Redux vs. the original

Rating: Null/10 (13 August 2001)

I just saw "Apocalypse Now Redux" is a fine THX theater with a projectionist who actually knew what he/she was doing for a change. I'm already a big fan of the original, and I had a chance to see it on the big screen once before but that time it was a badly beaten up print. So it was certainly a joy seeing one of the most beautifully photographed color films ever made in a theater... Vittorio Storaro is simply a miracle worker. The sound design by Walter Murch is also quite possibly the finest accomplishment in the history of cinematic sound. Obviously any film buff must jump at the chance to see the film in a theater during this re-release... but it's an awful shame that the version is the "Redux" rather than the original. The original version is far and away the superior version.... so much so that it's hard for me to really recommend to someone who has never see the film to check out "Redux". The majority of the new scenes are superfluous. While a few scenes still contain the perfectly poetic combination of visuals and sound that is the film's finest asset, others are interesting only for those who have already seen the film but it kills the pacing for those who have not, and others still are simply bad scenes. Coppola, who was a much better director in the 1970's than he is today, should have trusted his initial instincts. I don't think any of the new scenes improved the film, while many really hurt it. (Spoilers from now on!!) The best of the new scenes are near the end with Brando's Kurtz having more screen time. Still, these new scenes deflate the enigmatic nature of the character. In the original Brando was always shot in shadow so we are left with a feeling that Kurtz is a projection of Willard's deepening madness. In "Redux" Kurtz appears fully lit and he becomes a more distinct character, and I don't think this is an improvement. There is also a scene on a French plantation which features a lengthy discussion of the politics of The Vietnam War. While it may be of interest to some for historical value, it is certainly a failure for it's dramatic value. Personally I'd be more interested in hearing about the Vietnamese point of view than the French point of view, something that the film never attempts to capture. This is followed by easily the worst of the new scenes, a romantic encounter between Willard and a woman on the plantation. It was a forced, bizarrely inappropriate scene that was scored by the worst music in the film. The opium smoking scene that follows is more bearable mostly because of a more appropriate tone and Mickey Hart's music ("Redux" did have more of his music and I kinda dug that), but it still added little other than some pretentious ramblings from the woman. Almost as bad as the seduction scene is a new scene with the Playboy bunnies, which criticizes the exploitation of women as sexual objects while it exploits the women as sexual objects. Overall, "Redux" is simply slower, less focused, and more pretentious than the original. Once again, it's a damn shame that they didn't just release a remastered version of the original for us to enjoy in a theater for all it's cinematic glory. Instead we are left the enjoy the technical marvel of a now deeply flawed film.