MovieChat Forums > Apocalypse Now (1979) Discussion > Should I bother with the Final Cut?

Should I bother with the Final Cut?

posted 3 years ago by MovieChatUser497 (18943)
11 replies | jump to latest

I loved the Theatrical Cut, the Redux version is OK if I am really in the mood for it but that plantation scene goes on forever. Honestly the only thing about the Redux version that I thought improved upon the Theatrical cut is that in the theatrical version Clean and Chief's deaths are back to back and they are very similar scenes, while I do not like the plantation scene at all it does remove that awkwardness. From what I've gathered the Final Cut keeps some of the additional footage from the Redux version but removes some of it.

Anyways is the Final Cut recommended?

[–] diezman (1802) 3 years ago

Personally, I find the extended version to be quite boring. I don't think that it adds much to the overall story. It's a matter of preference however. See both for yourself.

[–] MovieChatUser497 (18943) 3 years ago

I just finished the final cut and I actually think it's my favorite version. It still leaves in the extended scenes with Kilgore and you can never get enough of that guy but it takes out the Playboy bunny scene which I thought was pointless and it occurred right in the middle of the scene of the guys on the boat and I always thought that was an awkward scene transition, it also takes out the extended scene with Kurtz which went nowhere and I thought that just made the movie drag even more. Yes the Plantation scene is still in there which I'm not a fan of but they did trim it a bit and one good thing about the plantation scene is it gives us some time to grieve for Clean's death, in the theatrical version Clean and Chief's death's are back to back and they are very similar scenes which was always kind of odd in my opinion.

[–] Redsfan001 (6004) 3 years ago

The original is where it's at.

All the extras are interesting, but unnecessary and can make the movie drag.

[–] MovieChatUser497 (18943) 3 years ago

Yeah the redux version definitely dragged although I heard that a lot of the extra scenes will Kilgore were still in the final cut so I’ve decided to check it out. The scene where he plays over a loudspeaker “please return my board” into the jungle was hilarious

[–] Wuchak (8110) 3 years ago

"Just give me back the board, Lance. It was a good board and I like it. You know how hard it is to find a board you like." (lol)

[–] MovieChatUser497 (18943) 3 years ago

Lol I’ll take all the Kilgore scenes I can get. I like the final cut the best, we get more Kilgore and they take out the pointless scene where the playboy bunnies whore themselves out. We still get that stupid plantation scene but it’s been trimmed down a bit so it’s not as bad as it is in the Redux

[–] Wuchak (8110) 3 years ago

Coppola was right to cut the extra scenes featured in "Redux" for his original theatrical version since very little of the extra footage enhances the film, although each of those added scenes have their good points. For instance, the additional playboy bunny scene isn't good and unnecessarily drags the film down, but I do like Coppola's use of the typhoon that occurred during shooting, not to mention the hilarious exchange:

Quartermaster: "Captain, are you giving away our fuel for a Playmate of the Month?"
Willard: "No, Playmate of the Year, Chief!"

I'm not a fan of the tedious plantation sequence, but it provides several positive things:

1. The fact that some French people settled in Vietnam.
2. Clean's funeral.
3. The interesting conversation at the table, which includes these powerful lines:

Francis de Marais: "Why don't you Americans learn from us - from our mistakes? Mon Dieux! With your Army, your strength, your power, you could win if you want to! You can win!"
Hubert de Marais: "The Vietnamese... we worked with them, made something - something out of nothing... We want to stay here because it's ours - it belongs to us. It keeps our family together. I mean, we fought for that. While you Americans... you are fighting for the biggest nothing in history!"

4. Roxanne's observation about Willard's duality: "There are two of you, don't you see? One that kills... and one that loves."

Even the dull scene where Kurtz reads the article to the caged Willard had a worthy purpose: It plainly showed that Kurtz wasn't actually "insane." His problem was that he "got off the boat" and left the game of war. As a rogue officer, he was fighting the war more effectively than those simply playing the game of war, audaciously taking out double agents and so on, but the Brass didn't care about winning the war because they fed on it, even thrived on it, e.g. Kilgore, who wouldn't even flinch when a bomb dropped. So they commission Willard to assassinate Kurtz because he was no longer "one of them" and was making them look incompetent.

[–] pjl69 (2430) 3 years ago

I think "someday this war is gonna end" was an excellent exit line for Kilgore. He had done his job for the story. After that his character was made just weaker when he was looking for his stolen board.

[–] Wuchak (8110) 3 years ago

I wholeheartedly agree.

[–] pjl69 (2430) 3 years ago

The surfboard scene ruined Willard's monumentally serious character for me. There's humour in Apocalypse Now, but not in Willard's character and that's the way I like it.

[–] Wuchak (8110) 3 years ago

Yeah, I prefer the theatrical version's more one-dimensional depiction of Willard as well. But I gotta respect the way the longer versions give him balance and show that he's a human being rather than just an emotionless killing machine.

This effectively showed that Willard was the kind of warrior that Kurtz said was necessary to win the war in this potent line: "These men who fought with their hearts, who had families, who had children, who were filled with love... but they had the strength... the strength... to do that. If I had ten divisions of those men, our troubles here would be over very quickly."