A DVD Review of...
Images (C) Miramax
Genre: Drama
Cast: Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Dennis Hopper, Laurence Fishburne, Harrison Ford
Synopsis: Directed by Francis Ford Coppola and based on the Joseph Conrad novel "Heart of Darkness" (though switching the location from 1930's Congo to 1960's Vietnam/Cambodia). This new 50-minute extended version still tracks the journey of Captain Willard (Sheen), a U.S. Army intelligence officer sent on a hazardous mission up river into Cambodia to terminate "with extreme prejudice" an American renegade colonel named Kurtz (Brando) who has spun out of control and out of his mind - now establishing himself as an almost god like figure in a jungle compound way up river. As the boat makes its way deeper into Cambodia, it also seems to surge deeper and deeper into a realm of illusory truth and total madness . . . and into the darkest shadows of the human heart.
Film Review: I may run a movie website but I'm not a movie geek, consequently there's a lot of great film classics I've yet to see - some by accident, others I'm purposely waiting for the re-release or DVD to see in their natural format. This was one of them. I've never been a big fan of war movies at all, usually because they're filled with empty patriotic flag waving and never really show the true horror of war - not the masses of bodies but the psychological damage such an environment inflicts on those caught up in the frenzy. I've been waiting months for this as I thought if I had to see it I want to see the director's cut. It was worth the wait - "Apocalypse Now Redux" is nothing short of brilliant. It may clock in at just over three hours and indeed has some slow patches, nevertheless its still nothing short of jaw dropping especially to those who haven't seen it before (or in a long time).
Performances all round from Ford's cameo at the beginning, Hopper's hippie like journo, Fishburne's young and eager boatman, the gun crazy helicopter leader General Duvall, and of course Sheen and Brando who are exceptional (I really like the boat pilot guy too). Coppola gives us a series of vignettes as the boat we're on travels up river. We start off with the more explosive and simply nutty sequence with Duvall and his choppers (which must've been expensive as hell), and then as we continue upwards each and every subsequent stop gets stranger and under your skin with its wierdness before we come to the last hour at the Kurtz compound. This is where things go off the rails and what was a great and cohesive story before slowly building with tension, comes to a halt. For two hours its been building up with every second that Kurtz, a military genius who at first was embraced by and then rejected the system, is a horrible man. When we get to him though we find a philosopher who spends most of his on-screen time basically sermonising or making wierd exostential theories. Film students no doubt love pondering the many meanings of this, but average film audiences become quite restless and want something more eye catching. Indeed from what I understand this 'Redux' does establish Kurtz's darker aspects better.
The new scenes certainly do add to the story by showing off even better the Vietnam War, not the brutality of it, rather the sheer pointlessness of it all - soldiers there not knowing what in the hell they were doing, others just desperate to get out however they can. The much talked about 'French Plantation' sequence some have criticised for slowing down the movie and yes while it does feel a little out of place, I thought the sequence fit perfectly and really forces the audience to think about the point of why in the world the US got involved in Vietnam at all - the romance/bed scene after it though is kind of useless. The score is wonderous, the production design solid and never overdone, and the cinematography is just wow. Forget your "Saving Private Ryan" or "Three Kings", when it comes to a movie about war this is a real masterpiece. - Garth Franklin
| "Apocalypse Now Redux" DVD Details In Brief (Region 1) Rating: R Runtime: 202mins Versions: 16:9 Enhanced Widescreen, 4:3 Letterboxed Aspect Ratio: 2.2: 1 Sound: Dolby Digital Surround 5.1 Language/Sub-Titles: English Clips: Theatrical Trailer Region 1 vs. Region 4: No Region 4 DVD Available. |
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DVD Review: While the film is brilliant the DVD is far from it. The film transfer is the only saving grace - the remastered video looks beautiful on screen - colors rich, edges just right, clarity, etc. all dead on though its a little too sharp in some scenes. The sound also kicks ass - the Ride of the Valkyries theme combined with the gunfire sequence goes blitzkrieg in surround - one of the best transfers Paramount home video has done. Sadly the rest of the disc aint so great - sure we've got the great trailer, but that's it - this was a release begging for a commentary track, deleted scenes (such as the multiple endings), documentaries with filmmaker interviews, more trailers and TV spots from both versions, hell even a branching ability to play both versions of the film. Sadly none of that is here. Its an amazing movie that's worth getting, but as the DVD is severely lacking I'd be more keen on hiring it rather than buying it. - Garth Franklin
Extras Score:
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