Editing Achievement

Rating: 9/10 (5 July 2002)

Whether or not you like the "short" version, you owe it to yourself to see the long version, i.e., "Apocalpyse Now--Redux," to appreciate the amazing editing that went into the film to produce the short version. It was not only brilliant, it was courageous. I cannot imagine what was going through Coppola's head when he axed the sumptuous plantation scene, but he did it, and, in the final analysis, the scene WAS superfluous and unnecessary to the story. The encounter with the USO Playboy Bunnies was also dropped, mercifully so.
There were other more subtle edits that worked out well. For example, in the long version, the Sam Bottoms character steals Robert Duvall's character's surf board. This little bit of mischief, and Duvall's reaction to it, diminish Duvall's stature as the uber warrior, and dilute the impression he has made on us, the viewers. Both are fully restored in the short version.
The longer version does explain, however, what happened to little Larry Fishburne. And the longer version also connects Sam Bottoms' drugged out, zoned out character to the fatalities that occur among the crew before the party reaches Kurtz and his command. I got to where I despised the Bottoms character. In the short version, he's just plain old "Surfer Joe."
The two versions of this movie have given me a greater understanding of the painstaking process behind editing.
As for the movie, it is a masterpiece, I think, but with a less than fully satisfactory ending, not unlike the United States' 13-year involvement in Viet Nam. Maybe that was Coppola's point.
The short version is not kind to Brando, but the long version restores some luster (but not much) to Brando's reputation. The long version does help to develop Brando's character (Kurtz), which is needed. Even so, Kurtz is a murky guy, just like the world he lives in, and I would have to think that they are the deliberate creations of Coppola.
"Apocalypse Now" is a superb depiction of war and all of its many ambiguities. For a much earlier treatment, see Milestone's "All Quiet on the Western Front" (1930). Bravo, Mr. Coppola!