Apocalypse Now is a 1979 epic war film set during the Vietnam War. It tells the tale of Army Captain Benjamin L. Willard who is sent into the jungle to assassinate United States Army Special Forces Colonel Walter E. Kurtz, who has gone AWOL and is believed to be insane.

The film was produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola from a script by Coppola, John Milius and Michael Herr, based on Joseph Conrad's novella Heart of Darkness (1899), as well as drawing elements from Herr's "Dispatches" (1977), the film version of Conrad's Lord Jim (which shares the same character of Marlow with Heart of Darkness), and from Werner Herzog's Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972).

The film stars Martin Sheen as Captain Willard (based on Charles Marlow in Conrad's novella), Marlon Brando as Col. Kurtz, Dennis Hopper as a photojournalist, and Robert Duvall as Lt. Colonel Bill Kilgore. The movie became notorious in the entertainment press due to its lengthy and troubled production as documented in Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse. In the end, Coppola had to finance the film with his own money. The film won the Cannes Palme d'Or and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture and the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture — Drama.