I've never seen Apocalypse Now, should I go with the basic or the Redux?

I saw Redux first and was bored. Go with the original version.

quote:

---

documentary about the production "heart of darkness",

---

Where is this streaming?

And yeah, I’d go basic 1st for sure. Watch the redux later if you really dig it.

Redux is only interesting if you really really like the theatrical release version. I did and I liked them both, but I'd certainly watch the standard version first.

The redux mainly adds context regarding French colonization, but doesn't really add to the basic plot of the movie.

quote:

---

I saw Redux first and was bored. Go with the original version.

---

This

Coppola shot so much film; if you watch the documentary Hearts of Darkness, it will show you he was apparently trying to outdo Cimino and Deer Hunter, this was the auteur decade, directors had carte blanche...so they just shot and shot and shot.

His original submitted version of the film is probably similar to redux, so you can watch it for that...what Coppola intended but the studio said, I don't think so.

I mean the theatrical version is 2 1/2 hours...you don't need to add another hour onto that.

Agree with others. Watch the original/theatrical cut first. If you love it, watch Redux next time around, but make sure you clear your schedule. 3hr 23min.

quote:

---

Is the Apocalypse Now Redux an overall better watch than the basic film?

---

redux. it has 2 added scenes that are totally worth the longer runtime.

everytime i watch the theatrical cut, i find myself missing the redux material.

and if youre in the mood to watch the movie in the first place, the longer runtime shouldnt bother you.

Alright, ill go with the original. I know the making of it was kinda crazy and what the actors were putting themselves through.

Redux is trash, original is incredible

quote:

---

I know that there is also a documentary about the production "heart of darkness"

---

Not to nitpick, just to help a future searcher, the doc is called Hearts of Darkness. Thanks for the heads up—found it on Prime last night, but had to rent it for $3.99. It was good and I’m glad I watched it, but I did like a 10-page paper on Apocalypse Now in a grad school class—I think it was pretty good, too, but no idea where to find it—and already knew most of the stories about the making of it.

So the doc was a bit of a letdown, because I don’t think it delved deep enough into the psychology of the darkness of the making of it. Certainly worth a watch, but I guess I wanted a bit more. Maybe it’s because Coppola’s wife made it on his instruction and he didn’t want to expose the full shite-show. Whatever.

However, Prime did recommend Milius for me, which is free. I knew John Milius had written Apocalypse Now with FFC and was a pretty interesting character himself—probably most famous for being the Coen Brothers’ inspiration for Walter in The Big Lebowski or writing the U.S.S Indianapolis scene in Jaws. What I didn’t know was that while at USC the hippies had button pins that had a peace sign in the middle with “Nirvana Now” around the symbol. Milius was counter-culturing the counter-culturers and flipped the peace sign on its side and wrote “Apocalypse Now” around the flipped symbol. He eventually put a mushroom cloud in its place.

Anyhoo, I haven’t finished this doc yet, but I thought it was cool how AN got its title. Not sure if I’d never come across that piece of trivia or simply forgot it. Either way. Oh, and what a fricking incredible group of filmmakers came out of that late 60s/early 70s USC film school scene. Incredible all that talent together.