Benjamin L. Willard
Encyclopedia
Captain Benjamin L. Willard is a fictional character
and the main protagonist in Francis Ford Coppola
's film Apocalypse Now
, and is portrayed by American actor Martin Sheen
. His character is loosely based on the character Charles Marlow
from Joseph Conrad
's novella Heart of Darkness
. He is a Captain in the U.S. Army, who is dispatched to kill the renegade Colonel
Walter E. Kurtz
.
during the Vietnam War
. He has worked in I-Corps for the CIA in the past, primarily as an assassin
. He has already returned home from a tour of duty at least once, during which time he failed to integrate back into society and divorced from his wife. Despite his previous desire to return to the United States
, once he had gone back to his homeland all he wanted was "getting back into the jungle". He has killed at least six people at close quarters (including, it is implied, a corrupt South Vietnamese tax collector), "close enough for them to breathe their last breath in my face" but never a fellow American national. His military past is a mystery but it is clear he has carried out many top-secret operations for the US Army. Willard is a withdrawn individual who doesn't speak often, and seems reclusive and at his best when working alone, where he more often than not operates. Because of this, he is somewhat of a loner and is awkward when around others.
Depressed and frustrated by his state of limbo in Saigon, Willard drinks heavily and ponders a return to the jungle, desperate for a mission. He wrecks his hotel room before being taken by American soldiers to a briefing in Nha Trang
. Here, he is instructed by an Army general to take a patrol boat upstream and kill renegade American Colonel Walter E. Kurtz, who has gone insane. He accepts the mission, wondering "what the hell else was I gonna do?". Willard uses a Navy PBR to travel up the Nung River where Kurtz has fortified himself and his private army in Cambodia
. Frustrated at being accompanied by the boat's crew, he takes a passenger's view and rarely converses with the men, preferring isolation.
He and his crew are transported into the river's mouth by a manic Air Cavalry commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Bill Kilgore, an eccentric whose values clash fundamentally with Willard's. The trip upriver incorporates an entertainment show provided by Playboy
models travelling with the United Service Organizations
, and a close encounter with a tiger while searching for mangoes with Chef. During the course of the trip, Willard reads his dossier on Kurtz and learns more about the man. He seems to slowly start to understand Kurtz's actions and become more disassociated from his superiors. The crew encounter a sampan
and the Chief demands to search it, over Willard's objections. The search goes badly with all but one of its passengers killed outright after a misunderstanding. Finding one Vietnamese woman alive but near death, the PBR Crew elect to take her to a field hospital, which would jeopardize the mission. Willard euthanizes her with his .45, then says to Chief that "I told you not to stop", showing his cold-blooded nature and dedication to the mission for the first time. Willard admits in narration that "they'd never look at me the same way again". After this encounter, the boat reaches the Do Lung River bridge, the last US outpost on the river. The outpost is in chaos, and they leave quickly, but not before Willard rebukes Chief for trying to persuade Willard to send them back, showing his frustration at Chief's dissent and the general distractions his mission has suffered. He merely wants to complete his mission as quickly as he can.
Willard learns from Nha Trang correspondence that the previous man sent on the same mission as him, Captain Richard Colby, has now joined Kurtz's following. The boat is attacked by the Viet Cong, resulting in the death of Clean. Willard reveals his mission to Chief before they finally reach Kurtz's camp. The crew are attacked once again, this time by Kurtz's Montagnard army and with arrows and spears. Chief is killed. By this point, Willard no longer fears Kurtz but is overpowered by an urge to confront him. Willard roams the camp, conversing with a crazed American Photojournalist
who says that Kurtz is a "great man" and a "genius", before being abducted by the camp's population. He is brought to Kurtz, and they discuss Willard's mission and philosophy. Willard is eventually released and frequents the base for four days, before finally completing his mission by killing Kurtz, by which point he has almost completely lost all his humanity. Kurtz's tribe kneel before their God's conqueror, but Willard simply leaves the base in the PBR and heads back downriver, contemplating that the Army are "Going to make me a Major for this one". However, his experience has made him apathetic to the future, and his path is now uncertain.
During the Plantation scene, he engages in a conversation with the French owners about the war and Vietnam itself. He later makes love to one of the Plantation's female population, a widow whose husband he resembles.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
and the main protagonist in Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. He is widely acclaimed as one of Hollywood's most innovative and influential film directors...
's film Apocalypse Now
Apocalypse Now
Apocalypse Now is a 1979 American war film set during the Vietnam War, produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The central character is US Army special operations officer Captain Benjamin L. Willard , of MACV-SOG, an assassin sent to kill the renegade and presumed insane Special Forces...
, and is portrayed by American actor Martin Sheen
Martin Sheen
Ramón Gerardo Antonio Estévez , better known by his stage name Martin Sheen, is an American film actor best known for his performances in the films Badlands and Apocalypse Now , and in the television series The West Wing from 1999 to 2006.He is considered one of the best actors never to be...
. His character is loosely based on the character Charles Marlow
Charles Marlow
Charles Marlow is a recurring character in the work of Polish-born English novelist Joseph Conrad. Marlow is an alter ego of Conrad; both are sailors for the British Empire during the late-19th and early-20th century during the height of British imperialism....
from Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad was a Polish-born English novelist.Conrad is regarded as one of the great novelists in English, although he did not speak the language fluently until he was in his twenties...
's novella Heart of Darkness
Heart of Darkness
Heart of Darkness is a novella written by Joseph Conrad. Before its 1903 publication, it appeared as a three-part series in Blackwood's Magazine. It was classified by the Modern Library website editors as one of the "100 best novels" and part of the Western canon.The story centres on Charles...
. He is a Captain in the U.S. Army, who is dispatched to kill the renegade Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
Walter E. Kurtz
Walter E. Kurtz
Colonel Walter E. Kurtz is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the 1979 film Apocalypse Now, portrayed by Marlon Brando. Colonel Kurtz is based on the character of a 19th century ivory trader, also called Kurtz, from the novella Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad.-Biography:Walter...
.
Biography
Captain Willard is a US Army officer who has been attached to MACV-SOG, carrying out special operations missions in IndochinaIndochina
The Indochinese peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. It lies roughly southwest of China, and east of India. The name has its origins in the French, Indochine, as a combination of the names of "China" and "India", and was adopted when French colonizers in Vietnam began expanding their territory...
during the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. He has worked in I-Corps for the CIA in the past, primarily as an assassin
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
. He has already returned home from a tour of duty at least once, during which time he failed to integrate back into society and divorced from his wife. Despite his previous desire to return to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, once he had gone back to his homeland all he wanted was "getting back into the jungle". He has killed at least six people at close quarters (including, it is implied, a corrupt South Vietnamese tax collector), "close enough for them to breathe their last breath in my face" but never a fellow American national. His military past is a mystery but it is clear he has carried out many top-secret operations for the US Army. Willard is a withdrawn individual who doesn't speak often, and seems reclusive and at his best when working alone, where he more often than not operates. Because of this, he is somewhat of a loner and is awkward when around others.
Depressed and frustrated by his state of limbo in Saigon, Willard drinks heavily and ponders a return to the jungle, desperate for a mission. He wrecks his hotel room before being taken by American soldiers to a briefing in Nha Trang
Nha Trang
Nha Trang is a coastal city and capital of Khanh Hoa province, on the South Central Coast of Vietnam. It is bounded on the North by Ninh Hoà district, on the East by the South China Sea, on the South by Cam Ranh town and on the West by Diên Khánh district...
. Here, he is instructed by an Army general to take a patrol boat upstream and kill renegade American Colonel Walter E. Kurtz, who has gone insane. He accepts the mission, wondering "what the hell else was I gonna do?". Willard uses a Navy PBR to travel up the Nung River where Kurtz has fortified himself and his private army in Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
. Frustrated at being accompanied by the boat's crew, he takes a passenger's view and rarely converses with the men, preferring isolation.
He and his crew are transported into the river's mouth by a manic Air Cavalry commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Bill Kilgore, an eccentric whose values clash fundamentally with Willard's. The trip upriver incorporates an entertainment show provided by Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
models travelling with the United Service Organizations
United Service Organizations
The United Service Organizations Inc. is a private, nonprofit organization that provides morale and recreational services to members of the U.S. military, with programs in 160 centers worldwide. Since 1941, it has worked in partnership with the Department of Defense , and has provided support and...
, and a close encounter with a tiger while searching for mangoes with Chef. During the course of the trip, Willard reads his dossier on Kurtz and learns more about the man. He seems to slowly start to understand Kurtz's actions and become more disassociated from his superiors. The crew encounter a sampan
Sampan
A sampan is a relatively flat bottomed Chinese wooden boat from long. Some sampans include a small shelter on board, and may be used as a permanent habitation on inland waters. Sampans are generally used for transportation in coastal areas or rivers, and are often used as traditional fishing boats...
and the Chief demands to search it, over Willard's objections. The search goes badly with all but one of its passengers killed outright after a misunderstanding. Finding one Vietnamese woman alive but near death, the PBR Crew elect to take her to a field hospital, which would jeopardize the mission. Willard euthanizes her with his .45, then says to Chief that "I told you not to stop", showing his cold-blooded nature and dedication to the mission for the first time. Willard admits in narration that "they'd never look at me the same way again". After this encounter, the boat reaches the Do Lung River bridge, the last US outpost on the river. The outpost is in chaos, and they leave quickly, but not before Willard rebukes Chief for trying to persuade Willard to send them back, showing his frustration at Chief's dissent and the general distractions his mission has suffered. He merely wants to complete his mission as quickly as he can.
Willard learns from Nha Trang correspondence that the previous man sent on the same mission as him, Captain Richard Colby, has now joined Kurtz's following. The boat is attacked by the Viet Cong, resulting in the death of Clean. Willard reveals his mission to Chief before they finally reach Kurtz's camp. The crew are attacked once again, this time by Kurtz's Montagnard army and with arrows and spears. Chief is killed. By this point, Willard no longer fears Kurtz but is overpowered by an urge to confront him. Willard roams the camp, conversing with a crazed American Photojournalist
American Photojournalist
The American Photojournalist is a fictional character in Apocalypse Now, portrayed by Dennis Hopper, himself a skilled photographer. His character was inspired by a number of real-life American photojournalists who worked in Vietnam and Laos during the 1970s, especially including Sean Flynn...
who says that Kurtz is a "great man" and a "genius", before being abducted by the camp's population. He is brought to Kurtz, and they discuss Willard's mission and philosophy. Willard is eventually released and frequents the base for four days, before finally completing his mission by killing Kurtz, by which point he has almost completely lost all his humanity. Kurtz's tribe kneel before their God's conqueror, but Willard simply leaves the base in the PBR and heads back downriver, contemplating that the Army are "Going to make me a Major for this one". However, his experience has made him apathetic to the future, and his path is now uncertain.
Redux scenes
Throughout the theatrical cut, Willard is portrayed primarily as a hostile loner who sees his hosts as a burden and spends most of his time studying the Kurtz dossier. However, in the Redux, Willard seems warmer to the crew in his actions. He steals Kilgore's surfboard, much to the amusement of his colleagues and engages in more friendly conversation. He also gives the previously featured Playboy Bunnies fuel for their helicopter in exchange for their personal entertainment, arranging this for the crew and showing that he has warmed to them.During the Plantation scene, he engages in a conversation with the French owners about the war and Vietnam itself. He later makes love to one of the Plantation's female population, a widow whose husband he resembles.