Apocalypse Now Redux

amazing movie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

one seriously amazing movie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Here We Go Again and Again and Again and...

There is something completely fraudulent about the newer breed of film director. Led by the self-proclaimed geniuses/visionaries/legends Steven Spielberg, George Lucas (never has one man gone so far on the stolen ideas of others), Ridley Scott and Francis Ford Coppola, we are experiencing something called the neverending film; in other words, a film that the public will never see a "final cut" of as these mercilessly fussy filmmakers forever fiddle with their movies, adding, subtracting and imposing every new technology to patchwork what has already be viewed and reviewed in different permutations over and over again. The question then becomes: doesn't this constant fiddling define these fellows as creative failures as their incessant tinkering is an admission that they were artistically unsuccessful in the first place? "Apocalypse Now Redux" is the latest affront at the audience, and a minefield for those dishonest critics who hated the original film but then with sterling hindsight will declare the new version a brilliant reimagining of the original "masterpiece". Well, the new "Apocalypse Now Redux" is neither a brilliant reimagining (it is only needlessly longer and extends existing scenes to the point where the whole sequence looks like an inappropriate outtake)nor any relation to a masterpiece. The original "Apocalypse Now" was a bloated but fragmentally interesting war picture that took a long time to reveal it had nothing to say. This in itself is an achievement as the mindless waste of tens of millions of dollars of resources without an intelligent focus is symptomatic of either insanity or creative irresponsibility: neither a characteristic to brag about. "Redux" reveals many more problems with the original picture rather than contributing to a more cohesive vision. For instance, with the new extensions Robert Duvall's Col. Kilgore is portrayed as a foolish cartoon, psychotic to the point of discarding the rest of the picture's dramatic arc,(certainly rendering the flabby-in more than one sense-performance of Brando as Kurtz irrelevant to the film's purported themes) and needlessly exploiting his interest in surfing to the point of tedium. More footage extends the ridiculous Playmate U.S.O. sequence adding a longer useless sequence involving the rape of one of the Bunnies. Most needless is an almost forty minute sequence at a French plantation that serves to present Kindergarten level discussions about French and American Imperialism while being indifferently shot, written and acted with a sound mix that further muffles the impenetrable accents making the entire sequence unintelligible. The new cut also exposes the weaknesses of the film's performances, emphasizing how uninteresting the boat crew is, how monotonous Martin Sheen is and how totally unexplainable Dennis Hopper is. By tinkering with the original cut, which tightened every sequence to it's barest essential, there was an excuse to define several meaningless episodes as part of a larger abstract design, but with this fuller cut, it is unmistakable that most of these sequences are creative flab; included merely because the footage was shot. The film is still visually arresting but that is small consolation; it's like being locked in a hotel suite that's lavishly appointed but filled with an acrid stench: neither is something you'd want to revisit.

3hrs 50 min for this??

Very bad movie, i spent so much time looking how time went so slowly. I do not recommend this movie.

My respect and admiration for Mr. Coppola is of the highest order.

Marlon Brando is excellent as Col. Kurtz and I can't think of any other actor that could have played the good man gone insane and hold such screen presence. Sheen, as Willard, is fantastic in here also, especially his narration, which runs throughout. It's one of the best narrations, if not the best, I have ever heard in a movie. His voice is just haunting as he relates his thoughts on this incredible, nightmare-like adventure. We can identify with his questioning of his mission and the war in general. My favorite character in the movie has to be Robert Duvall's Lt. Colonel Kilgore who “Hoorah!” about the war. Before this film I never pictured Duvall as a wartime cowboy but honestly it's my favorite of his parts to date. He simply nailed his character, which is one of the best in the entire film, as the gung-ho Air Cavalry commander who loves to surf. Maybe a little over the top but he portrayed that role very well. The plot is a fairly simple one and it doesn't take too much brainpower to figure out what's going on. Willard's mission is to kill Kurtz, plain and simple. But it's the journey of the film that is really its heart and also the dire situations of war itself. In the Redux version we are forced to sit through the extended French plantation scene and the Playboy bunny scene which really adds nothing to the film's entirety other than it makes it a longer journey. I don't feel they take away anything though it's just a matter of if you want to watch a three and a half hour movie or the original. Through this journey, the film points out the utter futility and irrelevance of the war to the Americans and the massive affect it had on the soldier who fought in it...in fact, that’s the entire point. On top of that, the troops were not supported by the public and that could very well have helped cause a character like Kurtz' to go completely mad. A big war movie lover, this one is up there with ‘Platoon’ and ‘The Deer Hunter,’ all of them classics. All three have their own strengths and add their own twist to the Vietnam War....so to really say one is better than the other is fairly pointless...even if after having most recently view and I think it's a tad better. In the end, ‘Apocalypse Now’ (1979) is a true classic in either version and worthy of the status it's been given. It’s is one of the most ambitious films ever made and a great ending for a golden decade of American cinema.

Not your usual Mississippi steamboat ride

Probably the best war movie ever made, IMO the best movie ever made period, FFC's Apocalypse Now is a pure psychological illustration. Brought under severe emotional and mental stress, the human mind becomes a leech, in which it latches onto something and sucks it dry. Being so unaccustomed to being strictly independent, one person must divert themselves to the complete and total contemplation on one subject. It works a lot like a backup power source--we rely on one single thing and hope with all our faith it will save us. In this case, it involves a young, curious marine boat captain named Marlow, flawlessly played by Martin Sheen, and his subject is one Alexander Kurtz, a marooned officer targeted for termination, appropriately played by Marlon Brando. As you may know, war has nothing to do with war, but the people who take part in it, for that is all war is. Focusing more on the soldiers [not so much as does Platoon] than the combat, AN tells the story of Marlow and his crew, in first and third person, and their spoils and toils. War: the real first season of Survivor! Symbolism plays a part as well, as the lowering number of Marlow's teammates corresponds with his mind's focus on Kurtz, and his eventual enfatuation and shard of love for him. The picking off of Marlow's crew is elaborate, as most of them die due to their ignorance and/or free spirit. This shows how the real emotions and dispositions of fighting soldiers have more to do with their battle than do their orders and sometimes even duty. Seeing live coverage on your T.V., you wouldn't be able to assume that, but soldiers do have free mentalities that acutally interfere. I have heard a few people call this movie 'disturbing', but I don't see how, it's a completely honest, real story.

A True War Movie

Very good movie by Coppola. In this movie he shows us that he is very versatile and can direct any kind of movie. The cast is really good and the movie is one of the best war movies period.

Apocalypse Now Redux (the lame version)

This movie should be seen as an alternate version only - not the definitive movie experience. If you loved the original movie and must have this version, then buy it. On the other hand, anyone who hasn¿t seen the original movie would be ill advised to view this one first. It is simply overly long, drawn out, even boring at times. In my opinion, the original is a vastly better movie with great pacing and rhythm. These virtues are lost in the hour of additional footage of Redux.

Total Madness

I was totaly amazed at the origional film. I then watched the documentary on the filming of AN, and I was equaly amazed. In the documentary, brought to life were many aspects of the movie which could have been improved. I thought to myself, how can this be improved? its an awsome movie! Then it was inproved. Im in awe of the craftmanship.

Apocalypes Now. The good version

After having seen this version of the classic Vietnam war film, I feel that the other one doesn't exist. This one makes a lot more sense and it is a Francis Ford Coppola fan's dream. The Coppola classic contains 50 mintutes of never-before-seen footage, which explains a lot more about Willards mission and Kurtz's decent into madness.

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