It is the height of the war in Vietnam, and U.S. Army Captain Willard is sent by Colonel Lucas and a General to carry out a mission that, officially, 'does not exist - nor will it ever exist'. The mission: To seek out a mysterious Green Beret Colonel, Walter Kurtz, whose army has crossed the border into Cambodia and is conducting hit-and-run missions against the Viet Cong and NVA. The army believ... es Kurtz has gone completely insane and Willard's job is to eliminate him! Willard, sent up the Nung River on a U.S. Navy patrol boat, discovers that his target is one of the most decorated officers in the U.S. Army. His crew meets up with surfer-type Lt-Colonel Kilgore, head of a U.S Army helicopter cavalry group which eliminates a Viet Cong outpost to provide an entry point into the Nung River. After some hair-raising encounters, in which some of his crew are killed, Willard, Lance and Chef reach Colonel Kurtz's outpost, beyond the Do Lung Bridge. Now, after becoming prisoners of Kurtz, will Willard & the others be able to fulfill their mission?
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Still brilliant but mixed feelings
Even though I think the original film has been diluted due to the expansion of the Brando and Sheen characters, and with the addition of even more surreal and maybe slightly contrived stop-offs for the riverboat crew, there's no denying that rarely in the relatively short history of director's cuts has there been such an exciting expansion of a classic movie like there has been in Redux. I'm still not sure which version I prefer but I am one hundred percent sure the extra scenes were worth seeing. An absolute must for fans of the original.
DON'T WATCH THIS FILM!
Francis Ford Coppalla's original cut of Apocalypse Now was a genuine masterpiece. What was he thinking of? The Redux version's additional scenes add nothing to it's original cut, indeed they destroy the mood and pace of the film. I thoroughly recommend the original to anyone,if they can still find a copy,and if you have to see the out takes, then watch Mrs.Coppolla's excellent documentary 'heart of darkness',
