Directed by:  Francis Ford Coppola
Written by:  Michael Herr, Francis Ford Coppola, John Milius
Adapted from the novel Heart of Darkness by:  Joseph Conrad
Starring:  Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Dennis Hopper, Larry Fishburne, Sam Bottoms, Harrison Ford 
 

September 12, 2001

         In 1979, Francis Ford Coppola immersed himself in the heart of darkness, almost losing everything he had financially and mentally, almost driving himself insane.  What emerged from his struggle was, what I consider, the best war film of all time, Apocalypse Now.  In Coppola’s own words, “This film is not about Vietnam.  It is Vietnam.”
         Lately Coppola’s career has turned downhill.  He’s making Hollywood films like Jack and The Rainmaker which lack the style and dedication of his early career.  So instead of making something new, Coppola decides to fall into the Lucas Syndrome (i.e. Star Wars Trilogy Special Edition) and rehash something old.
         Coppola went back to Apocalypse Now, added the French word Redux, and along with that came four new scenes, adding a total of 53 minutes to the already 2hr and 20min film.  The four scenes are the Kilgore surfboard scene, the Playboy girls’ scene, the French plantation scene, and the Kurtz Time Magazine scene.  The problem with the first two scenes is that they change Willard’s (Martin Sheen’s) character, the third scene slows down the film too much, and the last just isn’t needed. 
         In the original, Willard set himself apart from the crew of the boat.  He was hard-edged, had already done two tours of Vietnam, and the mission was top priority.  If anything, he was more like Kurtz (Brando), before he went crazy, than any one of the boat crew.
         The Kilgore surfboard scene is an extended scene with the crazy “I love the smell of napalm in the morning” Kilgore (Robert Duvall).  After the boat is dropped in the water, Willard, in trying to be one of the guys, steals Kilgore’s favorite surfboard.  The scene continues as they hide while Kilgore flies over above trying to find his surfboard.  The problem with this is Willard despised the way Kilgore ran his operation.  He even says to Kilgore, right after the attack on the village, “This isn’t a time for R and R.”  By stealing the surfboard, Willard is joining Kilgore’s world of chaos.
         The Playboy girls’ scene is another illustration of this.  In his attempt to fit in with the guys again, Willard trades a few barrels of gas for sex with the Playboy girls.  This totally defies his character trait of holding the mission above everything else.  Why would he trade supplies for a little R and R?  Why take that much time off from the mission?
         The last question comes up again when they stop and meet some French plantation owners.  This is the most interesting of the added scenes because while eating dinner, they discuss politics.  But this scene is around 30 minutes long and just slows down the film too much.  They need to get on their way up the river, and that’s why Coppola probably took it out the first time.
         The final of the added scenes is Brando’s Kurtz reading a Time Magazine article about the Vietnam War.  While it’s nice to learn that Brando did more to earn his $1 million plus paycheck, the scene doesn’t really tell us anything new about Kurtz.  And again, that’s probably why Coppola cut it the first time around.
         Although the added scenes don’t belong in here just like Jabba the Hut does not belong in Star Wars: A New Hope, Apocalypse Now Redux offers a breathtaking theater experience.  “The Ride of the Valkyries” during the village attack scene has never sounded better and the look and colors of the film are as crisp as ever.  I was even able to notice things on the big screen, like what Kilgore has written on his chopper, that I never noticed on the small screen at home.  If it comes to your city, I wouldn’t hesitate to go see it, and take someone who has never seen this war classic.  For my own collection of movies though, I’ll stick with the original. 
 

Alternative Recommendations:  The Godfather I & II (d: Coppola, s: Brando, Duvall); Rumble Fish (d: Coppola); Paths of Glory; Platoon; Glory

Check out these other Fidelio Film Reviews:
The Beach
Ride with the Devil
Rules of Engagement
Three Kings