're going ashore. Tie her up -- and leave your guns up, Lance.

MOONBY: But lemme tell you, he is the most dangerous thing in every way that I've come on so far. He wanted to shoot me. The first thing he said is, 'I'm going to shoot you because you are a deserter.' I said I didn't desert from your army, I deserted from my army. He said, 'I'm going to shoot you just the same.'

WILLARD: Why didn't he shoot you?

MOONBY: I've asked myself that question. I said to myself, why didn't he shoot me? He didn't shoot me, because I had a stash like you wouldn't believe. I hid it in the jungle; the wealth of the Orient: Marijuana -- Hashish -- Opium -- cocaine -- uncut Heroin; the Gold of the Golden Triangle. and Acid -- I make Koolaid that makes purple Owsley come on like piss. Now I'm Kurtz' own Disciple -- I listen he talks. About everything ! Everything. I forgot there's such a thing as sleep. Everything. Of love, too.

MOONBY: This boat's a mess.

WILLARD: Where's Kurtz? I want to talk to him.

MOONBY: Oh, you don't talk to Colonel Kurtz. You listen to him. God, these are good. I kept these people off you, you know. It wasn't easy.

WILLARD: Why did they attack us?

MOONBY: Simple. They don't want him to go.

WILLARD: You're Australian?

MOONBY: Pre-Australian, actually. But I'd dig goin' to California. I'm California dreamin'.

WILLARD: So Kurtz is alive.

MOONBY: Kurtz. I tell you, that man has enlarged my mind.

WILLARD: What if I say no.

ROXANNE: Then Philippe will have to kill all of you.

WILLARD: So that's it.

ROXANNE: You may think what you wish, Captain, but I like you very much.

WILLARD: I'm afraid I won't have time -- I gotta --

ROXANNE: Whe you reach the boat you will find that half your fifty calibre stores -- a case of grenades, a mortar and two M-16's and a case of clips are being transfered to us by your order.

ROXANNE: Are you warm, Captain?

WILLARD: The river is beautiful.

ROXANNE: What will you do after the war?

WILLARD: I just follow my footsteps, one at a time, trying to answer the little questions and staying away from the big ones.

ROXANNE: What's a big question?

WILLARD: Kurtz. I know you've heard of him.

ROXANNE: Yes.

WILLARD: What did you hear?

ROXANNE: That strange things.. terrible things have occured around this American, Kurtz.

WILLARD: What things?

ROXANNE: Gaston would never tell me. It was asubject not to be spoken of, Captain.

WILLARD: Yes.

ROXANNE: Did you know -- deeper in the jungle, upriver -- there are savages?

WILLARD: I know.

ROXANNE: But Captain, I mean -- cannibals.

ROXANNE: Do you miss your home, Captain? Have you someone there?

WILLARD: No. Not really.

ROXANNE: You must realize, Captain -- we have lost much here -- I, my husband. Gaston -- his wife and son.

WILLARD: I'm sorry to hear that.

ROXANNE: Cognac?

WILLARD: I should be checking on the boat.

ROXANNE: The war will still be here tomorrow.

ROXANNE: May I ask where the Captain is going in his little boat?

WILLARD: We were going upriver when we got caught in a storm, ma'am.

WILLARD: What show ?

SERGEANT: Big show in the parade grounds this noon -- some boss stuff --

WILLARD: This -- Bob Hope or the like --

SERGEANT: No sir, I think -- this'll be a little bit different --

SERGEANT: I don't know anything about these papers, sir.

WILLARD: They're in order -- it's perfectly clean -- just check with ComSec- Intel like I said.

SERGEANT: Well, you know I don't have the priority to do that, sir. It says here not to contact Com-Sec- Int. Who's your commanding officer ?

WILLARD: Right now -- I am.

SERGEANT: Well who the hell verifies that ?

WILLARD: I do.

WILLARD: Where's your chief supply officer?

SOLDIER: Beverly Hills --

WILLARD: What?

SOLDIER: Straight up the road -- a concrete bunker -- Beverly Hills -- where else you think he'd be?

WILLARD: C'mon --

SOLDIER: You came right to it, son of a bitch --

WILLARD: Son of a bitch, sir.

WILLARD: Soldier -- where''s your C.O.?

SOLDIER: Stepped on a booby trap, sir -- got blown all to hell --

WILLARD: Well , who's in command here?

SOLDIER: I don't know -- don't have any idea -- I'm just the night man --

SOLDIER: That's 27, sir.

WILLARD: Anyone got a card?