Redux equal to its original

Rating: 10/10 (22 July 2003)

Apocalypse Now is perhaps, or in my opinion even probably, the best piece of film recorded thus far in cinematic history. Unfortunately I never had the opportunity to see it in the cinemas, so when Redux opened in 2001 my expectations were, to say the least, huge, and the 21st century update of the movie didn't let me down. Nor was it better than the original, and I mean, how could it be? It was simply different.
The new scenes, which I believe add up to almost a whole extra hour in the Redux version, adds new depth and detail to the movie at first, but in the second half of the movie they are just as guilty of destroying some of the pace of the film, which in the original was so perfectly calculated. Willard's stop at a French plantation for example is, in a sense, almost a step back on his journey to "hell". These new scenes are however beautifully incorporated with the old ones and Coppola has done a wonderful job using his father's classical music compositions to create new music for the additions.
To sum things up, Apocalypse Now Redux remains as great a movie as the original with its superb score and scenes like the one where Col. Kilgore goes surfing, the crossing of the Do Lung Bridge and of course the big finale engraved in movie history forever.