Apocalypse Now - Final Cut (1979/2019) *****
40 years has passed since Francis Ford Coppola unleashed what many consider to be his masterpiece, Apocalypse Now (1979). Despite monumental obstacles in the form of severe weather, postponements resulting in the film taking years to make, budgetary and casting problems (including Marlon Brando arriving overweight and unprepared), improvisation on the part of Coppola in order to get a film that worked or Martin Sheen suffering a breakdown and near-fatal heart attack, and Coppola himself almost being driven as mad as his character Kurtz (all of which is documented in the superb Hearts Of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse (1991)), Coppola did create a masterpiece.
Because Apocalypse Now is a film that rewards the viewer every time. There's always something new to appreciate or some aspect to be further enriched upon each viewing. Whether it's the incredible cinematography by Vittorio Storaro (the orchestration that must have gone into some shots is mind boggling), the immersive sound design, the bombastic nature of some scenes combined with the quiet menace of others, the trippy editing, the meditative screenplay by Coppola and John Milius or the total commitment of the actors—the list goes on.
Now existing in three versions, the Final Cut is similar to Redux (released in 2001), albeit 13 minutes shorter, at just over 3 hours. I think that this might be my favorite version, but it's hard to say, after only one viewing. When I first watched Redux in 2011, I wrote that the added scenes were good, but not necessary. I feel differently now and I really liked the flow of the Final Cut. Apocalypse Now is an all-time great film, in any version, which is why it rightfully deserves a place in my Top 100 Films (in the Top 10, in fact).
You can find my Francis Ford Coppola Feature Films Ranked list here.
Because Apocalypse Now is a film that rewards the viewer every time. There's always something new to appreciate or some aspect to be further enriched upon each viewing. Whether it's the incredible cinematography by Vittorio Storaro (the orchestration that must have gone into some shots is mind boggling), the immersive sound design, the bombastic nature of some scenes combined with the quiet menace of others, the trippy editing, the meditative screenplay by Coppola and John Milius or the total commitment of the actors—the list goes on.
Now existing in three versions, the Final Cut is similar to Redux (released in 2001), albeit 13 minutes shorter, at just over 3 hours. I think that this might be my favorite version, but it's hard to say, after only one viewing. When I first watched Redux in 2011, I wrote that the added scenes were good, but not necessary. I feel differently now and I really liked the flow of the Final Cut. Apocalypse Now is an all-time great film, in any version, which is why it rightfully deserves a place in my Top 100 Films (in the Top 10, in fact).
You can find my Francis Ford Coppola Feature Films Ranked list here.
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