Apocalypse Now (Three-Disc Full Disclosure Edition) (Apocalypse Now / Apocaly...

A warning to anybody who cares, I bought this Full Disclosure edition yesterday at HMV Megastore in Montreal. Here are the problems with the Canadian release (handled by Maple Pictures): it didn't come with the 48 page booklet (none do). Disc 1 and Disc 2 are mislabelled as Disc 2 and Disc 1(this error applies also to the 2 disc edition). Maple knows about the problems and have recalled both sets. It seems the corrected editions will be in stores next week, hopefully!
Another big problem is that both movies are missing the credit reels at the end of the movie. The movie disc label says 153 minutes and 202 minutes but they end up actually being 147 minutes and 196 minutes. weird...

I remembered seeing Apocalypse Now in 1979 when I was 14 and was completely blown away with this flick, so much so that I saw it four times over a two week period. The gloom and doom atmosphere, the brilliant Vittaro Storaro cinematography, the battle scenes which were choreographed like a madman's ballet and the journey up the Nung River with it's unexpected twists and turns, all made for a tour de force motion picture experience. This movie always remained a favorite of mine and cemented Coppola's standing amongst modern day directors. Sure, you have your George Lucas with a money making machine like Star Wars but Coppola took chances with his movies and experimented with different genres. The Full Disclosure Edition brings me back to 1979 as if I'm seeing the movie for the first time. Simply put, this movie looks beautiful, even on my 60 Hz flat screen. I can only imagine how it would look on a 120 Hz TV. Plus, this collection has everything a true fan of Apocalypse Now could ask for, the 1979 theatrical release, the 2003 Redux and one of the best documentaries of any movie, Hearts of Darkness: A Filmaker's Apocalypse, filmed by Coppola's wife Eleanor and is just as good and surreal as the actual movie. This is a must have Blu-Ray set for any collector.

This is exactly the collection that I've been hoping to find for years. Finally, it's available on Blu-Ray, but perhaps more importantly it includes both the original theatrical version of Apocalypse Now that's extremely hard to find on DVD, plus Apocalypse Now Redux, which is the longer version with additional scenes that were cut from the theatrical release. And that's just on the first disc!

Disc 2 is packed with extras, including interviews with Francis Ford Coppolla and John Milius, looking back at the film from thirty or so years later, plus the original radio broadcast version of Orson Welles's reading of Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness."

As if that's not enough, Disc 3 contains "Hearts of Darkness", the documentary of the making of the film, as it was being made, filmed and narrated by his wife Eleanor. It's the most powerful account I've seen of the difficulties involved in the making of a film. The stories of the problems with Martin Sheen's health and Marlon Brando's attitude, as well as the problems dealing with the Phillipine army are all covered in detail. After watching this feature length documentary, you'll wonder how the film was ever finished.

Altogether, it's probably the best boxed set collection ever released, and at the price it's actually a bargain compared to just buying the three films individually on DVD. I highly recommend it, and surely is a must-have for any serious film buff.