Meeting Kilgore - Character Analysis

 Kilgore / Helicopter attack 

This scene starts with a shot from the inside of the helicopter looking out into the shore, it consists of very quick jump cuts, as we move from inside of the helicopter adapting the point of view of one of the soldiers to the outside of the helicopter, this has a great effect as it becomes very dynamic and it emphasises the adrenaline that one of the soldiers might be feeling at the moment. As the shots change with vey quick editing we get a wide shot from a distance showing the numerous helicopters aligned to attack, the sound also changes from only the sound of the blades helicopter moving to the soundtrack "rides of the Valkyries' which adds to very action like cinematic. We also see multiple shots of soldiers getting their weapons ready and putting in the ammunition, which contrasted to the very upbeat and encouraging song creates a very dramatic effect. Kilgore's expression completely juxtaposes to the face expressions fo his soldiers he looks very enthusiastic and ready for what is going to happen, unlike his soldier who are looking down with restless faces not ready for what's imminent. 

As we move from the wide shot of the aligned helicopter we get a very quick jump cut, and a moving panoramic shot to a small very rural village. The sound completely changes from the soundtrack to a very generic background sound of dogs barking, kids singing, and we can only see women and kids in frame, this has a great effect as it is the first impression we get from this village that is about to be attacked, making the viewer empathise and feel bad for what's about to happen to these innocent civilians, slowly forcing  negative point of view about the American armed forces. The sound of the helicopters slowly starts coming back and we see how all the kids in the school start running out and panicking, we see a shot focused on the kids being guided by one of their teachers as people running across the frame, we also see the first Vietnamese soldier running to aid the distressed kids and teachers. 

The scene progresses with more action filled shots from very dramatic and dynamic angles following the helicopters, and switching to land, where we can see multiple Vietnamese soldiers getting ready for the imminent attack from the American soldiers. We see the helicopters shooting targeting the houses in the rural area as civilians and workers run to get away from the incoming fire and the multiple explosions shown with far away camera shots, this obviously just highlights the extreme damage this explosions are causing. 

The scene closes with Kilgore complementing one of the multiple harmed civilians again showing his nonchalant attitudes towards war and others while still showing his meritocratic way of thinking when someone does something that pleases him, not leaving for the viewer any room to question if he’s really the best option for commander since his charismatic and confident personality shows us that he is.