Apocalypse Now (1979) (1 Viewer)

[Jeffrey D]

So this upcoming release to 4K/HDR will be the theatrical version, and the Redux version won’t be included? The Redux is too long anyway.

 

[Robert Crawford]

I remember seeing this film in a movie theater back in Champaign, Illinois on its opening night. I just started my new job at the company I eventually retired from. The theater was packed, but the memory of Robert Duvall's performance and that battle sequence when they attacked that Viet Cong village still resonates for me.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

So this upcoming release to 4K/HDR will be the theatrical version, and the Redux version won’t be included? The Redux is too long anyway.

Well, what appears to have been given the 4K massage is the theatrical cut of the picture. So, too soon to say what Lionsgate will release but there seems to be no indication at this time that they also 4K-ed the Redux cut.

The mystery as it stands right now is why did they name this new 4K restoration "The Final Cut" if in fact it is just the theatrical cut? If what this Jeff Wells character says is accurate...as his claim is that is what this is, just a dolled up version of the theatrical cut.

Seems it will look wonderful when it arrives but I don't know if what they will do for the home release will be to take everything in the blu-ray box and put that in a 4K box. I mean if what Coppola did all this "new work" on was the theatrical, why bother tossing in all the "old work" from the Redux "complete dossier" blu?

Frankly, there will likely be a lot of complaining either way as now that the Redux cut exists there are likely people that feel that is now the definitive cut of the film and will feel "ripped off" that also did not get a brand new 4K tuxedo.

I like the Redux cut, thought it was a huge event when it came out, but if the question is did the longer cut improve the film, my answer would be no. It made it stranger and dreamier but I did not find it made the film better. I am very happy it exists and I think it is a fascinating work but it is not The Big Red One...which is a far better film in the longer version and needs a blu-ray supporting that.

 

[Sam Favate]

I suppose this is not unlike what happened with Close Encounters and Blade Runner. Both of those had the theatrical release, followed by a special edition, and ultimately a final cut on blu-ray. Like those films, I hope AN gets a definitive home video release.

BTW, I agree with Reggie about the Redux cut. It's very interesting and I'm glad we have it to see, but I prefer the original version of the film.

 

[benbess]

There is yet another cut of Apocalypse Now that no one seems to mention, but was the cut I saw in the theater in California 1979. It's the theatrical until the very end, when after Martin Sheen escapes, and then the apocalypse of bombing/napalm seems to happens as the end credits run. Call me crazy but I like that cut the best, I guess because it's what I saw in the theaters in 1979.

 

[Colin Jacobson]

There is yet another cut of Apocalypse Now that no one seems to mention, but was the cut I saw in the theater in California 1979. It's the theatrical until the very end, when after Martin Sheen escapes, and then the apocalypse of bombing/napalm seems to happens as the end credits run. Call me crazy but I like that cut the best, I guess because it's what I saw in the theaters in 1979.

Maybe it's nitpicking, but I don't think people really see that as a different cut. It is, technically, but since it's just the end credits that differ, I think it's viewed more as a minor variation than a true "different cut" of the film...

 

[benbess]

Maybe it's nitpicking, but I don't think people really see that as a different cut. It is, technically, but since it's just the end credits that differ, I think it's viewed more as a minor variation than a true "different cut" of the film...

The different ending really affected my viewing of the film, which is I understand is why FFC took it out. All the other times I've watched it it's felt incomplete to me since my first viewing, but probably that's just me....

 

[Lord Dalek]

The Kurtz Compound destruction was not "taken out". It was put in by United Artists without FFC's consent or approval.

 

[bujaki]

The Kurtz Compound destruction was not "taken out". It was put in by United Artists without FFC's consent or approval.

Correct. It was not in the print I saw at the Ziegfeld during its original run. I was also given a printed program for the credits on exiting the theater.

 

[cinemiracle]

There is yet another cut of Apocalypse Now that no one seems to mention, but was the cut I saw in the theater in California 1979. It's the theatrical until the very end, when after Martin Sheen escapes, and then the apocalypse of bombing/napalm seems to happens as the end credits run. Call me crazy but I like that cut the best, I guess because it's what I saw in the theaters in 1979.

There were no credits at the end in the version that I saw in 70mm in Paris in 1979. Nor were there any credits on other 70mm versions that I saw. I understand that it was the Directpr's choice that no credits be shown . A first for a film. A list of the credits were given out to patrons at the end of the movie,I seem to recall.

 

[benbess]

The ending of Apocalypse Now with credits....

 

[benbess]

from wikipedia....

"At the time of its release, discussion and rumors circulated about the supposed various endings for Apocalypse Now. Coppola said the original ending was written in haste, where Kurtz convinced Willard to join forces and together they repelled the air strike on the compound. Coppola said he never fully agreed with the Kurtz and Willard dying in fatalistic explosive intensity, preferring to end the film in a more encouraging manner.

When Coppola originally organized the ending, he considered two significantly different ends to the movie. One involved Willard leading Lance by the hand as everyone in Kurtz's base throws down their weapons, and ends with images of Willard piloting the PBR slowly away from Kurtz's compound, this final scene superimposed over the face of a stone idol, which then fades into black. The other option showed an air strike being called and the base being blown to bits in a spectacular display, consequently killing everyone left within it.

The original 1979 70mm exclusive theatrical release ended with Willard's boat, the stone statue, then fade to black with no credits, save for '"Copyright 1979 Omni Zoetrope"' right after the film ends. This mirrors the lack of any opening titles and supposedly stems from Coppola's original intention to "tour" the film as one would a play: the credits would have appeared on printed programs provided before the screening began.[61]

There have been, to date, many variations of the end credit sequence, beginning with the 35mm general release version, where Coppola elected to show the credits superimposed over shots of the jungle exploding into flames.[61] Rental prints circulated with this ending, and can be found in the hands of a few collectors. Some versions of this had the subtitle "A United Artists release", while others had "An Omni Zoetrope release". The network television version of the credits ended with "... from MGM/UA Entertainment Company" (the film made its network debut shortly after the merger of MGM and UA). One variation of the end credits can be seen on both YouTube and as a supplement on the current Lionsgate Blu-ray.

Later when Coppola heard that audiences interpreted this as an air strike called by Willard, Coppola pulled the film from its 35 mm run and put credits on a black screen. However, the "air strike" footage continued to circulate in repertory theaters well into the 1980s, and it was included in the 1980s LaserDisc release. In the DVD commentary, Coppola explains that the images of explosions had not been intended to be part of the story; they were intended to be seen as completely separate from the film. He had added the explosions to the credits as a graphic background to the credits.[62]

Coppola explained he had captured the now-iconic footage during demolition of the sets (set destruction and removal was required by the Philippine government). Coppola filmed the demolition with multiple cameras fitted with different film stocks and lenses to capture the explosions at different speeds. He wanted to do something with the dramatic footage and decided to add them to the credits.[63]"

So, multiple endings were in the mix, and this seems to have been one of them.

I think that ending is haunting, and for me personally it's the one that works best for me. It "blew me away" (ha!) when I saw it in the theaters in 1979, fulfilling the title in a way that the other ending doesn't for me. Just my 2 cents. I realize I'm in the minority....

 

[Colin Jacobson]

There were no credits at the end in the version that I saw in 70mm in Paris in 1979. Nor were there any credits on other 70mm versions that I saw. I understand that it was the Directpr's choice that no credits be shown . A first for a film. A list of the credits were given out to patrons at the end of the movie,I seem to recall.

I saw "AN" locally in 1979 when I was 12 and have a vague memory of that. Couldn't recall the ending if my life depended on it, though!

 

[Lord Dalek]

The funniest thing about the ending for Apocalypse Now is Millius later recycled it shot for shot into Conan the Barbarian.

 

[PMF]

[...]So, multiple endings were in the mix, and this seems to have been one of them.

I think that ending is haunting, and for me personally it's the one that works best for me. It "blew me away" (ha!) when I saw it in the theaters in 1979, fulfilling the title in a way that the other ending doesn't for me. Just my 2 cents. I realize I'm in the minority....

You are not in the minority. With the specific ending cited and seen, you are more in the category of being among the rare few; in juxtaposition to its decades of multiple releases, formats and versions; who got to experience this final ending without its credits. Secondly, this very version was also my first exposure to Apocalypse Now, as well. Those lack of credits really kept one in the feel of the film and its title. I felt the same as you, benbess; it was more than powerful; yet, I also feel that any of the other versions seen on its first time merits by the other audiences are going to have a variant of impact, no less than ours. Both the core and larger canvas of Apocalypse Now is, in and of itself, powerful and mesmerizing - no matter how one cuts it.

 

[Worth]

So it looks like the "final cut" will be a hybrid of the theatrical and redux:

I often felt that the original 1979 was too abruptly shortened, and Redux was too long, and settled on what I now felt was the perfect version, which is what we’re showing at Tribeca later this month, called Apocalypse Now Final Cut.”

https://deadline.com/2019/04/francis-ford-coppola-megalopolis-directing-this-year-1202588167/

 

[Josh Steinberg]

And my interest level has risen.

 

[PMF]

So it looks like the "final cut" will be a hybrid of the theatrical and redux:


https://deadline.com/2019/04/francis-ford-coppola-megalopolis-directing-this-year-1202588167/

Nice to know that Mr. Coppola has arrived at an artistic peace with his "Final" upcoming vision of Apocalypse Now.
Yet, even better, is that we have another newer epic under works from this great master of our 1970's.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

So it looks like the "final cut" will be a hybrid of the theatrical and redux:


https://deadline.com/2019/04/francis-ford-coppola-megalopolis-directing-this-year-1202588167/

So, that guy Jeff Wells did not have any idea what he was talking about...

 

[Josh Steinberg]

That is not news.