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APOCALYPSE NOW Blu-ray: Oct. 19, 2010 (2 versions) (2 Viewers)

Kevin EK

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Hearts of Darkness is one of the funniest behind-the-scenes documentaries ever made. The on-set footage was filmed by Eleanor Coppola throughout the production, along with a series of audio recordings featured throughout. This material is intercut with contemporaneous excerpts from her compilation book "Notes", and 1991 interviews with the Coppolas and most of the people involved in the film.

This is not a puff piece by any means. I'd say it's easily worth the 20 bucks if you've never seen it before. OTOH you may be able to get the SD DVD of it, which also has the Coppolas' commentary, for less than 20 right now.
 

Brent M

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I've seen the Hearts of Darkness documentary numerous times and while I believe it's a great watch I'm not sure how much it will benefit from the HD conversion. Since I already have it on DVD I may just get the 2-disc set since it will have both cuts of the film and all the bonus features. Then again, if I can find the 3-disc set at a really good price I might go ahead and pick it up instead.
 

Sam Favate

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Originally Posted by Scott Merryfield

Great news on the OAR! As someone who is not big on extras but has never seen the documentary, is Heart of Darkness good enough to justify an additional $20 cost for the 3-disc set (based on the msrp that was given in the press release Ron posted)? Right now I am leaning towards the two-disc set unless someone can convince me that the documentary is something special, and not a typical "making -of" documentary.

Oh yes, it's worth it. Hearts is one of the best, most honest making-of documentaries ever made. It won at least two Emmys (that I can recall), including one for documentary director.


The shoot of AN is legendary. Sheen's heart attack. Coppola's breakdown. The floods. Brando's on-set behavior. Hopper's antics. The story of how the movie is made is an essential part of the movie's experience.


I highly recommend seeing it if you enjoyed AN.
 

Scott Merryfield

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Thanks for the feedback on Hearts of Darkness, everyone. It does sound like something worthwhile. If I cannot find it cheaply on SD-DVD, then it looks like it will be the three-disc set for me.
 

WinstonCely

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I can't wait to get the 3 disc set!!!! Finally, they'll all be together like the Blade Runner set. :)

Originally Posted by Kevin EK If we could get widescreen releases of Stanley Kubrick's later movies (which he insisted on having in 1.33:1 for home viewing based on TV set sizes, etc), perhaps this can be addressed in another 20 years...

From my understanding, A Clockwork Orange, The Shining, Full Metal Jacket, and Eyes Wide Shut are all 16:9 widescreen in their Blu-ray releases. I have ACO and had TS and EWS (before they were stolen) and they were all widescreen.

There's been a lot of debate on the merits of this since, as you stated, he shot full frame with the knowledge his films would go to home video. I've even heard conflicting opinions from Kubrick's colleagues as to whether or not Stanley would want them that way. We know that his later films were cropped for theatrical release, and that he composed his shots for both. Also, he passed before widescreen TV's really took hold as the norm for home viewing, so I think it's reasonable that he would want them show that way. Some people have issue with this though, because there are clues in many of his scenes (or at least perceived as clues) that would be cropped out and hidden if in 16:9.


Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
 

Kevin EK

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Ooops. Thank you Winston - I just realized from your quote that I really mangled that sentence.


I have the Blus of ACO, TS, FMJ and EWS. (That being the revised release of FMJ, just to be precise.) I had meant to say that since we now have widescreen editions of those movies, so we could enjoy the theatrical compositions, we might well be able to get the full theatrical composition of Apocalypse Now. But I stepped all over myself and buried the lead, so to speak. The nice part about this discussion is that we now know that this release will in fact be 2.35:1 and 2:1. So everybody wins, as far as I'm concerned.


I would love to hear a confirmation at some point that the Coppola commentary is being carried over from The Complete Dossier. I expect that it will be, but I haven't seen a direct statement about it yet.


BTW about Stanley Kubrick's compositions, you're right that there has been a long and steady debate about the matter. For me, the matter was settled as much as it could be when The Stanley Kubrick Archives book was released by Taschen. In the section on the production of The Shining, they included a photo instruction from Kubrick to the 2nd Unit crew in Oregon, which outlines EXACTLY how he wanted them to get the establishing shots of the Overlook Hotel in the snow. Part of the instruction (over a photo of the real building) says to frame for 1.85:1 but protect for the full frame.

I also agree with you that if Kubrick had lived a few more years to see the advances in HDTVs and SD widescreen TVs, he would have wanted people to have an option to see the movies in their proper theatrical aspect ratios. His resistance to it before was based on the average family having a small square screen, which he preferred to fill.
 

WinstonCely

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Ah, no worries Kevin. I've not got the Archives book (yet) and can't wait to get it. Sometime's it's hard to get a straight answer on things like this since there are so many different views and opinions, even coming from those who worked on the projects.
 

Lions Gate are usually region locked. That doesn't bode well for us region B viewers. I haven't heard about european distributors yet. Have you?
 

oscar_merkx

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I am intrigued by the Marketing Archive.


Would anybody be able to let me know what this is all about ?
 

Stephen_J_H

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If it's anything like this type of feature on other releases, it could contain anything ranging from poster art, newspaper ads, TV spots, theatrical trailers, discussion of the promotion of Apocalypse Now in Cannes with its own custom sound system.... you name it.
 

This sounds fantastic. I do wish that the Compound End Credit version came with the commentary optional. I would like to watch/listen without the talking.
 

bosque

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Maybe there could now be some focus on how the Hearts of Darkness director, George Hickenlooper, seems to have been shuffled out of the scene so that Mrs Coppola gets all the limelight. It's been a few years since I heard the FFC commentary on HoD but I don't think Hickenlooper gets a single mention, which seems kind of mean.
 

Kevin EK

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Hickenlooper has always been between a rock and a hard place when it comes to Hearts of Darkness. It's a great piece of work, in terms of really giving the viewer a solid look at what was happening on the ground during production, and in terms of seeing some startling and hysterical outtakes from the movie. (Particularly two or three Brando bits that still make me laugh).


But he got caught between some critics, like John Powers in the LA WEEKLY in 1991, who thought he was too reverential and lenient on the Coppolas. His review at the time the doc was put in theaters essentially boiled down to "why didn't they ask Francis the really tough questions?" I don't know that I agree with that, but it's clear that the perspective of the piece is not combative toward the Coppolas. It's a very sympathetic piece, when you look at it in that light.


At the same time, the Coppolas, particularly Francis, were not happy to see all this stuff come out. From their point of view, the doc pulls some of his taped comments out of context and makes the shoot look more out of control than it really was. According to his commentary, Francis Coppola was most upset about the notorious rant after Sheen's heart attack being included. He had thought the doc would only appear on Showtime a couple of times and that would be it. He never expected the piece to have another life of its own or to actually get put into movie theaters. When this happened, the Coppolas were understandably embarrased about it. On his commentary, Francis Coppola refers to the documentary as "Watch Francis Suffer". But he acknowledges that at the time "the filmmakers" (meaning Hickenlooper and Bahr) were young and just starting out, and he didn't want to stifle their work, in the same way that he wouldn't have wanted anyone to stifle him when he was just starting out. So he let it go.


I believe the only reason the Coppolas agreed for "Hearts of Darkness" to come out on DVD was as a way to promote YOUTH WITHOUT YOUTH, particularly as the DVD has an extra documentary on it just for that purpose. And I think they know that the piece is popular among fans of the movie. So they have included it in the new Blu-ray set. But the commentary that goes with it is theirs, so that they can provide their own perspective on it.
 

Edwin-S

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Well, as a counterpoint, Hickenlooper should be given the opportunity to present his perspective on the documentary since he was the one who directed it. I read the comments he made on the other site and it looks like he could provide a very interesting commentary regarding "HoD". The other thing they should do is swap the artwork for the two sets. The artwork for the two disc set should really be on the three disc set.
 

Geoff_D

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Heh. Looking at the HE story above, I'm so glad to see that Storaro's quest for 2:1 is getting the derision it deserves. I know that this has always been a thorny subject for home video/theatre nuts like us, but it's great that the universal reaction to the 2.35 edition is simply 'YEEEEEESSSSS!!!!!'.


Fascinating stuff from Hickenlooper in that HE bit too, thanks.
 

bosque

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I had another listen to the FFC/Mrs Coppola commentary to the HoD DVD, I was wrong: Hickenlooper does get a single mention by the Coppolas around the 46 minutes mark. Mrs C is talking about how they were having trouble editing the documentary and claims that Hickenlooper was brought in to sort it out.
 

MatthewA

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I am impressed that Lionsgate/American Zoetrope were able to keep Storaro from butchering the film with his quixotic quest for Univision. For that reason alone I may buy the set once I see some screen shots.
 

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