10 Most Visually Stunning War Films Of All Time
1. Apocalypse Now (Vittorio Storaro)
Is there any other war film mired in as much legacy as this one? Francis Ford Coppola's Vietnam epic was plagued by shooting troubles and Marlon Brando all the way through its creation but the end result - and its multiple cuts - undoubtedly have stood the test of time as one of the most striking films ever committed to celluloid.
A loose adaptation of Joseph Conrad's novel Heart of Darkness, transplanted almost a century down the line from Africa to Asia, it follows the path of Willard, a US Captain sent to kill the gone-AWOL Colonel Kurtz, and the journey he undertakes upstream to find his target. It's arguably as well-known for its off-screen troubles as its on-screen brilliance - and much of that comes from Vittorio Storaro's stunning visual palate.
Capturing such indelible images as a raft of gunships against a darkening sun, and the vision of Brando half-cloaked in shadow come its finale, it's as much a masterful performance from the Italian as it is from any actors in the cast. It often crops up in critical assessments of the most beautiful films of all time - and it's more than worthy of that accolade. The horror, the horror...