Apocalypse Now Redux Page #40

The photographer hurries down the trail past villagers and

soldiers toward the compound, and up the hill that leads

toward the TIGER CAGES in front of the Monkey Temple. He

spots a jug full of water, with a ladle in it.

AT TIGER CAGES - TO GO WITH PHOTOGRAPHER

The photographer moves to Willard who is in a tiger cage.

Willard is in pretty bad shape, weak and thirsty. The

photographer stops in front of him. He holds the ladle

for Willard to drink from.

PHOTOGRAPHER:

Why? Why would a nice guy like

you want to kill a genius? Feeling

pretty good, huh? Why? Do you

know that the man really likes

you?

He puts a cigarette in Willard's mouth.

PHOTOGRAPHER:

He likes you. He really likes

you. But he's got something in

mind for you. Aren't you curious

about that? I'm curious. I'm

very curious. Are you curious?

The photographer walks around Willard's cage.

PHOTOGRAPHER:

There's something happening out

here, man. You know something,

man? I know something you that

you don't know. That's right,

Jack . The man is clear in his

mind, but his soul is mad. Oh,

yeah. He's dying, I think. He

hates all this. He hates it! But

the man's a...He reads poetry out

loud, all right? And a voice...he

likes you 'cause you're still alive.

He's got plans for you. No, I'm

not gonna help you. You're gonna

help him, man. You're gonna help

him. I mean, what are they gonna

sat when he's gone? 'Cause he

dies when it dies, when it dies,

he dies! What are they gonna say

about him? He was a kind man? He

was a wise man? He has plans? He

has wisdom? Bullshit, man! Am I

gonna be the one that's gonna set

them straight? Look at me! Wrong!

(points to Willard)

You!

EXT. PBR - RAIN - DAY

Chef is sleeping on-deck in the rain, under a tarp.

CHEF:

(to himself)

Almost eight hours. I'm asleep.

I'm asleep and dreaming I'm on

this shitty boat. F***. Has it

been eight hours?

He lifts the tap off, gets up, and goes to the cabin.

HIGH ANGLE ON PBR

It is raining

CHEF (O.S.)

(into radio)

Hello, Almighty. Almighty. This

is PBR Street Gang. Radio check,

over.

MALE VOICE (OVER RADIO)

PBR Street Gang, this is Almighty

standing by, over.

EXT. KURTZ COMPOUND - NIGHT

CLOSE ON KURTZ'S BOOTS

Walking on wet ground.

ANGLE ON WILLARD IN TIGER CAGE

covered with mud, tied up and wet from rain. He slowly

looks up.

KURTZ IS STANDING OVER HIM. He is dressed in the black

pajamas of the Vietcong. His face is made up in green-and-

black camouflage paint. He disappears behind Willard,

then reappears and drops something into Willard's lap.

Willard looks down and sees CHEF'S SEVERED HEAD in his

lap.

Willard screams and struggles to jostle it out of his lap.

It finally falls out.

CLOSE ON CHEF'S HEAD

in the mud

CLOSE ON WILLARD

Moaning,

WILLARD:

Oh, Christ!

DISSOLVE TO:

INT. CONEX CONTAINER - DAY

Willard is passed out, lying on the floor of a metal CONEX

CONTAINER. It is hot. Some CHILDREN are peeking in at

him.

The two front doors of the container are opened. Light

floods in. Kurtz is standing there with the children. He

holds a bunch of magazine articles.

He sits down on a dirt step, surrounded by children.

He looks down at a magazine article and begins to read it

to Willard.

KURTZ:

(reading)

"Time magazine. The weekly news

magazine. September 22, 1967,

volume ninety, number twelve. The

War on the Horizon. The American

people may find it hard to believe

that the U.S. is winning the war

in Vietnam. Nevertheless, one of

the most exhaustive inquiries into

the status of the conflict yet

compiled, offers considerable

evidence that the weight of U.S.

power, two and a half years after

the bug buildup began, is beginning

to make itself felt. White House

officials maintain the impact of

that strength may bring the enemy

to the point where he could simply

be unable to continue fighting."

(to Willard)

Is this familiar?

Willard reacts.

KURTZ:

(reading)

"Because Lyndon Johnson fears that

the U.S. public is in no mood to

accept its optimistic conclusions,

he may never permit the report to

be released in full. Even so, he

is sufficiently impressed with the

findings, and sufficiently anxious

to make their conclusions known,

to permit experts who have been

working on it to talk about it in

general terms." No date, Time

Magazine. "Sir Robert Thompson,

who led the victory over the

Communists guerrillas in Malay,

and who is now a RAND Corporation

consultant, recently returned to

Vietnam to sound out the situation

for President Nixon. He told the

president last week that things

felt much better, and smelled much

better over there."

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