Apocalypse Now Redux

I just finished watching the extended “Redux” version of one of my all-time favourite movies today, Francis Ford Coppola’s 1979 classis Apocalypse Now, and decided I’d add my 2 cents to the ongoing debate as to which version is better: Original or Redux.

I enjoyed the additional Redux footage very much, especially the additional scenes with Colonel Kurtz, but I’d probably still recommend the original version first because it’s a more manageable length and a more consistent pace. At 3 hours and 22 mins, the Redux version is just too long to watch in one sitting.

One thought on “Apocalypse Now Redux

  1. carrie

    The additional Kurtz scenes make the ending clearer to me. That’s mainly why I prefer the Redux to the original.

    In the original (a mere 2 and a half hours), I tended to fade away by the last scenes with Brando as the barely visible, incoherent Kurtz. In the Redux, Kurtz is shown in the light of day with his shaved head shining in the sun. He reads the lies from Time magazine to Willard. I saw Kurtz as a human being who has gone insane rather than some wackjob muttering in the shadows.

    It has a longer running time with a different, possibly better payoff at the end.

    George Lucas was at one point supposed to direct Apocalypse Now. It didn’t work out, he did Star Wars instead. Think about it, a rebel group defeats the big, powerful empire. Use the force .. .. charlie

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