Apocalypse Now: Final Cut review – New look at cult classic

Being the creative people that they are, film directors are never satisfied with their final product.

They are often forced to make cuts with which they don’t wholly agree, but the studio insists they do it for commercial considerations.

How many people would enjoy sitting through a film that’s almost three hours in length? Not many, I promise.

It takes time to settle on this one and the mind will wander at times.

However, there are classic, cinematic masterpieces that sometimes require a revisit – and Apocalypse Now is one.

Apocalypse Now. Picture: Zoetrope Studios

It was an awesome achievement when it was first released in 1979. Now, 40 years later, it still retains it narrative power and visual excellence, not to mention actors who carved special places for themselves in filmmaking history.

Martin Sheen, Robert Duvall and Marlon Brandon have all become icons, growing their status over the decades. Watch out for a young Harrison Ford and a teenager named Laurence Fishburne.

Revisiting Apocalypse Now: Final Cut is still an exhilarating experience – despite 49 minutes being restored in the final cut, making it much longer. A bonus is watching it all on the Imax big screen at the Mall of Africa in Midrand.

For the uninitiated, Apocalypse Now is a retelling of Joseph Conrad’s short classic Heart of Darkness, set in 1969 during the Vietnam War.

The story traces the journey of a special forces captain, Willard, (Sheen) through the violent combat zones of Vietnam on a secret assignment to terminate the life of a field commander called Kurtz (Brando), who has set up a ruthless dictatorship.

Marlon Brando in Apocalypse Now. Picture: Zoetrope Studios

As Willard travels through the insanity and absurdities of the American involvement in the war, he is more and more drawn to the jungle itself, its primeval mystique and immense power.

To celebrate this 40th anniversary of Coppola’s Oscar-winning cult production, the experience has been heightened tremendously with the striking use of brand new 4K, Dolby audio and visual technology. You feel you are part of the action and the images are riveting in their intensity.

Coppola has stated that he believes it “looks better than it has ever looked and sounds better than it has ever sounded”, adding he was “thrilled beyond measure to present the best version of the film to the world”.

Info

Rating: ★★★★☆
Cast: Martin Sheen, Robert Duvall, Marlon Brando, Laurence Fishburne, Albert Hall, Dennis Hopper, Harrison Ford, Frederic Forrest
Director: Francis Ford Coppola

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