Apocalypse Now is a war novel.
Apocalypse Now . It is considered to be one of the greatest films ever made . In 2000 , the film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being `` culturally , historically or aesthetically significant '' . Marlon Brando , Jr. ( April 3 , 1924 -- July 1 , 2004 ) was an American actor , film director and political activist . He finished out the 1970s with his controversial performance as Colonel Kurtz in another Coppola film , Apocalypse Now , a box-office hit for which he was highly paid and which helped finance his career layoff during the 1980s .