Hmm. I always considered Colonel Kilgore ( "Kill Gore") as the personification of American kick-ass arrogance in Vietnam, of pride-goeth-before-a-fall hubris. The clinically mad character in the movie (and Conrad's story) is Kurtz: "The horror. The horror."

Madness is one of those nebulous relative generalist terms. It means different things in different situations to different people. Some people think non-traditional, non-heterosexual behavior is madness. Other people think it's madness to feel that way or impose it on others. Conservatives think liberals are mad. Liberals think conservatives are. I think that to label people like that is madness. I think any character can have an aspect of madness. Especially in war, you have to be mad to even function, which is why those who aren't mad are diagnosed as mentally ill. In a societal context, they have to be, otherwise war has no credibility. Kurtz seemed to be the most sane character in that film. He was calm, calculated, and contemplative. Harking back to his line, "The horror". That was a classic line. But no other character in that film really recognized that reality of war. In this way, the movie is about madness; the recognition of it, denial of it, and the living in it.

Madness runs through the entire movie. Kilgore, Kurtz, Willard, Dennis Hopper's Photojournalist, all in some way lost to or touched by madness. Every vet I've known who served in Vietnam, the stories they've told me... just an insane war. Related: I look forward to seeing Michael Moore's new doc which will debut at this year's TIFF: Where to Invade Next.

Ah yes, the irony, the irony.