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Jeff,
In another thread you will find a reference to "Heart of Darkness" by Conrad. If you read that book, about a journey up a river into the heart of Africa to locate a missing man, a missionary named Kurtz, you will have read most of the script for Apocalypse Now.
Another important book to read if you wish to understand this movie is the "Golden Bough". It explains the ending of the movie quite clearly in that the tribe believes that their leader is a god, but their god is getting old. By killing the old god the new leader can give new strength to the tribe and take his place. After all, only a god can kill a god. If you think about it, you will understand why the killing of Kurtz has to occur at the same time that the tribe kills the water buffalo. It makes sense, but it is senseless.
The Vietnam Conflict serves as a very effective location to update the setting of Conrad's novel, and as such the movie is about that dirty little war, with the usual "poetic" license.
W.
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