‘Apocalypse Now: Final Cut’ Review: Can the Best Movie Ever Get Even Better?
At the risk of being redundant, I’ll say it here: “Apocalypse Now” is the greatest movie of all time. It’s perfect in every way. I say this about both the original theatrical release and the 2001 extended director’s cut “Apocalypse Now: Redux“. While some fans out there dislike the Redux for disrupting the pacing of the original, I actually like it a bit more. Not all the new scenes are necessary, but they are all very good, and several of them such as the French plantation scene do a good bit of work to further develop the film’s already dense themes and add to its inner conversation. However Francis Ford Coppola seems to regret the massive expansion of the film that happened in Redux, cutting the over 200 minute film down to 3 hours, which is still about 30 minutes longer than the theatrical release. This version, the Final Cut, was released in beautiful 4K in 2019, but I was only able to watch it just recently.
For those who can’t decide whether they like the theatrical or Redux cuts more, the Final Cut is something of a happy medium. It benefits from a lot of the revamped sound and visuals that sound designer/editor Walter Murch and cinematographer Vittorio Storaro did for the Redux as well as the incorporation of several of the better new scenes such as the plantation sequence. While about 25 minutes of footage was cut from the Redux, I could only think of a handful of missing scenes, so in the end, they probably weren’t that important anyway. The film is also paced beautifully, methodical without ever being slow or dull.
One thing that stood out to me is that the first hour or so of the film was much funnier than I remembered. The many sequences involving Kilgore and his squad always had a humorous slant to them, but I don’t ever remember laughing as hard as I did in previous viewings. The ending, on the other hand, remains a masterpiece of hypnotic filmmaking, leaving me completely in awe. The final chapter of the movie is what really seals the deal, and remains it intensely powerful in a way only great cinema can be. The imagery, sound, dialogue, and performances all coalesce into something that is beyond the ability of language to describe.
As for the 4K, the enhanced resolution was a bit of a wash. “Apocalypse Now” is a beautifully photographed film and in many instances the higher resolution enhances what are already incredible images. However much of the movie’s most striking visuals involve a great deal of darkness, fire, and smoke which creates a dreamy atmosphere that oftentimes benefits from lower resolutions and reduced detail. In some of these instances, the 4K almost gave away too much detail in the shot that may have been relatively invisible before. That said, the final chapter looks absolutely incredible in 4K, even considering that it contains the most visual virtuosity of any section of the movie.
It’s hard for me to say that the Final Cut is definitively better than the other two versions, especially since I consider all three to be of relatively similar quality. It is, however, possibly the best entry point for new viewers, acting as a middle ground that balances the tighter pacing of the theatrical cut with the enhanced thematic depth of the Redux. And it’s still the best movie ever.
