“More clearly than ever one of the key films of the century.” – Roger Ebert
“The best action and war film of all time.” – The Guardian
“A stunning work. It’s as technically complex and masterful as any war film I can remember." – Vincent Canby, The New York Times
In Vietnam in 1970, Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) takes a perilous and increasingly hallucinatory journey upriver to find and terminate Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando), a once-promising officer who has reportedly gone completely mad. In the company of a Navy patrol boat filled with street-smart kids, a surfing-obsessed Air Cavalry officer (Robert Duvall), and a crazed freelance photographer (Dennis Hopper), Willard travels further and further into the heart of darkness. ♫ Features Richard Wagner’s Die Walküre: Act II Scene 1: Hojotoho! Hojotoho!
Awards & Nominations
Nominee - Best Picture, Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Robert Duvall), Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Art Direction, Best Editing, Academy Awards
Winner - Best Cinematography, Best Sound, Academy Awards
Needle Drops | January 2–24, 2026
Some combinations of scene and sound are so striking they become irrevocably linked in our cultural memory. Well-timed tunes punctuate the edit, trigger strong emotions, and communicate unspoken stakes. Classical music with its sweeping instrumentation shines in many iconic movies and is a joy to experience in the cinema among a rapt audience. In collaboration with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, who mounts a live presentation of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY with a full orchestra and choir accompaniment on January 9 and 10, the Siskel Film Center presents our favorite films featuring indelible classical music cues.
The Film Center is ADA accessible. This presentation will be projected without open captions. The theater is hearing-loop equipped. For accessibility requests, please email filmcenter@saic.edu