Which war is the setting of most of Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now?

Most of Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now is set during the Vietnam War.

The 1979 film follows U.S. Army Captain Benjamin Willard as he travels up a river into Cambodia to find and kill Colonel Walter Kurtz, an officer who has apparently created his own unauthorized command. The journey is framed as a military mission but develops into an exploration of power, violence, and psychological collapse.

Apocalypse Now was inspired by Joseph Conrad’s 1899 novella Heart of Darkness, whose journey into the Congo became a Vietnam-era story in Coppola’s adaptation. Martin Sheen plays Willard, while Marlon Brando portrays Kurtz and Robert Duvall plays Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore.

The production became famous for its difficult location work in the Philippines, typhoons, delays, and extensive reshoots. It premiered at the 1979 Cannes Film Festival, where it shared the Palme d’Or. The film’s famous helicopter attack uses Wagner’s “Ride of the Valkyries.”