Epic

Rating: 9/10 (28 January 2004)

Strictly speaking, I am voting for Redux here. My relationship with this film is strange. I first saw it, recorded off the telly, in the mid-nineties. I couldn't get on with it at all, and ended up watching it over about 4 sittings. Predictably, I didn't think much of it, gave it a low score, and didn't return. But when Redux was released in the cinema, I thought I should give it another try. And this time I was far more impressed. I don't actually know which scenes were added (stealing the surfboard? the Playmates?) but I don't really care. It's an epic journey through Hell. I haven't seen the famous documentary, but what's up there on screen is enough for me. Brando can sod off, though. I still don't like the ending. But the way Robert Duvall delivers `Some day this war's gonna end...' is just beautiful.