Discuss Apocalypse Now/AN Redux

[carl]

Release Date:1979/July 20th, 2001
Director:Francis Ford Coppola
Writers:Michael Herr, Francis Ford Coppola, John Milius
Starring:Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Martin Sheen, Laurence Fishburne, Dennis Hopper, Harrison Ford, Scott Glenn, Frederic Forrest, Sam Bottoms, Albert Hall, Christian Marquand, Aurore Clement
Studio:Paramount
Genre:Action, Adventure, War
Rated:R

I've got to admit that before I got my hands on this DVD I'd never even seen this film. I'd heard it's reputation as a masterpiece, but I really had no idea what to expect. Which is why I was surprised that it opened with a dreamlike view of the Vietnam war. It opens on a shot of a group of tree's that is held on without occurrence for about a minute. Suddenly a helicopter slowly flies past the screen before an almost slow motion explosion jerks the film into life. All the while a clear, almost Ghostlike, image of Martin Sheens head observes it all. However upon watching the film the surreal dreamlike nature of this opening is the best way I can think of to describe the rest of the movie.

The film is narrated to the audience by Capt. Benjamin L. Willard, played brilliantly by Martin Sheen, a man who was changed by the events of the film. He's a man who viewed the war through those same dreamy eyes that we see the film through. He doesn't believe in the saying 'War is Hell' but is closer in tone to the belief of 'Peace is hell'. A man bored by the silent peace of his leave in Saigon and who dreams of the time he will be allowed to reenter the war. Its this characters dreamlike view of the war that permeates a large portion of the film, which is made memorable thanks in no small part to the combination of perfect cinematography and soundtrack. Examples of this are found in scenes such as the opening I mentioned earlier. It wouldn't have had nearly as much of a dreamy quality if the camera hadn't been held steady for a prolonged time with the song "The End" by The Doors playing in the background. Other examples of the films surreal nature later into the film include a helicopter assault on a Vietnam bridge. Again the cinematography has been perfectly chosen to give the choppers an ominous quality, so that when they attack to the tune of "The Ride of the Valkyries" it gives the scene an atmosphere that would have made Kubrick himself proud.

However there can be no denying that this dreamlike structure betrays the films true nature. That as the characters move further up the river towards their mission the war becomes less and less attractive, and the story almost begins to feel like a decent into hell. The dreamlike nature that you perceive is the characters way of defending themselves from the true horrors of war. They're in denial to what they doing there because as long as they have fun with the situation then they can consider themselves tourists instead of soldiers. However eventually, about halfway through the film, the characters are in for a rude awakening. They decide to inspect a passing boat, but being unsure of whether these people were friends or foes they opened fire as they jumped to the protection of something in a vegetable basket. The inspection reveals that it was a puppy they were hiding and that now a group of innocent people had been slaughtered. From this point on the dreamlike cinematography is kept, but the soundtrack changes, often using silence, to give the film a more nightmare like quality. It begins to feel less like a war film and more like a horror movie. The most infamous shot comes in what is possibly the films most memorable moment. It's towards the end, so I wont spoil it for people who haven't seen it yet, but a scene where Sheen slowly emerges from the river covered in mud is one of the creepiest things I have seen in a war film to date.

You would expect disappointment after a build up like that, but when the characters do reach their journeys end a cold and distant performance from Marlon Brando, combined with an inner struggle for Sheen make sure that even the ending doesn't disappoint.

What though of this 'Redux' edition of the film. Like I said it is my first time seeing the film so I can't really compare it to the original, but I do know what most of the deleted scenes were, and to be honest I think most of them work really well. The scene where Willard arranges to swap some fuel in order for his men to spend a few hours with the playboy playmates fits perfectly into it's slot. It's just before the scene where they kill the Vietnamese people on the boat, but it's the point where the characters are starting to realize the dream is false, but still try to ignore this realization. A few hours with the playmates would seem like heaven to most men, and that is what these guys are acting like, yet the situation is the total opposite of what they had dreamt of. The poring rains, the distant girls are not exactly most guys idea of a good time. Combine that with the leering soldiers and the dead body in the freezer, and even an hour with a playmate becomes hell.

The scene that I've heard the most complaints about though is a scene in the latter half of the film on a french plantation. I thought this scene was great, like the rest of the film it had the technical details down perfectly. The cinematography and use of silence in the first part created a sense of unease and horror more effectively than anything before this point. Inside the plantation the claustrophobia rises rapidly as tensions reached fever pitch. Most people will agree with that though, but they feel the scene is out of place. I disagree, I feel that this scene get's across a political statement that was subtly hinted at throughout the film, but was possibly cut to avoid any backlash from 70's America. Moments such as Willard talking about how he'd killed at least 6 Vietnamese people close-up, but hated the idea of killing an American, even an evil one. Or the scene where Robert Duvall's Col. William Kilgore gives his napalm speech, including the phrase "I love the smell of napalm in the morning." Little things like that showed the characters as all American, fighting for their country and whatnot, but it also gave the feeling that this was not such a good thing. The French Plantation seemed to confirm my feelings on the matter as we meet a group of characters who hate the all American attitude, and make a point of saying that they view all people as the same, using an egg of all things to highlight this. This as well as a scene where Brando reads an insert from time magazine to Willard really get across the films anti lie philosophies perfectly, making Brando's final comments feel more satisfying.

The only scene I could have done without, and it is a new scene, is where Willard stole Kilgores surf board. It lightened the tone, and fit into the people playing pranks to avoid the horrors of war, yet it was out of character for Willard, who always looked down on the pranks of the other soldiers. He even went so far as to say that the war could be won with a quarter of the amount of soldiers they had, if those soldiers were serious. This scene contradicted that character trait and stands out like a sore thumb. Other than that though I cannot think of another thing worth complaining about. The film is an absolute masterpiece.

*****



Discuss the version you've seen...
please.

[Gaumont]

Ive seen both versions. Original several times and Redux once. I like both versions, but they both have some flaws I think.

The original is hurt by being cut up pretty badly. U really notice where there is stuff missing, wihich is a sign of bad editing. The Redux version dosent have this problem, but it does feel too long instead. I Do prefer the Redux though, as it shows more stuff that is well made. I like the Part where they meet the French (which is totally cut from original).

Many good actors in this movie and I really like the overvoice by Martin Sheen. I know overvoices is often disliked, but personally I love them, and this one is very good.

They show a nice contrast between the veteran (Sheen) who's been around and his view on the war, and they more "new" guys on the boat, who seems to see the war as something exciting (perhaps), but only upp untill stuff start going wrong.

Not a "usuall" war movie, but still a very good one. I would think its not a movie for everyone though.

btw, ive always dissliked the sceen when they kill the bull (or whatever it is)

[Jake]

I may be wrong but I think this movie is a lot like Fight Club, it's aimed at people that will understand it, the only way to enjoy or like this movie is to either be a Vietnam War veteran or understnad "the horror, the horror" of that war. At the time that it was made it really strongly portrayed the feelings about the war and showed the psychological effects of it on the soldiers. I see it as a movie that shows the reality of war and how humanity and civilazation don't matter in the dense jungles of Vietnam. The whole movie has a feeling of losing your mind and shows the constant questioning of the mission by Sheen.

One of the best movies of all time to people that appreciate the movie for its certain original aspects. As for an average person wathching it now, I don't htink they'll like it that much.

[carl]

Jake, I assure you that I was never in the Vietnam war. What with the fact that I'm in my early 20's, live in a country that was never involved in that war, and would rather die than go to war I think it's a safe bet I wasn't there.

That doesn't effect a persons appreciation of the film though, it's an amazing film on a technical level, with it's acting, cinematography and soundtrack. It's also a film that highlights the wrongness of lieing. Yes it had a large part to do with the lies that the American government spread during the Vietnam war, but they are still themes relevant to all people today. It's so far ahead of Fight Club that comprrisons are unfair.

[bendermac]

i allways liked ap. on the site of platoon, full metal jacket is ap one of the most importend nam film done in moviehistory. many people told me that ap is boring. it's too long, no action and mostly "hat's this film all about?" doh i know that it is hard to tell someone what this film is about. you simply have to watch and if someone doesn't get it, well ***** them.
i also know both version and after seeing the redux version i can say that this is def the better version.. the only thing that i was really pissed of and mean really was the wrong aspect ratio on the dvd. wtf, 2.0:1 ok the dp wanted it but it distroys the whole compostion of the movie. people who saw the true widescreen version know what i'm saying and i hop that coppola will fix this in the future :angel" for those who never saw the film i just can say "go in videostore and rent the dvd or vhs this is a most see movie."

[editman]

I only saw Redux in theatre.

Frankly I'd rather not talk about it until I've seen the original and Hearts of Darkness. (Come on, Paramount! Here's your cash cow. Put the 3 films in a box set and milk it, man....)

[blugh]

Redux is good but extremely overlong, quite the antithesis of the book Heart Of Darkness which is rather short. Haven't seen the original AN. It was a good movie, and certainly the best Vietnam movie.

[j7wild]

I know I am 10 years late coming into this thread but does anyone know where I can get the workprint?