Redux It Again!!!

Rating: 10/10 (2 September 2004)

**********SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!**********
I have resisted watching "Apocalypse Now Redux" since it was released? Why? Because, being a fan of the original version (And saw both versions with the different endings), I was afraid of being disappointed.
I HATE it when I am WRONG!!!
This version, though longer, is even better. The inclusion of the French plantation inhabitants provided a bit of relief, and answers a question that had nagged me for years: What became of Clean's (A very young Laurence Fishburne)body? The conversation regarding the war in Vietnam being a wasteful war strikes home in the current war in Iraq.
The mission still remains the same: Captain Willard (Martin Sheen)has been given a task: to "terminate" the command of Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando at his most intense), who has gone insane in the jungles of Vietnam . He hitches a ride with the crew of a patrol boat. The crew (Albert Hall, Frederic Forrest, Sam Bottoms and Fishburne) deal with the situation in different ways (Bottoms seems to be high all through the film, which he REALLY was)as they travel into the depths of hell to get to Kurtz, who is worshiped as a god by the inhabitants (Including Dennis Hopper as a photojournalist who is really out there).
The most famous scene of course is when the crew encounters Lt.Col. Kilgore (Robert Duvall)who blows up villages while Wagner's "The Ride of the Valkyries" is blasting through the speakers of the attacking helicopters. That scene alone makes you wonder if the war in general was pure madness: Kilgore becomes more concerned about surfing than doing his job.
For those who are still avoiding seeing this version of a classic, put your fears to rest and rent it tonight.