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Apocalypse Now

Apocalypse Now

List Price: $29.95
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: An bizarre unusual film set in the Vitenam War.
Review: When an army officer named Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) has been sent to do, one last mission in the war to Kill Colonel Kurtz (Oscar-Winner:Marlon Brando), who has been brain-washing people from a tribe and his soldiers. Willard is not alone in his mission, he`s along with a Boat Captain (Albert Hall) and His Crew (Frederic Forrest, Laurence Fishburne and Sam Bottoms). Once the trip starts, it`s become a odd, strange, bizarre trip. While Willard is fascinated by Kurtz`s File. Willard sees in a way, what came a man is he.

Directed by Francis Ford Coppola (The Conversation, The Godfather Trilogy, Gardens of Stone) made a unique film that make this instant Classic with Critics and Audiences, who seen the film. Sheen is terrific in this film. DVD`s has an sharp anamorphic Widescreen (1.95:1) transfer and an Strong Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. DVD Extras are:Tralier, Production Notes and An extented ending with/without commentary by Francis Ford Coppola. Newest DVD Edition has The Same Transfer and Sound with 49 Minutes of Addtional Footage, which is outstanding, it's actually changes the film but the message is still there. An instant classic. The Film win Two Awards including the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival. Duvall steals the film as a Battle-Obsessed major surf fan. The Film win Two Academy Awards for Best Cinematography and Best Sound. The Film was also Oscar Nominated for:Best Supporting Actor-Robert Duvall, Best Art Direction(Set Decoration), Best Director, Best Film Editing and Best Original Screenplay. This Film was Orignally filmed in Technovision. Written by John Milius (Conan the Barbarian) and Coppola. Grade:A.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Coppola Got it Right the First Time
Review: It sounds so cliche', but the reviewers who say the extra scenes in Redux simply should have been "left on the cutting room floor" are dead RIGHT.

I'm as big a fan as anybody of the movie, Apocalypse Now. I too feel its one of Coppola's three masterpieces (including Godfather 1 and 2), which are among the greatest films of all time. It was also rewarding to finally see the extra footage which I've heard about for so long - the Bunny scene, the Plantation scene, etc., - which never surfaced in the original release.

Having said that, however, the extra scenes add NOTHING to the movie and Redux is a noticibly inferior product to the original release version of Apocalypse Now. Not only does this extra footage add nothing to Now - it in fact, detracts from the film.

The extra scenes are confusing, the situations unbelievable and over-the-top, distracting and even BORING. They raise inconsistencies in the characters. The flow of the movie is totally disrupted. In short, I was like "Huh? That wouldn't happen. That doesn't make any sense. He wouldn't really do that."

Contrary to some of these reviews, the original made perfect sense. These scenes add nothing to the understanding of the film, but to the contrary, they begin to undermine your belief in the story and the characters. Sometimes, less IS more. This is a prime example.

These scenes should be included in a DVD package - but as "bonus footage" as a special feature. They should not be inserted in the movie.

Finally, I'd also like to add, it would be mistaken to consider the Redux a "Director's Cut." Coppola had complete control over the project when the movie was originally released - going so far as to put up a lion's share of the funding out of his own pocket; with so much at stake, perhaps a reason he suffered a nervous breakdown making this picture.

When Apocalypse Now was released, Coppola was at the peak of his craft - why shouldn't we trust his instincts then? The answer is, we should. Coppola makes great wine now, but his pictures are horrible.

This is definitely, definitely a renter - for the curious. If you must own this movie, purchase the original.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Huge, stunning, apocalyptic... important.
Review: I am a film buff who enjoys both American Sci-Fi and 1960's new wave film. Apocalypse now is one of my favorite films of all time and one of the most powerful... And thank God for DVD -- we finally can see it properly in home theatres. The transfer quality of this DVD is incredible, the colors and sound are just brilliant, and faithfully reproduce the original.

If you haven't seen Apocalypse Now, be prepared -- it is without a doubt the most moving, troubling, difficult Vietnam movie (or war movie) yet made in my opinion, and I've seen them all, old and new. It is a modern understanding of Conrad's Heart of Darkness, preserving every bit of the darkness and intent of the original novel to demonstrate once again what lies deep within the souls of men and the jungles of our hearts.

This is the only film ever to cause me to break down completely in the first 90 seconds, without a single character in sight or a line of dialog having been heard; it never lets up. It's an incredible, horrible, important film that will leave you exhausted once you see all 153 minutes.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Never get out of the boat
Review: ... unless you were going all the way. APOCALYPSE NOW is a brilliant movie, and it is brilliant on many levels. It is filled with single sentences that succinctly and accurately sum up America's fears and frustrations with the Vietnam War. Sentences like: "I love the smell of Napalm in the morning ... Smells like victory." and "Charlie don't surf." are so memorable, and so metaphorically powerful, that they will remain with you for a lifetime. Based on Joseph Conrad's HEART OF DARKNESS, APOCALYPSE NOW uses exceptional cinematography, music, plot, and acting to convey the ambience and ideas of Conrad's novel.

Technically, this movie is outstanding. I watched it on a 1600 x 1200 pixel, 32-bit color display, and every scene was perfect. Its music, by THE DOORS, fits precisely with this movie's goals.

In its special features section, director Francis Ford Coppola said: "The most important thing I wanted to do in the making of APOCALYSE NOW was to create a film experience that would give the audience a sense of the horror, the madness, the sensuousness, and the moral dilemma of the Vietnam war." You succeeded Francis; you succeeded brilliantly.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: In the mind of madness
Review: After reading The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad and watching this film, I have come to the conclusion that both have the same ideology. And that's what matters! The graphicals scense in Apocalypse Now are way more than I imagined, some how one imagines a more serene atmosphere when imagining the settings of books. A-N is harsh in reality and awesome to begin dissecting HofD. Read the book before you watch the movie!

-Joseph
Santa Ana, CA USA

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: the best war fillm ever
Review: It was the best war film ever, Marlon Brandon and martin sheen did a great job in it,it had a great ending and the plot was so good.
It is a movie everyone should see it was excellent.It is a movie I highly reccomend so rent it or buy it.It even has hosteges in it,it also had a lot of action in it.It is a great movie and you should see it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Redux: Must see (in theaters), but flawed; buy the original
Review: I've seen Apocalypse Now a number of times and own the original. Redux was my first opportunity to see the film in a theater, and for providing that experience alone, Redux easily deserves five stars. It's unfortunate that great films aren't re-released more often to theaters in restored prints, much like music is routinely digitally remastered and re-released on CD. If it takes the re-editing gimmick of Redux to bring the film back to theaters, then so be it.

Like certain great films (Lawrence of Arabia comes to mind), Apocalypse Now was truly made for a widescreen, surround-sound experience that only a good film print and theater can provide. See it this way and you'll be grateful for the experience.

That said, in my opinion Redux falls short of the original. The long French plantation scene is too talky (much of it in French) and distracts from the vortex that is the trip up the river to Kurtz. The river trip structurally mirrors the similar trip in Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" and desperately needs to survive as the clear spine of the film. The French plantation scene could have survived in 1/2 its running time more effectively, or have been cut altogether without harming the film. (There are certainly a few decent lines in the dinner scene, but the digression overall takes the viewer out of the central movie plot and out of the visceral experience of moving up river.) The music accompanying the superfluous bedroom scene is also ludicrous and out of place.

The extension of the Kilgore scene involving Willard stealing the surfboard similarly disrupts the film. The original ended on Kilgore's famous "love the smell of napalm in the morning" lines, which are so devastating that almost anything else to follow in that scene would be a distraction. To cut to goofball action involving stealing the surfboard and shots of Willard giggling and falling down is a true failure in editing.

Unlike some reviewers, I thought the second Playboy bunny scene did improve the film, providing some good character development for two of the men and a further demonstration of the complete degradation of U.S. ambitions and morality in Viet Nam, mirrored in the movie plot. The "bad acting" of the women here is appropriate, if cruel; we're seeing limited minds at work here, among all four characters in the helicopter.

The remaining alterations were minor. If anything, I was surprised by how *little* changed in the movie, considering Redux was supposedly a complete re-edit from the original source footage. If this is the best Coppola & Co. can come up with from 20 years reflection and 150 hours of source footage, this is more evidence than anyone needs that the original is a masterpiece that should be left alone. Buy the original.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: hmmm . . . .
Review: This film is very contraversial. without a doubt, Coppola's "Apocalyse Now" is a brilliant movie. the plot concerns Captain Willard's (Martin Sheen) journey upriver in Cambodia to terminate Col. Kurtz (Marlon Brando), an American officer who has gone crazy and become a local - and lethal - god amongst the natives. Willard travels in a small patrol boat, run by a hapless crew of spaced-out grunts. Along the way they encounter Col. Kilgore (Robert Duvall) whose love for the smell of napalm is matched only by his zest for surfing. In one of the more disturbing sequences, they come upon a raft, carrying innocent people. thinking they are the Viet Cong, the crews brutally mows them down without thinking. they find a Playboy Bunny which gets out of hand. The movie reaches its climax when the reach Kurtz's compound, and realize just how dangerous and mad he really is. This film is certainly a journey into hell. Coppola tells us about the madness of war. Don't miss it!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Masterpiece
Review: This movie stands out. This is because there is so much passion behind this movie. The filmmakers went through alot to make it, and the final piece really makes you think. Alot of people say that the ending is weak, but I think it works, it's just not clear cut. It's artistic! The shots in this movie are among the most unbelievable shots in any film, from the fan/helicopter symbolism at the beginning, to the shadows and the "rituals" found in the ending, and all the anger and gunplay found in the middle. This movie is more watchable and less violent than movies like Platoon and Saving Private Ryan. Apocalypse Now tells the story more comfortably, and yet it's still powerful and you get the same out of it. Thank you, Francis Ford Coppola, for this masterpiece.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: If I say its safe to surf, then surf!
Review: Wow, what a great movie. It holds value to it while at the same time taking on a at sometime comical mood, and at others a creepy mood. A great movie overall, the scenery is GREAT! The explosions are awsome and the footage is beautiful, trust me, you'll love this movie.


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