Apocalypse Now; This is the way the world ends

Rating: 10/10 (15 October 2005)

Capt. Willard is sent on a mission in Vietnam to kill a man named Kurtz whose methods in the war became 'unsound'. Kurtz is a former officer who settled himself somewhere in Cambodia on the end of the Nung River, deep in the jungle. This film follows Capt. Willard on his seemingly endless journey on the Nung River that leads to the Colonel. On his journey Willard slowly becomes absorbed by Kurtz' life story and especially, his philosophy. Director Brian de Palma shows his true excellence in filming this trip; it is everything that film is supposed to be. It is full of tension and the dialogs are unforgettable. Not to mention the last 30 minutes of the film, which is to me the best ending to a film I have ever seen. When Kurtz (Brando) starts his monologue about the inoculated children, I sizzled. It was just great. The intriguing thing is that if you take your time to absorb the dialogs then you slowly start to comprehend what Kurtz had gone through. Apocalypse Now is definitely a work of art.
About the Redux version; many people are not pleased with the added scenes. Partly I agree, since why would we change something what is already perfect? On the other hand, the extra scenes are interesting when you concentrate on them; at least, that is what I think.