Apocalypse Now Redux Page #4

WILLARD:

(carefully)

Yes, sir. Very much so, sir.

Obviously insane.

The three men pull back, satisfied.

COLONEL:

Your mission is to proceed up the

Nung River in a navy patrol boat,

pick up Colonel Kurtz's path at Nu

Mung Ba, follow it, learn what you

can along the way. When you find

the colonel, infiltrate his team

by whatever means available, and

terminate the colonel's command.

WILLARD:

(to General)

Terminate...the colonel?

GENERAL:

He's out there operating without

any decent restraint, totally beyond

the pale of any acceptable human

conduct. And he is still on the

field commanding troops.

CIVILIAN:

Terminate with extreme prejudice.

The civilian hands Willard a cigarette, and lights it for

him.

COLONEL:

You understand, Captain, that this

mission does not exist, nor will

it ever exist.

CLOSE ON WILLARD

Smoking the cigarette, thinking about the mission.

CUT TO:

EXT. THE MEKONG DELTA - DUSK

A HUEY helicopter flying over the mountains moves over

rice paddies, the Mekong River, MOVING CLOSER until we

view a dock area.

WILLARD (V.O.)

How many people had I already

killed? There were those six that

I knew about for sure...close enough

to blow their last breath in my

face. But this time it was an

American, and an officer. That

wasn't supposed to make any

difference to me, but it did.

We SEE a small patrol boat. It moves away from the dock,

out into the delta.

WILLARD (V.O.)

Sh*t. Charging a man with murder

in this place was like handing out

speeding tickets at the Indy 500.

I took the mission. What the hell

else was I gonna do? But I really

didn't know what I'd do when I

found him.

EXT. PBR - DAY

We are CLOSE ON THE BOAT, the PBR. Willard is lying on

the deck, his eyes closed.

WILLARD (V.O.)

I was being ferried down the coast

in a navy PBR, a type of plastic

patrol boat, pretty common sight

on the rivers. They said it was a

good way to pick up information,

and move without drawing a lot of

attention. That was okay. I needed

the air and the time. Only problem

was, I wouldn't be alone.

Willard awakens to see a young black crewman squatting in

front of him, brushing his teeth.

WILLARD (V.O.)

The crew were mostly just kids.

Rock 'n' rollers with one foot in

their graves.

(to Clean)

How old are you?

CLEAN:

Seventeen.

VIEW ON CHEF, lanky, with a mustache.

WILLARD (V.O.)

The machinist, the one they called

Chef, was from New Orleans. He

was wrapped too tight for Vietnam.

Probably too tight for New Orleans.

VIEW ON LANCE, blonde, handsome, laid-back surfer type.

He is sunning himself with a reflector.

WILLARD (V.O.)

Lance, from the forward 50's, was

a famous surfer from the beaches

south of L.A. To look at him, you

wouldn't believe he's ever fired a

weapon in his life.

VIEW ON CLEAN, the young black man brushing his teeth.

WILLARD (V.O.)

Mr. Clean was from some South Bronx

sh*t-hole, and I think the light

and the space of Vietnam really

put the zap on his head.

VIEW ON THE CHIEF, an older black man. He is at the helm,

studying a map of the delta.

WILLARD (V.O.)

Then there was Phillips, Chief.

It might have been my mission, but

it sure as sh*t was the Chief's

boat.

PHILLIPS:

(to Willard)

There's about two points where we

can draw enough water to get into

the Nung River. They're both hot,

belong to Charlie.

WILLARD:

Don't worry about it.

He takes out a pack of cigarettes and offers one to the

Chief.

CHIEF:

Don't smoke. You know, I've pulled

a few special Ops in here. About

six months ago, I took a man who

was going past the bridge at Do

Lung. He was regular army, too.

I heard he shot himself in the

head.

Willard lights his cigarette as the boat continues to move

out into the ocean.

EXT. RIVER - THE PBR - DAY

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes