Apocalypse Now

🔥 3rd Watch | FINAL CUT | Top 100 | Francis Ford Coppola I've watched Apocalypse Now three times in the past 40 days. Each watch has been rewarding, but the Final Cut was probably the most rewarding. I'm not saying that the Final Cut is the best version, however, it has definitely made me appreciate the overall film the most. The first time I watched Apocalypse Now (theatrical), I did not expect what happened in the film, and thus I was a little confused. I rated it 5 stars because I recognized its objective brilliance. However, I still didn't know what to think on the subjective side. I wouldn't call it slow, but I just didn't know how to react to some scenes, and thus I couldn't enjoy it as much as I would've hoped. The Redux version helped me enjoy more of the scenes, but it still wasn't ideal because I was too distracted on the additions that made the film significantly worse than the theatrical release. However, I was able to enjoy all of the scenes that were present from the original cut to a point where I can say I love it on a subjective level as well as an objective level. Basically, what I loved about The Final Cut was that I was able to admire the theatrical cut even more. Recently, I started doing something with my friends called "Filmchat Roulette." In this challenge, I choose a few films, put them in a poll, and then my friends vote on the film that I will watch. RECAP OF POLL: Summary: On 3/5/23, with 6 out of the 9 total votes, Apocalypse Now (Final Cut) won convincingly over Das Boot. This poll was different than previous contests due to there being only two possible choices. However, given the popularity of Apocalypse Now in my friend group, it was the clear favorite to win. For more information on the Film Chat Roulette, click on the link. 🏆Winner🏆: Apocalypse Now --- 66.66% | 6 votes Runner Up: Das Boot --- 33.33% | 3 votes BREAKDOWN ON THE DIFFERENT VERSIONS: In regards to the differences between the Theatrical, the Redux, and the Final cuts, there were only a few changes that involved the addition or deletion of only a few scenes. Other than three scenes (the extra playmate scene, the French plantation scene, and the Times scene), the film was practically the same, with only very minuscule changes. There may have been slightly different visuals, sounds, or cuts. However, they weren't noticeable to an extent where my perception of the movie increases or decreases. The differences came down to three scenes. THEATRICAL: Extra Playmate scene: ❌ French Plantation scene: ❌ Reading the Times scene: ❌ REDUX: Extra Playmate scene: ✅ French Plantation scene: ✅ Reading the Times scene: ✅ FINAL: Extra Playmate scene: ❌ French Plantation scene: ✅ Reading the Times scene: ❌ In summary, to know which edition is better, one would need to know the quality of each of those three scenes. This is what I will do in the following paragraphs. ⚠️SPOILERS AHEAD⚠️ PLAYMATES: This scene, along with the French Plantation scene, were included with only one main purpose: to show how the Vietnam War was affecting other parties. Early in the movie, we were given a scene with three playmates dancing to entertain the soldiers. However, things got rowdy and they had to escape in the chopper that they arrived in. The scene was important because it showed how crazy many of the soldiers were becoming due to the war. However, later in the story, the chief characters come across these girls again, and they start acting sexually. However, each sexual encounter goes wrong, and instead the audience and the characters learn about the hardships that the girls are facing. However, especially with the presence of the French Plantation sequence, it was unneeded in displaying the impact of the war on everyone. Instead of helping the film, it dragged it alone, destroying the pacing and rhythm of the film. FRENCH PLANTATION: The visuals looked stunning and the acting was amazing. Just like the playmate scene, the sequence helps demonstrate how the war has affected everybody psychologically, and not just the soldiers. However, just like the playmate sequence, it absolutely destroys the tempo of the film. I love how the boat slowly traveling down the river symbolizes the slow path that Willard is taking to meet Kurtz. Therefore, when the boat stops, Willard's mission regarding Kurtz halts. Therefore, these halts need to be extremely meaningful and beneficial towards the film. All of the other times where they got off the boat were great because they weren't too long where they disrupted the rhythm of the film. However, the French Plantation scene was too long and too uneventful. At the end of the day, I was uninterested and completely drawn out of the film. The pacing was ruined. TIMES ARTICLE: In this scene, Colonel Kurtz reads a Times Article to Captain Willard as he is locked up. Even though it was more acceptable than the previous two scenes, it made the final section of the film even longer. The third act was already somewhat slow and there were many dialogs by Marlon Brando that already revealed a lot about his views on the war. Having this scene was unnecessary and didn't provide anything that important to the story. What was included in the theatrical and the final cuts were sufficient. ⚠️SPOILERS ENDED⚠️ Basically, each of these three scenes diminished the quality of the film. Therefore, it's pretty easy to tell that the order from best to worse goes as follows: - Theatrical: 100% - Final Cut: 99% - REDUX: 93% Actually, as long as you watch the theatrical version first, then you are fine. APOCALYPSE NOW Many of my points from my review of the theatrical cut still stand. However, I would like to state everything I liked about the film in this review as well because I viewed the film very differently back then. Now, I feel like I understand more of the film and appreciate it more as a result. Apocalypse Now is considered one of the best objective movies of all time. A lot of that praise was due to the technical mastery of the film. Apocalypse Now had an unnaturally long post-production, taking many years of Coppola's life. All of that time and dedication went to good use, because Apocalypse Now in my opinion is the best edited film of all time. I know that many people say that "it's a fool's errand to evaluate what the best editing is." However, I am an errand boy, and do believe Apocalypse Now is the best edited film of all time. The transitions were crucial for the movie. In many scenes, different cuts would overlap each other, creating a sense of connectivity with the shots and ideas that they presented. For example, in shots where choppers and fire were present, the fact that the choppers were what caused the violence was implied. It was basically the Kuleshov editing technique, but instead of being on different frames, they were on the same frame. These overlapping cuts in Apocalypse Now was what made some scenes, such as the opening scene, so legendary. It is one of the best scenes of all time, and the editing was a key player. However, editing consists more than just the visuals and transitions. The editing also pertains to the sound editing. Apocalypse Now had perfect sound editing as well. In the combat scenes, the sounds were overwhelming and chaotic. Many different sounds, such as the blades of a chopper, explosions, screams, gunshots, etc. would all play at the same time. When Coppola wanted the audience to focus more on the surroundings of the characters, the sounds would stand out. However, when he wanted us to focus on Captain Willard's psychological transformation as he became more enveloped in the mission, the sounds would fade into nothingness. An example of this phenomenon occurred with the drum sticks. At first, one of the crew members is hitting the drum sticks against the helmets and objects on the boat, but then there are shots of the classified documents that Willard is reading, and the drum stick noises become fainter. It was a way of showing how invested Willard is in his mission. However, the noises don't go completely silent, because the crew member was still "busting his balls." In addition, there were times where the sound editing also displayed a sense of connectivity as demonstrated in the previous paragraph with the transitional editing. In the opening scene, there are sounds of helicopter blades, symbolizing the Vietnam War. Then, the film cuts to Willard lying in his apartment in Saigon with his fan spinning, making an identical noise to the helicopter blades. This was really effective because it shows how Willard is unable to stop thinking about the Vietnam War. No matter where he goes, he can't escape it. This is a theme that the film addresses throughout. You can't escape the Vietnam War; you can't escape the horror. Furthermore, the cinematography was also among the best of any film I've seen as well. Francis Ford Coppola is no stranger to remarkable cinematography. The Godfather and The Godfather: Part II were both excellently shot. However, I think the photography in Apocalypse Now is the best out of the three (although it's close). Apocalypse Now had a remarkable color palette. Besides the abundance of black that stemmed from the lighting and use of shadow, red and orange were the main contributors to the color palette. These colors symbolized the blood and fire (destruction) of the Vietnam War. In addition, these colors produced some excellent frames. The lighting was excellent too. At first, the film almost had no darkness, with the red and orange I mentioned earlier being the spotlight of each frame. However, as the film progressed and Willard started to become more and more invested in Kurtz, the cinematography got darker and darker. The frames would become filled with black. Every time Willard spoke with Kurtz, it was in a dark setting where you could barely make out of the details of his face. According to Kurtz, horror has a face. Kurtz was that face: it was completely dark without any light. This was something I mentioned in my review of the theatrical version, but it was so important I thought it was necessary to repeat that. In addition to excellent framing and uses of mists and gases to create eerie atmospheres, the cinematography in Apocalypse Now was literally perfect. Some of the greatest shots of all time were present in Apocalypse Now. If I was to compile a compilation video of every great shot in Apocalypse Now, the video would be 2.5 hours long. Guess how long Apocalypse Now's (theatrical) runtime is. Continuing on the technical side, Apocalypse Now has a mesmerizing soundtrack. Its music has grown on me over time. In my first watch, The Ride of the Valkyries was the only piece to get me moving. In my Redux watch, The Ride of the Valkyries and The End were the only songs to interest me. However, upon this third viewing of Apocalypse Now, every song, including the score was amazing. Just like every other aspect about the film, the music is so atmospheric and (hauntingly) beautiful. Speaking of the score aspect of the soundtrack, it was very eerie and wonderful. It was one of the most unique scores I have ever heard, which is fitting for one of the most unique films I've ever watched. Next, the screenplay was splendid. It was loosely based off Hearts of Darkness, a story that didn't even take place in Asia. I haven't read Hearts of Darkness, but I know that calling Apocalypse Now an adaptation wouldn't do the film justice. It's like calling Kubrick's The Shining an adaptation of Stephen King. Apocalypse Now is very symbolic. There are many symbols in the film, such as The Ride of the Valkyries and surfing representing America. However, many characters are symbols too. The extended crew on the boat represent the innocents that are knowledgeable of the horrors of war. Kilgore was a symbol of American pride. As I said earlier, Kurtz was a symbol of horror. I also mentioned that the river itself was a symbol of transformation. As the story progressed, Willard became more and more invested with Kurtz and changed a lot as a character. The camouflage and the dances that Willard did were also symbols that represented his primordial instincts. At the start of the film, as Willard is going insane in his apartment, he does weird primitive-like motions like an animal. Later in the film, he does this same motion on the river. This demonstrates how the mission and the war transformed him back into that crazy state that he tried to eliminate by going back to Vietnam. In addition to all of these symbols, Apocalypse Now also has excellent characters that all have meaningful development. Also, it's just immersing and entertaining as well. I was completely absorbed in the story. Finally, Apocalypse Now has masterclass-quality level direction. Francis Ford Coppola was on a role in the 70s with The Godfather, The Godfather: Part II, and Apocalypse Now. Coppola was dedicated with Apocalypse Now and would not accept anything less than perfect in his passion project. There was a lot of self-sacrifice and pain in the production of Apocalypse Now, but nobody could overshadow Coppola's ambition and determination. Without him, Apocalypse Now not only would've been a completely different film, but it wouldn't have existed at all. No matter how great the other aspects of the film were, Coppola was able to bring it all together. Francis Ford Coppola may have not been credited as the cinematographer, but we all know he was the cinematographer. This is a film by Francis Ford Coppola. ⬅ Previous Review: Cars 3