Carmine Gallio

To view Francis Ford Coppola's epic masterpiece Apocalypse Now is to investigate the dark side of human nature, to probe Heart of Darkness. Listening to the soundtrack is to experience the film again in another, no less mind-bending light. Arranged by Coppola and his father Carmine, the music, dialogue and narration match the film's chilling descent into madness. The score, heavy on electronics and synthetic noise, dangles the listener in front of an abyss akin to the frightful mood evoked by the film's terrifying visceral psychedelics. Keeping with the sequence of the film's action, the soundtrack traces Captain Willard's trip up the river to meet Colonel Kurtz. From the opening helicopters' muffled whirls to the echoes of the unforgiving Vietnamese jungle, the sounds of Apocalypse Now amount to poundings and shrieks of synthesized paranoia, accurately capturing the confusion and discord depicted in the film.