Apocalypse Now Redux

Apocalypse Now Redux
Apocalypse Now Redux
	File:Apocalyse Now Redux.jpeg
Directed by	Francis Ford Coppola
Written by	Novella:; Joseph Conrad; Screenplay:; John Milius; Francis Ford Coppola
Produced by	Francis Ford Coppola; Kim Aubry
Starring	Martin Sheen; Marlon Brando; Robert Duvall; Frederic Forrest; Laurence Fishburne; Dennis Hopper; Harrison Ford; Albert Hall; Sam Bottoms; Aurore Clement; Christian Marquand
Cinematography	Vittorio Storaro
Edited by	Walter Murch
Music by	Carmine Coppola & Francis Ford Coppola
Distributed by	Miramax
Release dates	August 3, 2001
Running time	202 Min
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$31,500,000

Apocalypse Now Redux is a extended, definitive version of Apocalypse Now. Unlike other new cuts of the film, Redux is usually considered by fans and critics (as well as director Coppola) as a completely new movie altogether. The movie adds 49 minutes of all-new material, and greatly re-edits the original Now. The movie came into production when Coppola found the original cut seemed tame by today's standards. He (along with editor/long-time collaborator Walter Murch) added several scenes that added to movie's original surrealism. The film was distributed by Miramax (the original cut was distributed by United Artist). The new cut has received mixed reviews from both fans and critic.

New Scenes/Alterations

The movie contains several newly added sequences and alterations to the original film.

In the original film, the PBR Streetgang crewmembers relax and play around, while listening to Rolling Stones Satisfaction. All while Willards is first looking at the dossier. The scene plays right before the crewmembers meet Kilgore. In the Redux version, the scene is deleted and insteads cut straight into Willard looking through the dossier. (Note: The scene is moved to a later portion)
New Kilgore Scenes:
In the original version, Willard first meets Kilgore when asking a fellow officer who simply replies "He's other there, you can't miss him"(he's having a conversation with a few fellow officers). . In the Redux, the officer now says "There's the Colonel coming down". We later learn that Kilgore is arriving (via Helicopter) to the scene. When he arrives, he asks an officer riding with him to "Back by the tree lines 'bout a hundred yards, give him some room to breath". He later asks a another for his Death Cards (which he uses in the original version). The new introduction helps foreshadow Kilgore's extreme personality.
During the raid, Kilgore looks over some of the wounded and dead. He then walks away, simply replying "Damn".
After ordering an air strike, a Vietnamese mother, with her wounded child in hand. Kilgore immediately takes the child and tells his men to rush the child to a hospital (mother as well). This scene helps bring a humanity to Kilgore missing in the original cut.
After the helicopter (carrying the wounded child) leaves, Kilgore gives Lance a new pair of shorts to go surfing in (Note: Throughout the rest of the original cut, Lance is wearing them, but is never explained how he got them).
After giving the famous "Napalm" speech to Willard and the others, Kilgore soon learns that the Napalm has changes the wind current, ruining the waves. Willard immediatley uses this as an excuse to leave. He and Lance (who also clearly wants to leave) run back to the boat. Before they leave, Willard steals Kilgore's surf board.
In the original version, before Willard and Chef go to search for Mangos, theres a scene where the crew seems to be lying around in a river. Chef asks Willard if he can go get some Mangos, Willard says sure, but not to go alone (it makes little sense why Chef would ask Willard, as Cheif would be the one to allow Chef to leave the boat). Lance (taking a piss) ask if there's any poisonous snakes in the forrest, which Chef replys "Fuck it" and leaves to gets some mangos, Willard decided to follow him. In the Redux, there's a new scene entirely. In the scene, it is clear that the crew hiding from Kilgore (trying to get back his surfboard). A helicopter soon flies by, carrying a recording asking Lance for the board back. Willard and crew then talk about Kilgore and get a good laugh. Cheif then changes the subject by asking how far there going up the river. Willards says it's classified (but later says "better far"). Clean later ask if it's going to be hairy, which Willard simply replies "probably". Chief later asks Willard if he like it like that, "hot and hairy" (which Willard replys "Fuck"). All then is quiet (except for the sounds of Clean reloading his gun), then Willards simply says "You now who you are in some factory in Ohio". Chef later asks Cheif is he can go get some Mangos. Cheif says to bring someone. Willard volunteers.
New River Scenes:
The day after the Playboy bunnies USO show, we see the crewmembers talking about it. Chef is obessed he was able to meet Miss December. Clean then warns Chef not to go crazy with these Playboys, and proceeds to tell the story of a man so obsessed with his Playboys, he kill an Officer who ruin his playboys.
The 'Satisfaction' scene is now moved right after the above scene. The scenes makes move sense considering the crewmembers seem more relaxed (unlike the beginning, where they were usually tense and acted-like normal soldiers towards Willard).
Right after the 'Satifaction', Willard reads a letter by Kurtz, criticizing the imcompetent young soldiers sent to Vietnam, blaming them for their losing.
One point during their travels, the crew stop at a destroyed Medavac. The area is completely wrecked, with no real Commanding Officer (much like the Do Lung Bridge Sequence). Willard tries to find someone in charge, but later learns that the Playboy bunnies helicopter landed here. Willard then negotiates two barrels of fuel with an hour with the bunnies (along with the rest of the crew). Chef spends his time with his idol, Miss December (now Miss May). Lance also spends his time with Playmate of the year. Clean constantly interupts, trying to get his turn.
After the above scene, Chef learns that Clean is a virgin (probably explains his constant nitpicking of the others). Chef then makes fun of him for it, only to be stopped by Chief. The argument is only partially heard in the original cut.
After Clean's death, the crew finds themselves in a French Plantation. Willards tells the head of the plantation (Christian Marquad) that they lost one of their men. He tell Willard they'll bury him (to pay respects to the fallen of their allies). What later follows is a funeral for Clean. The crew then has dinner with the other. Willard, sitting with the family, asks when their going home. We later learn the they are Communist, who left France. The family soon go into a long and lengthy argument over the Vietnam War. Most of the family leaves in anger. After they all leave, one, Roxanne (the only one not in the consevation), apoligizes for her family. She and Willard later talk, smoke some Opium, and have sex. We later see the crew back on the river, and towards the mission.

New Kurtz Scene:

After Chef's death, we see Willard boiling in a metal hut. Kurtz later enters inside and reads Willard several Time Magazine articles detailing America's success in the war. The scene shows how America was lied to about many of the war mishaps.

Production

Coppola started production for the new cut with working-partner Kim Aubry. Coppola then tried to get Murch, who was reluctent at first. He thought in would be extremely difficult recutting a film which had taken two years to edit originally. He later changed his mind (after working on the reconstruction of Orson Welle's Touch of Evil). Coppola and Murch then examined several of the rough prints, and dailies for the film. It was decided early on the editing on the film would be like editing a new film altogether. One such example was the new French Plantation sequence. The scenes were greatly cut to fit into the movie originally, only to be cut in the end. When working again on the film, instead of using the (heavily edited) version, Murch decided to work the scene all over again, editing the scene like it was the first time.

Much work needed to be done to the new scenes. Thanks to much of the off-screen noises during the shoot, most of the dialouge has impossible to hear. During post-production of Now, the actors were brought back to re-record their lines (known as ADR). Sadly, this was done for the scenes that made it into the original cut, and not the deleted scenes. For the Redux version, Martin Sheen, Robert Duvall, Sam Bottoms, Albert Hall, Frederic Forrest, and Aurore Clement were brought back to record ADR for the new scenes.

There was new music also composed for the movie. For the French Platation, there was a sequence romatic interlude between Willard and Roxanne. Sadly, there was no music composed for the scene (plus no music composed fit the scene). To make matters worse, composer Carmine Coppola has passed away in 1991. Several checked the old recording and writtings. They soon found a track entitled "Love Theme" (it turns out that during scoring, Francis Coppola had told his father to write a theme for the scene before it was ultimantly deleted. The track was (as well as a few ones) recorded by a group of synthesist.

Vittorio Storaro also came back from Italy to head a new color balance of the film and new scenes. When Redux was being released, Storaro learned of a Technicolor Dye-Transfer Process was being brought back. The Dye-Transfer is a three-strip process, that makes the color highly saturated and has consistent black tone. Storaro wished to used this on Redux, but a probelm was in order to do it, they needed to cut the original prints of Apocalypse Now, leaving Apocaylpse Now Redux the only print availible. Storaro decided to it, when convinced by Coppola that this version would be the one that would be remembered.

Soundtrack

A sountrack for the movie was release on July 31, 2001 by Nonesuch. The sountrack contains most of the tracks (remastered) includes most of the track on the film, as well as some on the new scenes ("Clean's Funeral", "Love Theme"). The score was composed by Carmine Coppola and Francis Ford Coppola (with some tracks co-composed by Mickey Hart and Richard Hansen). Some tracks were composed by various.

Track listing

The End - The Doors
The Delta - Carmine Coppola, Francis Ford Coppola
Dossier - Carmine Coppola, Francis Ford Coppola
Orange Light - Carmine Coppola, Francis Ford Coppola
Ride of the Valkyries - Richard Wagner
Suzie Q - Dale Hawkins
Nung River - Carmine Coppola, Francis Ford Coppola, Mickey Hart
Do Lung - Carmine Coppola, Francis Ford Coppola, Richard Hansen
Clean's Death - Carmine Coppola, Francis Ford Coppola, Mickey Hart
Clean's Funeral - Carmine Coppoal, Francis Ford Coppola
Love Theme - Carmine Coppola, Francis Ford Coppola
Chief's Death - Carmine Coppola, Francis Ford Coppola
Voyage - Carmine Coppola, Francis Ford Coppola
Chef's Head - Carmine Coppola, Francis Ford Coppola
Kurtz' Chorale - Carmine Coppola, Francis Ford Coppola
Finale - Carmine Coppola, Francis Ford Coppola

Extenal Link

Making Apocalypse Now Redux - An extensive look at the making of the new cut.

Trailer - Trailer for Apocalypse Now Redux