Rating: 
Summary: Brando's extra scenes make it work
Review: Coppola's best film (after The Godfather), but I have to say that most of the additional footage in the Redux didn't really add to the film. There are some clever scenes with Robert Duvall and the Playboy bunnies. The French Plantation sequence, although slightly interesting from a historical aspect, I feel it pulls the film in a direction that it isn't ready to go. In the end, and at the end there are some really enjoyable scenes with Brando that make the new version of the classic a rewarding experience, if you have three and a half hours to kill.
Rating: 
Summary: Great turned into greatness.
Review: This is one of my personal favorite movies of all time. To think
that seeing this version could have topped the experience I was to encounter back 1979 was unthinkable until now.
The cuts that were made caused a loss of character development, and loss of a lot of why things happened and how they happened. Anyone who LIKED the uncut version will
Want to have both in their DVD collection.
Then the lights came up and I walked out of the theater, this dvd was bought, no ifs ands or buts.
Rating: 
Summary: Redux is worse than Greedo shooting first
Review: This is, by far, the absolute worst director's cut ever made. And yes, I'm including Spielberg's 1941 in my consideration. The original version of Apocalypse Now is probably my second favorite movie of all time. And as much as I hate to be one of those people who bagged on the Star Wars Special Editions, I've got to be that guy. This was horrible.The reason why this is getting such great reviews is because people think that they finally understand the film with all the extra scenes added in. These extra scenes have made a wonderful film into a straight-forward summer action picture where things blow up real good. I don't want to see Willard becoming friends with the guys on the boat. He's supposed to be psyching himself up to meet Kurtz, not becoming a father figure to the grunts. I really don't want to see Kilgore reduced to a whiny freak who just wants his board back. Kilgore was a menacing figure who was to be feared, not laughed at. Coppola hasn't made a good movie since Apocalypse Now. With Redux, he seems to want to infect his earlier career so it looks more like the terrible movies he's released more recently. That way, Godfather III won't seem so bad.
Rating:
Summary: Mostly useful additions to a unique movie.
Review: I first saw Apocalypse Now on cable television about five or six years ago and was moderately impressed with the storyline. At the time, I felt the movie lost steam towards the second half, with the arrival at the Kurtz compound being difficult to fully understand. Nonetheless I was intrigued by news of the restored and lengthed 'Redux' version. First and foremost, the cinematography is beautiful, both from an angle and color perspective. This version seemd to be much brighter than the predecessor. Seeing it in the theater on the widescreen (as opposed to just letterboxed) was also useful, particularly in the scenes with LTC Kilgore's attack on the beach village. One cannot fully appreciate the awesome sight of the incoming choppers from a television screen. As for the added scenes themselves, I felt that the French estate scenes worked extremely well in explaining the context of what Vietnam meant to the French nation and how it's loss at Dien Bien Phu greatly wounded their pride. I did feel however that some of the dialogue in these scenes were too muddled to be understood with any clarity. Perhaps this was not the fault of the production team, but the spotty sound system in the theater. The added scene of the Lt. Col. Kilgore's surfboard being stolen diminished from the power of his character. I preferred the original version where his final words of 'someday this war is going to end', followed by a long sad pause. Ending it there was appropriate. Having the slap stick scenes that followed in Redux was not. The second Playboy bunny scene seemed worthwhile in terms of conveying the notion of being stranded out in the jungle by the war. Still it didn't seem to make any sense from a storyline perspective. Why would the bunnies fly up river in their helicopter towards Cambodia? How could they run out of fuel?
It did show how character Lance Johnson got started with his face painting as well as lampoon the shallow nature of the bunnies. The additional dialogue by Kurtz towards Captain Willard helped give better perspective on his mindset. Previously, I felt that the dialogue rambled and didn't lead anywhere. Getting the Kurtz character out on his own two feet in daylight in new scenes helped diminish the impression that Brando was too hefty to move around on the set. In all a pretty interesting film that seemed to flow pretty smoothly through 3 hours and 16 minutes. I didn't find myself bored with it at all.
Rating:
Summary: a masterpiece
Review: this film is a masterpiece of filmwork. the acting is superb, (we get to see a young lawrence fishbourne); the music is intense and adds tremendously to the craziness that vietnam was; the cinematography is outstanding, the coloring amazing; but all that pales in comparison to the attack on the village that sends chills up your spine watching, feeling the palpable attack, listening to wagner's ride of the walkeries in a way that you wouldn't expect from that wonderful piece of music, but fits so well. i can't say much bad about this film, i consider it to be the best vietnam war film ever, closely beating out platoon and full metal jacket, which are also up there. also this film does well to relate to the book upon which it is losely based, heart of darkness. the intensity of both the book and the movie correlate well. i recommend to those who have seen the movie to read the book by joseph conrad and compare the two Kurtz characters. "the horror! the horror" will be very familiar.
Rating:
Summary: The Insantiy Of War
Review: I have always been a huge fan of the original Apocolypse Now. It seemed to strive to give us a feel for the Vietnam War instead of a historical accounting, a very effective approach. I went to see the Redux version with mixed feelings - how could it get any better? I quickly learned that the new scenes were incredible and the film did indeed improve. The most notable change for me was the insanity of every scene. The bird in the helicopter, Kilgore desperately searching for his surfboard, the recitation of a Time magazine article... all of these scenes and the others that were added serve to accentuate the ongoing insantity of every scene in the movie. Suddenly the standard scene of finding the puppy on the boat has even more resonance. When Chef flips out after seeing a tiger I honestly felt shaken myself at his fear, frustration and pain. The added scenes added a dimension to this film that seemed almost implied before. Coppolla once again demonstrates his genius not only by removing them initially to maintain a more reasonable length, but in having the confidence that the true movie goer would finally be prepared for the insane onslaught laid before them.
Rating:
Summary: A little long, but still good.
Review: Now, this review is not based on the movie itself, but the add on's. I have to say that the movie was fine the way it was. It was great seeing a little more of Harrison Ford in the beginning scenes, but it really made the movie a little too long. But, it is still a great movie.
Rating:
Summary: Beyond Expectations!
Review: I was one of the lucky few to attend the Milwaukee, WI Premier of Apocalypse Now - Redux Theatrical Release at the Oriental Theather. When the curtain came down all who attended received a Poster and many gave written reviews. I gave one. I found the new release very complete and understandable. The film flow was incridable. It felt like I was only there for an hour and the lights came up. People stood up and clapped their hands. I felt the energy and rush of that time period. You could fell the WAR, JUNGLE, FEAR and DEATH everywhere. The sounds kept you listening for danger. You were on the edge at all times. You found a bond with the soldiers and when they FELL you felt the hurt and anger of WAR. It is a must to see this new release. This was a WAR with no hero's on the Home Front. Our friends and brothers are still out thier as MIA's. A must see to understand the price they paid for our freedom.
Rating:
Summary: Apocalypse WOW!
Review: If you are truly a fan of great films stop reading about this one and go see it! Coppolla's "Apocalypse Now Redux" is a real gem. The basic story flows vividly yet mysteriously up the river into the dark jungle. Coppolla, as you may have heard, adapted the story from Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" with the exception that H.O.D. is set in the African jungle based on a journey that Conrad took into the Upper Congo, then controlled by Belgium as a colony, whereas A.N. is set in the jungles of southeast Asia during the height of the Vietnam war. For Redux, Coppolla went back to the raw footage, or dailies, and re-edited the entire film from scratch. The added scenes enhance rather than detract from the film, I felt. The film is set during the Vietnam War, but it is more about the dark side of human nature, and also how those in power often try to twist and distort the truth to fit meet their own ends. Is there a "method" to Col. Kurtz's madness? See the film and decide for yourself. It is interesting to watch the profound transformation that Capt. Willard (Sheen's character) undergoes. The big questions on your mind may be: 1. Did Coppolla considerably improve the film?
2. Did the 45+ extra minutes of film enhance the flow and thematic development of the film?
3. Are the special effects and battle scenes spectacular? The answer to all three of these questions is a resounding YES!
(except perhaps for those closed-minded "purists" out there who vehemently object to ANY change from the original release. To those of you whom fit this description, I remind you- Coppolla himself adapted the movie more closely to what HE originally envisioned, with FULL creative license- not with some big brother film exec looking over his shoulder and pressuring him to edit it in a certain way). Overall improvements: -the panoramic shots are more spectacular (of course this was my first time seeing it on the big screen so I'm sure that makes a difference)... -some of the battle scenes are more realistic, allowing us to see the face of human suffering, not just the awe of exploding napalm bombs. -the scenes at Kurtz's compound are more visually dazzling, and also a bit more shocking and graphic (some may feel this is gratuitous; but I believe Coppolla did that intentionally to communicate the devastation of man's violent nature, and the vicious cycle that we find ourselves in as a race). Moral of the story: Evil is rooted in lies; we all have a dark side to our human nature that we try hard to deny and keep in the shadows.
For more on this theme read Conrad's novella "Heart of Darkness" (a concise 130 some pgs) or delve into some of Carl Jung's writings about the shadow side of human nature. Interesting tidbits: -Mr. Clean, the teenage soldier on the gunboat was played by a 14 yr old Laurence "Larry" Fishburne. -Much of the film was shot in the Philippines on location -Coppolla had to personally mortgage virutally everything he owned to secure financing to complete the film which ran well over the studio budget. -Coppolla makes a cameo appearance as a wartime journalist in the film Apocalypse Now Redux is a cinematic masterpiece- well worth the journey upriver.
Rating: 
Summary: Saw it in theater, 40 minutes too long
Review: I had never seen the movie so my wife took me to it because it is an important film. It was interesting for a while, but by the time the 3 hour mark hit, I was bored. The last scenes just dragged on. The additional footage added very little to the movie. It may be worth having this movie, but if they offer the original on the DVD, watch it instead of the Redux.
| 
