Recently, I had the privilege of viewing the new directors cut of Apocalypse Now known as 'Redux'. It is simply a spectacular restoration of a movie that already was a masterpiece.
Almost an hour worth of new footage has been added in. The original always had the sense of being hurried. This new version gives the film more breathing space and develops characters more. They cover a second encounter with the gunboat crew and the Playboy Bunnies seen previously at the U.S.O show and A much-talked about seen at a French Plantation. There is also additional footage of the Air Cavalry and some more footage from the Kurtz Compound.
The best of the new footage is the added footage of the Air Cavalry and of Willard's Gunboat crew. The original cut never really explains why Captain Willard and his men leave after the attack on Charlie's Point so quickly; we assume it's to continue with their mission. 'Redux' explains why. I am not going to tell but this new footage shows more of the insanity of Colonel Kilgore and shows that Captain Willard is not the stone-faced, boring guy we assumed he was (He actually smiles!).
But this is no ordinary Director's Cut, which basically throws in new footage and does nothing else. Francis Ford Coppola and Walter Murch (One of the original editors) have remade 'Redux' literally from scratch. The `new' footage has been restored to match with the original. In addition, Coppola and Murch might have changed some of the existing footage. What I mean is that they have not changed the scene itself, but the camera angle where it was filmed. For example, when Willard kills Kurtz, first off Kurtz is reading an Air Force statement that is banning crewman from putting the F-Word on their planes. In the original, when he was killed, it only showed a forward view of him as he was stabbed. In this version, Kurtz turns around before he is attacked and then shows a struggle between Kurtz and Willard, leading to Kurtz's eventual death.
But even 'Redux' has its flaws. The encounter with the Playboy Bunnies, while harmless, doesn't really have anything to do with the film. It basically shows that people might get desperate enough in wartime to have sex in exchange for fuel. But the French Plantation is not as easy to sit through. Except for showing what the French think of American involvement in Vietnam (Negative of course) and more personality development for Captain Willard (He smokes opium and even has an attraction for a French woman), it has nothing to do with the film's plot. Some call this a trip through time and indeed it has an eerie feeling throughout (Largely because there is fog everywhere). However, I recently found an explanation for the plantation scene that makes sense; the whole journey up the river by Willard and the boat crew is a trip through time. They start off in the Vietnam War, then go to when Vietnam was a French Colony and then go to when it was ruled by savages. Also notice that before they arrive at the Plantation and after they leave it, there is a thick fog (A possible time warp?). However, the movie overall would not have suffered if this scene was left out and instead used as a DVD extra.
Overall, while deliberately paced and a bit tedious (Plus it has graphic violence and many uses of four letter words), Redux proves to be as good if not better that the original. I wonder if it can be eligible for Oscar contendership. I doubt any of other movies this year would be much competition. For me, watching this movie was an unforgettable experience that cannot be summed up in words. If you don't believe me, see it for yourself!
Almost an hour worth of new footage has been added in. The original always had the sense of being hurried. This new version gives the film more breathing space and develops characters more. They cover a second encounter with the gunboat crew and the Playboy Bunnies seen previously at the U.S.O show and A much-talked about seen at a French Plantation. There is also additional footage of the Air Cavalry and some more footage from the Kurtz Compound.
The best of the new footage is the added footage of the Air Cavalry and of Willard's Gunboat crew. The original cut never really explains why Captain Willard and his men leave after the attack on Charlie's Point so quickly; we assume it's to continue with their mission. 'Redux' explains why. I am not going to tell but this new footage shows more of the insanity of Colonel Kilgore and shows that Captain Willard is not the stone-faced, boring guy we assumed he was (He actually smiles!).
But this is no ordinary Director's Cut, which basically throws in new footage and does nothing else. Francis Ford Coppola and Walter Murch (One of the original editors) have remade 'Redux' literally from scratch. The `new' footage has been restored to match with the original. In addition, Coppola and Murch might have changed some of the existing footage. What I mean is that they have not changed the scene itself, but the camera angle where it was filmed. For example, when Willard kills Kurtz, first off Kurtz is reading an Air Force statement that is banning crewman from putting the F-Word on their planes. In the original, when he was killed, it only showed a forward view of him as he was stabbed. In this version, Kurtz turns around before he is attacked and then shows a struggle between Kurtz and Willard, leading to Kurtz's eventual death.
But even 'Redux' has its flaws. The encounter with the Playboy Bunnies, while harmless, doesn't really have anything to do with the film. It basically shows that people might get desperate enough in wartime to have sex in exchange for fuel. But the French Plantation is not as easy to sit through. Except for showing what the French think of American involvement in Vietnam (Negative of course) and more personality development for Captain Willard (He smokes opium and even has an attraction for a French woman), it has nothing to do with the film's plot. Some call this a trip through time and indeed it has an eerie feeling throughout (Largely because there is fog everywhere). However, I recently found an explanation for the plantation scene that makes sense; the whole journey up the river by Willard and the boat crew is a trip through time. They start off in the Vietnam War, then go to when Vietnam was a French Colony and then go to when it was ruled by savages. Also notice that before they arrive at the Plantation and after they leave it, there is a thick fog (A possible time warp?). However, the movie overall would not have suffered if this scene was left out and instead used as a DVD extra.
Overall, while deliberately paced and a bit tedious (Plus it has graphic violence and many uses of four letter words), Redux proves to be as good if not better that the original. I wonder if it can be eligible for Oscar contendership. I doubt any of other movies this year would be much competition. For me, watching this movie was an unforgettable experience that cannot be summed up in words. If you don't believe me, see it for yourself!
