Apocalypse Now, now.

It's a very good film,but, I think suffers with all the tampering.
 
And now that you’ve finally seen this, you absolutely have to see Hearts Of Darkness, which chronicled the production; one of the best, most compelling making-of documentaries ever made. Co-directed by his wife, it stands as a film in its own right.

That's definitely essential as well

"We were in the jungle, there were too many of us, we had access to too much money, too much equipment, and little by little we went insane" - Coppola
 
is normal for Brando. I love this scene in the original Supes. Brando does great. Williams' score is awesome. But Brando was straight up reading off cue cards kept there with the infant supposedly.
You ever see this? I don't think those cue cards were for James Caan.

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Excellent movie. I'd have it second only to Platoon as far as Vietnam movies go, and there are several good ones.

I have First Blood, Coming Home and Born on the 4th of July as sort of a separate post-Vietnam genre.

You know Platoon for me is one of the greatest war movies of all-time. I really like how in Apocalypse Now or The Deer Hunter it also holds up aesthetically to how it felt in theater over there. Contrast with Full Metal Jacket or Born on the 4th of July where the setting takes the audience out of it. I will take the jungle jungle jungle for two hours in Platoon over Vietnam coastal shores.
 
It's a very good film,but, I think suffers with all the tampering.

Yeah I'd agree the original cut is the best although the redux is definitely good enough to be worth watching.

I'v always kind of thought of Apoc Now as being in similar territory to Once Upon A Time In America as an almost dreamlike epic from a big name director yet the cuts were arguably the opposite. I think Apoc Now's original cut is tighter and keeps both the tension high and the atmosphere of rising insanity there removing more "normal" elements like the crashed playmates and the French settlers. Once Upon a Time is the opposite with the original losing its dreamlike atmosphere in the short cut.
 
It's an incredible film





Always gotta fast forward through the French plantation shit though

<JagsKiddingMe>


I like how they give Sheen a cigarette at the end of the scene because that's what happens when someone is going to be executed, or is sent on a suicide mission. Its the classic last smoke symbolism.
 
NEver forget when it opened many years ago ...me a few buddies , dropped some tabs, went to the movies...Epic
 
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Apocalypse Now is one of of not the greatest movies ever made. In fact i just watched it again today for like the 15th time.

It's one of those masterpieces where every time you watch it you notice something new and understand it a little better.
 
the crashed playmates and the French settlers
The crashed playmates scene is there to demonstrate exactly how not 'normal ' they have become. As they sit there cuddling with a corpse ob the floor spilling out of a box she asks clean 'who are you ' and says simply 'ma'am im next' and all the crazy bird shit etc

The part with the French articulates one of the film's major themes - the pointlessness of the war - as the plantation owner talks about fighting for something they created vs America's fighting for a 'big nothing'.

Also, the conversation between Willard and the French chick is a significant step in the realisation of his character - 'there are 2 of you, one who kills and one who loves' - and it ties with a heap of other major themes. I could write a novel about it...
 
Someone I know is doing a MA in Gothic Studies, and had to study the novel 'Heart of Darkness' - so we sat down and watched Apocalypse Now, which was based off of the book. We were watching the movie and I am so used to gore in movies, that it wasn't until the next day when I went "wait shit that cow was actually sacrificed on camera".
 
If you love the movie I'd suggest reading Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad which the film takes heavy inspiration from.

Had to read it at uni as a book study and ended up getting through it in one sitting. I was hooked (Apocalypse Now was already one of my favorite films by then).
 
What's the French scene about?

It's a Trippy movie , makes you feel lost as you view it. From war being awesome, to guys being scared and unsure
 
There's good and bad to the "Redux" version.

The scene with the Frenchies is certainly a negative, that really adds nothing to the film and feels out of place.
 
The crashed playmates scene is there to demonstrate exactly how not 'normal ' they have become. As they sit there cuddling with a corpse ob the floor spilling out of a box she asks clean 'who are you ' and says simply 'ma'am im next' and all the crazy bird shit etc

The part with the French articulates one of the film's major themes - the pointlessness of the war - as the plantation owner talks about fighting for something they created vs America's fighting for a 'big nothing'.

Also, the conversation between Willard and the French chick is a significant step in the realisation of his character - 'there are 2 of you, one who kills and one who loves' - and it ties with a heap of other major themes. I could write a novel about it...

In the original cut though the playmates just seem like this surreal event dropping in from nowhere were as actually seeing them again in a more human situation I think anchors it rather more in reality.

I can see the themes in the French section but again I think its an intrusion of reality into the plot rather than having the boat trip being a journey into ever more surreal/alien situations.

Again not really rubbishing the Redux cut, it definitely has its merits but I don't think its the definitive cut of the film.
 
If you love the movie I'd suggest reading Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad which the film takes heavy inspiration from.
Yes and you may have noticed when Willard is getting briefed on the mission there is a carved wooden elephant with ivory tusks on the shelf next to the tape recorder, a little nod to HoD as the original Kurtz was commanding an ivory trading post.
 
In the original cut though the playmates just seem like this surreal event dropping in from nowhere were as actually seeing them again in a more human situation I think anchors it rather more in reality.

I can see the themes in the French section but again I think its an intrusion of reality into the plot rather than having the boat trip being a journey into ever more surreal/alien situations.

Again not really rubbishing the Redux cut, it definitely has its merits but I don't think its the definitive cut of the film.
This pretty well sums up why there was a release version and the director's version.
 
is normal for Brando. I love this scene in the original Supes. Brando does great. Williams' score is awesome. But Brando was straight up reading off cue cards kept there with the infant supposedly.

 
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