Apocalypse Now Redux DVD

Average Rating:

The story itself is as intriguing as it is original (although Apocalypse Now does owe its basic origins to Joseph Conrad?s haunting novel, The Heart of Darkness). Colonel Kurtz, played brilliantly by an extremely frightening Marlon Brando, has gone insane. Kurtz is one of the most highly trained and decorated American soldiers in the entire army, a Green Beret who is a veritable encyclopedia when it comes to covert operations. However, Kurtz, frustrated with an army strategy rife with deadly inconsistencies, decides to fight the war on his own. Along with various other special operations soldiers and thousands of Montagnard natives, Kurtz has carved out his own private fiefdom in the deep jungle, where terror and madness reigns.

To rectify this situation, the Army tasks tough but disturbed Captain Willard, played with somber brilliance by Martin Sheen. Willard is our narrator as we move upriver, into the heart of madness. Willard is to find Kurtz, and dispatch him, with ?extreme prejudice?. Accompanying him on the mission will be the crew of a navy patrol boat.

As their journey continues, Willard and the crew share experiences that test all of them, and force the viewer to confront some really deep and complex questions. The best river episode comes when Willard meets with Colonel Kilgore, whose brash action but heroic demeanor gives him the air of a frontier cavalryman. Kilgore, personified by the award winning Robert Duvall, leads the famous ?Wagner Assault? that for many is the hallmark of this film. As the crew continues farther upriver, their experiences become more and more disturbing. Sheen?s narration is intense and fascinating, as his own psyche is tested by the increasing hardship. He, along with the viewer, begin to understand Kurtz in a way. As Willard finally encounters Kurtz and his followers, we are treated to some of the best dialogues between characters on film. Brando?s subdued madness and shear violence are just mind blowing, and the performance is pulled off brilliantly. The ending is the epitome of human madness and destruction, as Kurtz and Willard face off in the dramatic showdown.

Redux makes Apocalypse Now complete in many ways. By adding such scenes as the French plantation, more dialogue with Kurtz, and the Playboy bunny episode, the movie has a richer, more mental side. It goes further, studying the themes of war, civilization, and Vietnam itself. Apocalypse Now has always been one of my all time favorite movies, but Redux takes it to another level entirely. One of the best movies of all time, with wonderful performances, and an amazing soundtrack by the Doors.

Before I continue, it's worth noting that "Redux" isn't your typical directors cut, where new footage is simply just shoved into the film. Coppola and editor Walter Murch created an entirely new cut of the film using the original negatives. The film has also been beautifully restored using Technicolor dye-transfer prints, giving the film the Technicolor look of movies from the 40's and 50's. The colors are vibrant, rich, lush and blacks and truly black. "Apocalypse Now" was always one of the most beautifully photographed films and this new transfer helps justify that. The Cinematographer Vittorio Storaro said he cried when he saw the transfer. The remasterd sound is also spectacular. Murch has done an excellent job of putting the audience in the jungle. Now back to the film.

The first bit a new footage was an extension of the last scene with Robert Duvall's character, Lt. Kilgore. After giving his famous napalm speech Kilgore is informed that the waves at the beech aren't going to be as big as he expected because the napalm strike has disturbed the wind. This is a nice little touch showing the cause and the effect of the US's actions; no matter what they do, there is a negative effect. After that, Martin Sheen's character Willard, steels Kilgore's surfboard. This was another nice addition. The original version always lacked scenes of Willard before his transformation from going up the river. The scene also helped reinforce the relationship Willard has with the men on the boat; they of course all get a kick out of what Willard does.

The next big addition is the Playboy Bunny scene. This scene helps show how the war has even dehumanized sex. Lance (Sam Bottoms) is in a mud filled tent and is painting the face of the bunny he is with. I thought it was great how Coppola showed how dirty sex had become. Meanwhile, Chef (Frederic Forrest) is transforming the bunny he is with into another bunny by having her wear a wing and pose the same way this other bunny did in her spread. This was a masterful way of showing how incredibly impersonal sex has become.

The last big addition I'll talk about is the infamous French Plantation scene. The scene started off well, but slowly went down hill. In the first part of it, the French help Willard and the men conduct a funeral for Clean (Fishburne). The men do their best job to conduct a funeral, but it's not exactly up to what a typical army funeral is. There's some great imagery in there, like the small shredded American flag which is used. The funeral scene also makes a great comparison to how Chief (Albert Hall) death is handled. By that time in the film, they are so far up the river that the Army's and American values have vanished; Lance is having a fun time with the body (the body's final resting place is the river, not the earth) while Willard and Chief are totally preoccupied.

The plantation scene also helped reinforce the going back in time theme, something which came up a lot in "Heart of Darkness" but never panned out so well in the '79 version of "AP".

After the funeral there is a dinner scene with the plantation heads, and this is where things go down hill. There is just way too much dialogue in this scene and Coppola's intentions are quite transparent. The French basically give a recap of the West's involvement in Vietnam and then talk specifically about the US's presence there. It was like Coppola was saying "Incase you don't know what the film is about and why the US are the bad guys in this war..." Worst of all the scene dragged out and hurt the pacing of the film. Coppola spent the last two hours communicating his anti war message visually and suddenly he just had someone blurt it all.

There's some new stuff at the Kurtz compound, nothing too important but it helps give us some more time to take in the last 3rd of the film; again helping to reduce that rushed feeling.

The end still doesn't quite work, but there is no way to fix this. The Vietnam war had no real ending, there was no climax, there wasn't one last big battle. The US simply accepted it was a war which couldn't be won and pulled out. The ending actually reflects this fairly well. Once the mad Colonel Kurtz is killed, Willard walks down to the boat, leading Lance out, who has become totally wrapped up in the madness. They then peacefully go back down the river. While something like one last battle would have given the film more of a sense of finality, that wouldn't have been staying true to the war.

Overall, "Apocalypse Now - Redux" is an extraordinary film. Coppola never wastes a even a single frame (well there was the dinner scene...) Since this film was made, I don't think anyone has ever asked so much of the audience.

Though it has been a number of years since I last saw the theatrical version, I could tell immediately that this version is the definitive one. The characters and their relationships are further explored and flushed out, and the journey down the river by a soldier (Martin Sheen) on his way to assassinate a renegade general (Marlon Brando) really feels epical. Full of beautifully photographed scenes matched with precision by a great soundtrack (the opening scene alone is worth seeing the film), it's hard not to get caught up in the movie. This is just as much a quest film as a war film, and the additional scenes help this incredibly.

The only drawback is the addition of the French Plantation sequence, which occurs near the end and grinds the momentum to a halt. A long dinner scene with Frenchmen has little to do with the plot line of the film. Just when the film should be building up to the end confrontation, it takes this leisurely detour.

But despite this, the film still manages to be incredibly powerful. It tops my list of favorite war films I've seen, and could very well be the best in history. This expanded version should not be missed by any film connoisseur.