It has been interesting to watch these two war movies consecutively. They both tackle some similar themes and ideas, but they move in varying directions. In both we see the horrors and the idea of the futility of war. In Apocalypse Now we see Colonel Kurtz who went off the deep end from war. He went in a direction it seemed of becoming numb and retracted from humanity. Killing meant nothing to him. To truly be a good soldier a man must become dehumanized in some way to not hesitate killing anther man. This is also partially true with Capt. Williard. In this movie we see the horrors of war as they take men with them. Kurtz went crazy and Williard became unable to go home and live with himself.
On the other hand there is the Thin Red Line. Here we see soldiers like Private Witt thinking about the war and its ethics. He begins scared, upike Apocalypse Now he does not dehumanize himself. He simply does his job and overcomes his fear of death and embraces death knowing there is something there. This is much different from the darkness of Apocalypse Now in which it is easy to question whether there is any good or high power. We see two movies about the same questions with one moving to the darkness and the other to the light. So, which is more likely, for men to overcome fear and be brave in battle or be overcome by its darkness?
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