‘The best war movie of all time’ is airing on TV tonight

It’s also one of the best films of all time.

The story follows Captain Willard (Martin Sheen), a US soldier serving in Vietnam in the late 1960s. He is sent to find and terminate "with extreme prejudice" Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando), a once-promising officer who has reportedly gone "insane".

Along the way, Willard crosses paths with a Navy patrol boat full of street-smart kids (including Laurence Fishburne), a surfing-obsessed Air Cavalry officer (Robert Duvall), and a crazed freelance photographer (Dennis Hopper). This is as he embarks on an increasingly perilous and hallucinatory journey into the "heart of darkness".

Watch the trailer for Apocalypse Now right here:

If you couldn't tell by that last line, Apocalypse Now is loosely based on Joseph Conrad’s legendary novella Heart of Darkness, updating its setting from 19th-century Africa to the Vietnam War.

Frederic Forrest and Scott Glenn are also part of the movie's cast, with Harrison Ford making a memorable cameo as well.

Just as legendary as Apocalypse Now are the disastrous stories about the making of the film. These include severe weather destroying the sets, Brando reportedly turning up to the shoot unprepared, and Sheen suffering a near-fatal heart attack during production.

Despite these incredible difficulties and the polarising reviews the movie received upon release, Apocalypse Now has gone on to be considered one of the greatest films ever made. Its jaw-dropping set-pieces, its hypnotic imagery, and its odyssey-like story all combine to capture the madness of war.

The epic has been acclaimed by retrospective critics and viewers alike, with The Guardian naming it in 2010: "The best action and war film of all time."

Coppola's preferred version of the movie, Apocalypse Now: Final Cut, is airing on TV tonight on Film4 at 11.45pm.

Apocalypse Now is also available to rent on Apple TV, Rakuten TV, and the Sky Store.

Here are the other movies airing on TV tonight (Saturday, 5 September):

For JOE's list of the best movies on TV this week, click here.