Customer Reviews

Apocalypse Now Redux

5 star:		(264)
4 star:		(72)
3 star:		(46)
2 star:		(23)
1 star:		(29)

 

 

I think the original version of Apocalypse Now is vastly superior to the needlessly long Redux, although the additional scenes of the latter (the French plantation, Playboy bunnies, Willard stealing the surfboard) are interesting in and of themselves. So now we can have both, in a single, bargain-priced and handsomely packaged edition. As with most DVDs, the bonus deleted scenes are pretty much a waste of time, although they do help a person understand the choices Coppola made in editing, and in that sense, it really drives home the magnitude of his achievement in creating the original masterpiece. I don't like that the movie is broken into two parts; why couldn't they have put the original on one disc, and Redux on the other? But then again, in a long movie most people have to take a bathroom break at some point anyway, and the sampan massacre is an appropriately dramatic scene with which to end part one. All told, The Apocalypse Now Complete Dossier 2-disc special edition is well worth buying.

I absolutly wish to God they had not relesed this version of the classic "Apocalypse Now". The basic story is still the same; Cpt Willard (Martin Sheen) is send up river to find and assasinate Col. Kurtz (Marlon Brando) after he acts against regulor Army rules of conduct. Now instead of two hours and twenty minutes that is perfectly paced and feels tight, we now have a well over three hour opus that is wildly and out of control. For the most part, all the scenes deserved to be cut in the first place. While leaving Kilgore's (Robert Duvall) battle, Willard steals a surf board, and Kilgore chases after him for while. It is a funny sequence, but useless. Another is where Willard arranges to have his boat crew have sex with Playboy bunnies in exchange for a couple of drums of fuel. Absolutly pointless. There is a very long sequence where Willard stops in a French plantation/outpost where he meets a woman, falls in lust with some woman with a little heroin. Once again, pointless. Then the end, Willard's time with Kurtz is fleshed out. Now this part is interesting, where Kurtz reads Time Life issues about American involvment in Vietnam. That was pretty good. All in all, it was a bad idea to relese this movie with all the scens included. Just watch the original, it is so mush better.

Back before Charlie Sheen had made it to Vietnam in his own film and before Martin Sheen became President, there was this film, Apocalypse Now. The history of the film is as fascinating as the characters who comprise the film (both on and off screen), as is also true of the subject matter -- the controversial and star-crossed venture of America into the dense jungles of southeast Asia.

While the director, Francis Ford Coppola, will be remembered for his involvement in many major films (such as American Grafitti, the Godfather series), this film will most likely be the most enduring not only of his works, but also of American war films. There is a darkness, an eerie mystery that is woven throughout the tale of Captain Willard (Sheen) going into the jungle on a mission he can't tell anyone about, and as we come to learn, this is not merely because he is sworn to secrecy, but discovers that he himself doesn't know what is happening much of the time. Even as confused and mysterious as the war seemed to the American people (and, as it turns out, the American government), it was no more clear to the soldiers in-country, many of whom developed their own sense of loyalty, community and hierarchies of significance quite independent of the leadership's intentions or the overall war strategies. Colonel Kurtz has taken off in deep inland areas, and set himself up as a tribal leader and godlike figure for the indigenous peoples, over and against the invaders, who were more the Americans than anyone else. Willard task was to eliminate Kurtz, but falls under the spell of both the jungle and Kurtz's megalomanical personality. The crew accompanying Willard gets killled off one by one during the journey and at the camp, until it becomes an epic battle of the spirit, as confused and as ferocious as the Vietnam war itself.

This is a film full of stars in minor roles -- Harrison Ford, Robert Duvall (whose line 'I love the smell of napalm in the morning' is perhaps the quintessential quotable-quote of the film), Dennis Hopper, Laurence Fishburn -- even an uncredited R. Lee Ermey ('Full Metal Jacket') appears, as does a cameo by Coppola himself. Of course, virtually every role in the film is minor save two, that of Sheen (as Captain Williard) and Marlon Brando (as the prey, or is it hunter, Colonel Kurtz).

The Redux version is nearly an hour longer than the 'original' cut, already a long film at 2 1/2 hours. This one comes in a hour longer, with footage that fills the gaps in the plot of the original, including an important section at a country villa that the original colonials, the French, never gave up in the generla retreat from the country.

The effects are dark and foreboding, spectacular without being overdone or unrealistic. From the relentless trip up river to the blowing of the bridge and the air strikes, everything seems both real and unreal, as is often reported about actual combat from experienced soldiers. That the film won best Oscars for cinematography and sound attests to the quality here, which the DVD experience enhances. The film was also nominated for best film, best supporting actor (Duvall), and director (among other categories), and won numerous awards around the world in other venues.

The inspiration from Joseph Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness' is clear -- the war's absurdity has driven everyone mad -- the French villa's inhabitants demonstrate a gentle and sad insanity, Kurtz exhibits the rebellious dictatorial insanity, Willard the establishment insanity, and all around are mad in their own rights. This is a journey into hell, but one discovers that hell was also the starting point. There is no redemption here, and the ending, while more clear and explicit in this Redux version, still leaves the viewer wanting explanations that, much like those for the war itself, simply do not exist. The horsemen of the apocalypse, bringing disease and war and death, virtually gallop through this film.

To watch this film is not to understand the war, but perhaps one will appreciate it better. Every war is an apocalypse; every war represents the end to peace and hope. Yet there is a world on the other side for those who will survive -- the question becomes, who wants to survive to remember?

Director Francis Ford Coppola shot some two hundred hours of film to create APOCALYPSE NOW, and even though the 1979 version clocked in at just short of three hours at 153 minutes Coppola complained that it did not fully present the film as he himself saw it. APOCALYPSE NOW REDUX adds 49 minutes of previously cut footage, giving the film a final running time of just over three and a half hours at 202 minutes. According to DVD notes, the additions involve fourteen never-before-seen scenes.

But does this make for a better movie than the original cut? Loosely based on the famous Joseph Conrad novella "The Heart of Darkness," APOCALYPSE NOW was both widely praised and widely condemned in 1979. Transposing the Conrad tale from Colonial Africa to the height of the American war in Vietnam, it offered the story of a Special Ops captain (Martin Sheen) who is sent upriver into Cambodia to assassinate a general (Marlon Brando) who has gone insane and created a savage personal fiefdom in the midst of the jungle.

The additional footage does not undercut the original film's highly praised assets, but neither do they actually resolve any of the original film's flaws. All the sequences are interesting (and the scenes with the French Colonials most particularly so) but they do not change the tone or clarify the intent of the film. This is a particular disappointment re a scene with Marlon Brando near the end of the film: although it does give you a better idea of the character's motivations, it does not cast Brando's performance (which is extremely weak) in a better light nor does it resolve what many have called an extremely awkward and very anticlimactic conclusion.

It comes down to this, really. If you are a great fan of APOCALYPSE NOW, you will certainly want to add REDUX to your collection. If you like the film, you may be interested, but you're likely to watch the film--but you're also likely to find it overlong. And if you never liked it to begin with, this re-cut won't change your opinion. A further word of caution: with the exception of a trailer, there are no extras of any kind, and you may want to hold out for a possible future multi-disk release.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

Can anyone really believe that Francis Ford Coppola wanted this film to be an unmercifully drole three stooges comedy?
Was it only the editor's work that formed a soul-numbing drama out of frivolous and meandering vignettes of military life in Viet Nam?
This version cannot be supported by reasonable film-making concepts. It fails the test of a 'redux' work; if a new viewer has not seen the 'original', this film is a disappointment and engenders no lingering respect.
My advice is to hold on to your VHS original version, even have it transferred to DVD if you can, because it is the version with the most cinematic power. The only improvement 'Redux' can provide is in the soundtrack.

"Apocalypse Now Redux" is an extended version of the 1979 classic "Apocalypse Now"; in this version, the director Francis Ford Coppola added 49 minutes of footage that was deleted in the original release. There are two major new segments and new little bits that help to understand better the surreal story of the film. The little bits of scenes are great and sure make the movie more pleasant. However, the scenes with the playboy bunnies doesn't help too much in the narrative and the pace of the film, perhaps they should have been trimmed a little bit for better results. But the segment of the french plantation is just horrible, pointless and boring, the director should have kept these scenes on the editing room once again.

However, "Apocalypse Now Redux" is a good addition to any movie collection, the picture and the sound quality are very good, and the movie by itself it's a fascinating classic, the great parts outnumber the flawed scenes; perhaps the longer segments doesn't help too much, but at least contribute to understand better the story. There are very few extras on this DVD, but as I say before, the movie by itself is worth the money. If you liked the original "Apocalypse Now", give a chance to this new version, if you haven't seen this movie yet, start with the original, and if you like it, go get "Apocalypse Now Redux". Absolutely recommendable to every one who loves the classic movies.

Coppola should have stayed away from the cutting room floor. This "redux" is an extremely poor attempt. I can only guess that Coppola needs the money. If I could sue him for littering upon my DVD, I would.

Let me begin with saying that apocalypse now is one of my all time favorite movies so i was excited when i saw that they had rereleased it and then i saw in and now know why the scenes included in this version were deleted in the first place, because they take away from the continuity of the story line to me they became a destraction and towards the end were just plain annoying. You cannot improve on perfecton as this DVD proves so save some money and just buy the original.

The added 49 minutes of footage to Apocalypse Now helps to develope the characters more and give a better feeling to the movie. The movie is now less direct but explores the themes of insanity further.

The earlier added scene showing the soldiers stealing Kilgores surfboard shows Willard joking with the crew, and shows how normal they are at this point and how together. this makes the crews descendance into insanity more remarkable later on and more pronounced.

The French plantation sequence helps show the effects of war from a different viewpoint, and breaks away from the action for a while. It also shows a more caring side to Willard and makes his character more real.

Although the movie is now less of a straight action movie, that was never what it was about anyway. You could argue it is pretentious but it looks at the philosophy of war much more effectively than most all action Vietnam movies, and the extended scenes with Brando at the end really help to explain the film better.

In all, Apocalypse Now redux makes a movie which almost fits, work perfectly. Definately the best Vietnam movie ever made, and worth buying even if you have the original.

It was good but it is even better now. Shocking, futuristic and realistic at the same time. Simply the best.