An ugly, uncompromisingly brilliant look inside of mankind and the war within themselves...

Rating: Null/10 (4 February 2006)

Apocalypse Now (1979, 2001)
Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Frederic Forrest, Sam Bottoms, Laurence Fishburne, Albert Hall, Dennis Hopper, Harrison Ford.
Twenty-five years ago, Francis Ford Coppola had created a ground-breaking masterpiece. It was called 'Apocalypse Now'. It was based on the novel Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, which was written in the late 1800's. It obviously wasn't about the Vietnam War, but instead was about a man named Kurtz in the jungles of Cambodia. Now that was a great example of film-making. Three years ago, they released an extended version called 'Apocalypse Now: Redux'.
Captain Benjamin Willard is a man just waiting and urging for a mission. He is assigned one: To terminate (...with extreme prejudice) Kurtz, a former Colonel who is a leader of a tribe in a Cambodian jungle. Willard travels with a group of soldiers: Chef, Chief, Lance, and Clean. He meets surf-crazed Lt. Col. Kilgore, who leads the military during an island attack. When Willard arrives on Kurtz's island, he finds that Kurtz has set up his own army. While learning about why Kurtz despises the war, Willard drifts further and further from reality.
'Apocalypse Now: Redux' gives us a version of the original with more detail. I thought that the original was outstanding, but adding almost an hour (49 minutes to be exact) of more footage made the film drag a bit.
The acting is very good, especially from Sheen and Duvall. Brando gives a good performance. This wasn't his best performance (Last Tango in Paris and The Godfather come to mind),but it was very chilling. Other familiar faces include a very young Laurence Fishburne (18 years old!), Dennis Hopper, a younger Harrison Ford, and a cameo by R. Lee Ermey (Full Metal Jacket) as a helicopter pilot. Duvall and Hopper give good comic relief. Coppola's direction is very good. Probably his best.
The picture on 'Redux' is restored and looks better than ever. At times, I don't really consider it a war film because it doesn't focus on the Vietnam War. My favorite is the original, but watching 'Redux' was interesting. Fans of the original won't be disappointed by the film, even though we get no special features on the DVD but a trailer.
'Redux' only has a few scenes added in. But they are long scenes. They don't really add much to the story, and don't have much meaning. However, it is good that they made a new version, to remind us of how good the original version was twenty-two years before.
'Apocalypse Now' was one of the best films made about war. It is more like an anti-war film. It is like a personal journey to hell. It shows the power of a man, and how it effects others. It is one of the most unusual, brilliant, and yet bizarre films that I have ever seen. 'Redux' gives us a better look through Willard's adventure to keep his sanity. An excellent achievement (for both versions). 5 stars out of 5.