Don't do Redux

Rating: 5/10 (13 January 2006)

Perhaps I'm a purist, but I much prefer the "original", non-director's cut of Apocalypse Now, which is a much tighter film than the Brando-sized Redux. Coppola deleted entire scenes before the original release, scenes that have found their way back into the Redux version.
The original cut remains one of the most beautiful nightmares ever put on film. It is evident from the documentary "Hearts of Darkness" that Coppola himself was battling to stay sane on his own trip up the river, between budgetary pressures, monsoons, medical emergencies, a story with no ending, and a bloated, unprepared Marlon Brando who nearly sank the last three weeks of shooting.
Out of this madness came form, and as with art of almost any kind, it works best in its first iteration. The Gestalt of film editing rules. Coppola's only real mistakes were (1) to admit that he had trouble with the ending, and (2) deciding to add unnecessary bulk to this taught, nightmarish masterpiece.