Empire (Australia) - The Reviews, Part 2
More material from the Aussie version of the world's favourite movie magazine.
Apocalypse Now Redux (Francis Ford Coppola, 1979/2001)
The big selling point of Francis Ford Coppola’s new thicker, longer cut of Apocalypse Now is that it contains 53 minutes of (largely) unseen footage. The big disappointment is that, of this new material, at least 35 minutes of it will add little to your viewing pleasure or your understanding of the picture.
Two sequences involving the Playboy Bunnies, a spot more interplay between the boat crew and Robert Duvall’s howling-mad Kilgore, more of Brando mumbling - much of what’s new adds only to the film’s running time.
So, why then is ownership of Apocalypse Now Redux every bit as essential as breathing? Well, while it might contain much that’s extraneous, Coppola’s new cut also contains the much-vaunted French plantation sequence. First glimpsed in the Emmy-winning documentary Hearts Of Darkness, Coppola originally ditched the scene because he wasn’t happy with the casting.
Watch it now and you’ll not only question the director’s appreciation of acting (Christian Marquand as the plantation owner is the dictionary definition of compelling), but you’ll find your understanding of the film irrevocably altered. Providing invaluable context (we’re reminded that long before the Yanks went toe-to-toe with the Vietcong, the French were at war with the Vietminh), the sequence enhances the characters of all those aboard Willard’s patrol boat.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to As Luck Would Have It to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.