Apocalypse Now Redux a.k.a Let's Make Some More Money!

Rating: Null/10 (12 December 2001)

Francis Ford Coppola was at one time a filmmaking genius. Now, like many of the 1970s icons, he has devolved into a pale shadow of his former self. With such movies as "Jack" and the reprehensible third "Godfather" movie, it was merely a matter of time before he went back to material from his glory days, dusted it off, added scenes that had been wisely edited out in the first place, and declared to the world "I am back!"
Sadly, such is not the case. The footage added to "Apocalypse Now Redux" detract from the movie, stopping its narrative cold (as in the French plantation scene) or changing what was once a brilliant scene into farsical nonsense (as in the added footage that changes Col. Kilgore from a man who is worryingly in love with his work to a simpleton-surfer.)
It is a worrying trend that nowadays directors feel the urge to go back and re-cut, re-master, re-edit, re-do their previous works. In an Orwellian power trip, it seems that these directors not only want us to forget the shortcomings (if they ever existed) in their prior films, but they also see to it that those who wish to remember are not able to do so by making sure that the "new and improved" versions are the only ones available.