DVD Review HTF Review: Apocalypse Now: The Complete Dossier (1 Viewer)

[Jim Peavy]

Hey, me too. Really would like the Kurtz-compound-destruction footage, esp. Got my set from deepdiscount before I knew of the Circuitous City bonus disc. :^(

 

[Dave Mack]

Yeah, the FREE Bonus Disc that they wanted to charge me $2.00 more for! Read my experience in the other thread. Happened to others as well. Argued for several minutes and even had to get a manager involved...

 

[Mark_TS]

Didnt realize I paid $14.99 until I got home-and didnt lose any sleep over owning a probably now unavailable bonus disc for an extra budget-busting $2.00.

 

[Brett_M]

The disc has the same artwork as the two other discs in the set. Mine came in a paper sleeve inside the digipack. (The discs are set just like The Matrix SEs btw).

 

[Miki<>C]

I WAS OVERCHARGED AND THEN WENT BACK TO CC TO ADJUST.

 

[Jonathon M]

Caps Lock much?

 

[Adam_WM]

I watched Apocalypse Now only once a few years ago and don't really have much memory of it. I would like to watch it again for the "first time". Should I watch the regular or the redux? ANy thoughts?

 

[Peter Raber]

I bought it from CC online on wednesday as there is no CC in my area. Somehow I doubt I will be getting the bonus disc. Still, I have been waiting for this release as I only have Redux, which I wanted when it first came out, but after watching it was sorely disappointed. I can definitely see why every scene was cut out. I found them all to be unnecessary and wound up having the movie grind along so slowly.

I am looking forward to seeing the original again and hearing FFC talk about it.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

"Regular". Follow it with the - IMO inferior - Redux. I definitely think Redux will be more interesting - albeit perhaps in a bad way - after seeing 1979...

 

[Kevin M]

I strongly agree that if it is to be a first viewing of Apocalypse Now then make it the 1979 original version, the added footage in Redux is interesting but not as powerful as the first version.
For just one example, the moment after Kilgore says "...someday this war is going to end..." had a perfect reaction from Willard and a cut to the river, the "comedy" in the Redux version was nice but the stunned look on Sheen's face in the original version is perfect and thought provoking IMO and is only undercut and weakened by the added footage....that's my opinion anyway.

 

[Dan Hitchman]

Redux is an interesting example of how directors change over the years, and perhaps not in a good way. It's an exercise in placing a bunch of cut footage back in that, for the most part, was rightly excised in the first place. Copolla of the 70's was brilliant, Copolla now: eh...

The best example is the French plantation sequence. It stops...the movie...dead. No reason for it. The tone of the movie is broken. It also completely destroys the lone warrior character that Sheen masterfully creates. Then after the French sequence it's business as ususal, as if it never took place.

As long as the original theatrical cut is still going to be released (uh, hem... Lucas, Spielberg??) I'll be happy. Oh, and one day I hope Copolla allows the original scope framing to be re-instated. I've seen clips of the 2.35:1 framing and it's MUUUUUUUUCH better, and I'm not even a DP.

 

[willyTass]

(sigh) I worry that my son , might not be able to see this movie as it was intended to be....

 

[Jonathon M]

Well seeing as the director and cinematographer have intended you to see both the original cut and the redux cut at a specific aspect ratio, I'd say your son will get to see it how they intend.

 

[richardWI]

Copolla's commentary is awesome. He covers so many different areas of the making of the film and it was good to hear his logic for putting certain scenes back in.

Having said that, I still dislike Redux. It loses the plot and momentum of the original. The French plantation sequence feels forced and just doesn't work. The scene with Kurtz in broad daylight with the children takes the cake, it loses all the strange shadowy mystery that had been set up and makes the later shadowy scenes with him less scary. Copp even says something to the effect of it was put in because it was more Brando. Sometimes less is more.

 

[willyTass]

No, as in 2.35:1

Plus I think you missed the lampoon side of my statement

 

[Peter Neski]

"I've seen clips of the 2.35:1 framing and it's MUUUUUUUUCH better, and I'm not even a DP."


Storaro cropped this when 16x9 wasn't even availble,it was for laser
,while I don't agree making the image some what bigger and a little sharper
you can almost understand him redesigning the image.
But that was years ago,We now have 16x9 and HD Dvds,It just just seems
like a real mistake,Watching the Storaro shot Ladyhawke in 16x9 ,and it
looks as sharp as Apocalypse does,and its 2.35:1
You just can't redesign shots after the fact,I understand that some prints
were 2.2 but thats not 1.9.

The problem is having seen the film in the Theatre over 14 times,plus seeing
Redux,You are getting a Home Video Version that is missing something!

 

[RATLSNAKE]

Does anyone know whether this will be released in other regions?

Being Australian obviously I'd like an R4 release, however R2 would be fine, as I'd at least prefer a PAL release.

 

[Peter Raber]

I just got my Circuity City package today. Sadly, no bonus disc was included. You'd think online purchasers would not have to lose out on the bonus disc, but apparently we do. It's not really annoying, just irksome to know that I bought it from the store that was giving away the bonus disc, yet I did not get it.

Oh well, the movie is the important thing and the 1979 is THE ONE for me. Redux is a waste of time.

 

[Josh Steinberg]

Even if you don't like Redux, I would say it's worth watching Redux with the commentary track. The 1979 version has the same commentary track, but with portions covering the Redux portions of the film edited out. It's a fascinating track.. in fact, if you don't like Redux as much as the original or not at all, you still might find it very interesting to hear Coppola talking about the new footage. I know I did. He talks a lot about why specific decisions were made to not include certain scenes in 1979, and why they were put back in 2001, and it really is fascinating to follow the thought process.

I liked Redux, but I like the 1979 version more. Of course, I did get to see Redux in theaters, and to see Apocalypse Now in any version theatrically was well worth it. I'm really glad to have both in one package. I wonder what I might have thought about the Redux version if I had seen that first. I guess I'll never know. (If I have kids, the poor suckers are gonna be guinea pigs for this stuff. Show one kid the Star Wars movies, the original non-special edition versions and then the prequels, and then show the other kid the prequels and the special editions in that order, and see who likes it better. I guess I can do that with Apocalypse when they get older. Though there's probably no one on earth who would both a) want to marry me AND b) take part in this experiment!)

 

[JohnRice]

Has Hearts of Darkness ever been released on DVD?