Meet the gun-toting rebel who wrote Apocalypse Now’s napalm speech and Clint’s “Go ahead, make my day”.
He’s John Milius, a USC film school misfit who terrified Hollywood suits.
While other writers pecked away in coffee shops, John Milius wrote with a .45 on his desk and hosted script meetings in a room full of mounted heads and swords.
He put words in the mouths of cinema’s most iconic tough guys:
From Clint Eastwood’s “Do you feel lucky, punk?” in Dirty Harry to Colonel Kilgore’s “I love the smell of napalm in the morning” in Apocalypse Now.
This larger-than-life figure was the go-to writer when Spielberg, Scorsese, and Coppola needed their heroes to sound like legends.
And Milius came through. He wrote more major movies than anyone in the history of Hollywood.
“Milius” is on my list of top 10 documentares on movie writers/directors that I’m preparing.
Trailer for “Milius”
Watch “Milius” for Free!
You can watch “Milus” for free on YouTube by clicking the video embed below:
You can also stream Milius for free on Hoopla (if you had a library/university card) or rent it ($3.99 last I checked) on Apple TV . Check here for the latest streaming options besides YouTube: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/milius
Ratings:
- My Rating: 92/100
- IMDB Rating: 7.4/10
- Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 87/100 (Users); 94/100 (Critics)
Release Date: March 9, 2013
My Review of “Milius”
The gun-toting rebel who wrote Apocalypse Now’s napalm speech and taught Arnold how to crush his enemies became one of Hollywood’s most influential outsiders – until a cruel twist of fate silenced the man who gave movies their most memorable lines.
You Can’t Make This Sh*t Up
- Milius wrote the USS Indianapolis speech for Jaws while holding court in a room full of mounted heads and Civil War cannons
- He got Charlton Heston to read NRA campaign lines at a backyard barbecue by handing him a loaded .44 Magnum
- He pitched Conan the Barbarian to studio execs while wearing a Viking helmet and carrying a sword
- He was inspired to write the famous “I love the smell of napalm in the morning” line from “Apocalypse Now” after a surfing buddy waxed poetic about waves the same way soldiers romanticize war.
How good was John Milius’ writing?
As I was writing my review, I found so many famous one-liners he wrote that I needed to put them on one section.
Here they are (my favorites are the top 5):
- “I love the smell of napalm in the morning.” (Apocalypse Now, 1979)
- “Go ahead, make my day.” (Sudden Impact, 1983)
- “Do you feel lucky? Well, do you, punk?” (Dirty Harry, 1971 – contributed dialogue)
- “Warriors! Come out to play!” (The Warriors, 1979 – uncredited contribution)** – Spoken by a gang leader, taunting the protagonists with eerie precision.
- “You know the thing about a shark? He’s got lifeless eyes, black eyes, like a doll’s eyes.” (Jaws, 1975)** – Part of the haunting USS Indianapolis monologue, written by Milius and delivered by Quint.
- “You may be able to kill me, but you will never defeat me.” (The Wind and the Lion, 1975)
- “That’s the thing about destiny. You never see it coming.” (Conan the Barbarian, 1982)
- “The river has only one rule: You have to play.” (Big Wednesday, 1978)
- “In a world of thieves, the only final sin is stupidity.” (The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean, 1972)
- “You’re not a hunter, are you?” (The Wind and the Lion, 1975)
- “Let it be written, let it be done.” (Conan the Barbarian, 1982)
- “To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women.” (Conan the Barbarian, 1982)
- “Someday, this war’s gonna end.” (Apocalypse Now, 1979)** – Kilgore reflects on the inevitability of peace amid his love for battle.
- “There’s a storm coming. You better be ready for it.” (Red Dawn, 1984)** – A forewarning of the Wolverines’ guerilla resistance.
- “What’s the most you’ve ever lost on a coin toss?” (Magnum Force, 1973 – contributed dialogue)** – A tense question testing a character’s resolve.
- “This is your time to shine, son. Don’t let it slip away.” (Big Wednesday, 1978)
- “They’ll never take me alive. Never.” (Jeremiah Johnson, 1972 – contributed dialogue)
- “History is written by those who hang heroes.” (Rough Riders, 1997)
- “The strength of the wolf is the pack, and the strength of the pack is the wolf.” (The Jungle Book, 1994 – contributed dialogue)
- “Charlie don’t surf!” (Apocalypse Now, 1979)** – Kilgore’s absurd line during a chaotic beach assault emphasizes his fixation on surfing.
- “WOLVERINES!” (Red Dawn, 1984)** – A rallying cry for teenage guerillas fighting Soviet invaders.
Ok, back to my review of the documentary:
The Writer Who Shaped Modern Hollywood
Joey Figueroa and Zak Knutson’s 102-minute doc”Milius” (2013) shows us how a USC film school misfit who scared his classmates became the go-to writer when Spielberg, Scorsese, and Coppola needed their heroes to sound legendary.
George Lucas says Milius was the real-life inspiration for Han Solo – a brash, fearless rogue who could charm and terrify Hollywood suits in equal measure.
While other writers pecked away in coffee shops, Milius kept a .45 on his desk and filled his office with weapons. He didn’t just write tough guys – he lived like one.
The doc tracks his rise from surfing-obsessed film student to the screenwriter behind some of cinema’s most quotable lines: “I love the smell of napalm in the morning,” “Do you feel lucky, punk?” and “Go ahead, make my day.”
The Warrior-Poet’s Greatest Hits (Jaws, Conan, Apocalypse et al)
His fingerprints are all over the movies that defined the 1970s and ’80s.
He gave Robert Shaw that bone-chilling USS Indianapolis monologue in Jaws.
He turned Arnold Schwarzenegger from a wooden newcomer into a star with Conan the Barbarian.
And when Francis Ford Coppola needed to make Apocalypse Now more epic, he called Milius.
Behind the Scenes of the Tough Guy Image
The doc reveals lesser-known sides of Milius that even hardcore film buffs might miss:
- He practiced Brazilian jiu-jitsu into his 60s and once challenged a champion to a match
- Reagan’s team secretly consulted him for Cold War speech writing
- He bet Dirty Harry’s producers a custom rifle that the movie would become a classic
- His daughter says he’d make up bedtime stories mixing Greek myths with history lessons
- His unfinished Genghis Khan script was supposed to make Braveheart look tiny
The Fall of a Giant
Success made Milius bolder, but his right-wing politics and larger-than-life personality started rubbing Hollywood the wrong way.
After Red Dawn in 1984, the jobs dried up. The real gut punch came in 2010 when a stroke robbed him of his ability to speak – a cruel fate for cinema’s most quotable writer.
Wrap Up
“Milius” is the best documentary about a Hollywood screenwriter I’ve seen.
It shows how one man’s wild personality and raw talent shaped modern movies (before Hollywood decided he was too much to handle).
The doc lets Milius’s friends and enemies tell his story – from Spielberg calling him “a warmonger who could write poetry” to studio execs admitting they were both terrified and impressed by him.
I love this guy!
Thanks for reading!
Rob Kelly, Chief Maniac, Daily Doc