Apocalypse Now

It is interesting to note that in Apocalypse Now, which is an adaptation of Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (from which the epigram of The Waste Land was almost taken, as "The horror, the horror!"), there are many scattered T.S. Eliot references:

• When Martin Sheen's character (ostensibly playing Marlow) first arrives at the Kurtz compound, a very drugged-out Dennis Hopper assaults him with lines from The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.
• Upon his first meeting with Sheen, Marlon Brando's Kurtz reads to him, from memory, lines from Eliot's The Hollow Men. This poem has two sentences from Heart of Darkness as its epigram ("Mista Kurtz, he dead. / A penny for the old guy").
• While Kurtz is reciting this passage, there are two books clearly visible on his desk: From Ritual to Romance by Jesse Weston, and The Golden Bough by Sir James Frazer. Both of these are cultural anthropology tomes on religion and ritual that Eliot had read before composing (and referenced often in) his most famous poem, The Waste Land.

Ever since the movie's release in 1979, film buffs have debated over the exact year in which Apocalypse Now is set. Presented here in the order in which they appear are the clues that have been used to take a guess at the film's date:

The curved M-16 magazines used throughout the film

The curved magazines that are seen in nearly every scene are from the mid-'70s, right? Therefore many people suppose the movie takes place around 1973-1975. This sounds legit, but it must be remembered that the 30-round magazines were not U.S. Army standard issue until 1975, long after the withdrawal of combat troops from Southeast Asia. The inclusion of these magazines in the movie was a matter of convenience, since they were in widespread use at the time of the filming. A good observation, but simply not correct.

The presence of the 1st Air Cavalry

The film's most famous sequence takes place when the crew of PBR Street Gang meets up with part of the 1st Air Cavalry under the command of Lieutenant Colonel William "I Love the Smell of Napalm in the Morning" Kilgore. The fact that the Air Cav was still in Vietnam puts a ceiling on the date guessing game, since the last "First Team" personnel were withdrawn in 1972. Therefore, the perimeter is set: the events in Apocalypse Now must take place during or before 1972.

Lance's initials are LBJ

Many people view Lance's initials as a not-so-subtle indicator of the era in which the film takes place. Lyndon Baines Johnson was the president that stepped up American involvment in the Vietnam conflict and was in office from 1964 to 1969. Therefore, he (seemingly) could have been President while the events in the film are taking place. Another valid theory, but one that falls apart when the last bit of evidence is brought into the equation.

There are a lot of false leads in this film, but the movie's date can be deduced at a glance by an observant viewer. Here's the kicker:

Chef reads a newspaper clipping about Charles Manson's role in the Sharon Tate murders

Although it's impossible to see a date on the paper that Chef reads (sent to him by his aunt), November 1969 saw the implication of Charles Manson in the murder of Sharon Tate and her houseguests. Considering it probably took a while for the newspaper to arrive in Chef's hands (being mailed from the States to Vietnam, delays in delivery caused by being on a river in the middle of a war zone, etc.), it's safe to assume that he's reading it in early 1970.

After carefully reviewing the evidence, it is with near-patriotic pride that I declare the approximate date of Apocalypse Now to be early 1970.