All 4 Different Cats Explained (And Which Is The Best)

The many Apocalypse now Versions that have come out over the years have offered a lot of different ways to watch the acclaimed question as well as a lot of questions about which is the best version. Francis Ford Coppola’s Vietnam War film stands out in the genre at least in part because of the different versions that exist and the debate that has cropped up as a result. Coppola has his own views of each, which may differ from and align with some of the widely accepted attitudes toward each version.

This movie not only goes down in history as one of the best war movies ever made, but one of the most controversial behind the scenes. Martin Sheen had a heart attack, Francis Ford Coppola fired a leading actor and had a nervous breakdown, and Moral Brando appeared overweight and underprepared. Despite the difficult times to make the movie, Coppola returned to Apocalypse now Several different times to explore the movie in new ways. However, there is still a lot of debate about which of these Apocalypse now Versions is the definitive one.

Why there are so many versions of Apocalypse Now explained

The troubled production resulted in a lot of footage and changes in the story

In 1975, Coppola had a series of massive successes. He wrote and directed The God And its sequel along with the film The conversation In the early 1970s. All three movies were critically and commercially successful, and they helped to solidify the New Hollywood era that began in the late 60s after the demise of the old studio system. Francis Ford Coppola’s next movie was a modern riff on the Joseph Conrad novel heart of darkness Transporting it from the Congo in the 1890s in the waning days of America’s time in Vietnam.

The film follows a young army captain with PTSD who is given the assignment to venture into the jungle and assassinate a rogue American colonel who is insane. Written by legendary screenwriter John Milius, it was Originally to be directed by George Lucas, who chose Star Wars instead of and Coppola leaves to take over as director. Apocalypse now was originally supposed to be shot over five months in 1976 but, famously, the production turned out to be a disaster. The documentary Hearts of darkness: A filmmaker’s apocalypse Details everything that is wrong. Five months of shooting turned into a year of shooting.

Sets were destroyed by weatherFilming was interrupted by an actual civil war, and Martin Sheen had a near-fatal heart attack on set. Coppola shot over a million feet of film (a fully edited version of ​​a typical 2-hour movie is approximately 11,000 feet of film). Of course, it took Coppola and multiple full-time editors years to cut the footage into a presentable final product.

The myriad production issues that are part of the true story behind Apocalypse nowHis creation is mainly to blame for why so many versions of the film exist, and why it was 40 years later that Apocalypse Now: Final Cut It finally came out.

Apocalypse Now Theatrical Version

Coppola’s need for a hit prompted a mainstream cut

The Apocalypse now Original theatrical version came out of this tortured process. There were several “work in progress” versions of varying lengths shown to limited audiences and eventually a long version shown at the Cannes Film Festival that some loved and others hated. The entire production of the film became a media frenzy and many people thought it would be an absolute failure that would destroy Coppola’s career. Despite the praise Apocalypse now In the years since its release, the theatrical version has not turned out to be the film Coppola originally wanted to make.

Interestingly, Francis Ford Coppola sometimes had to self-fund his films, and he sunk so much money into the film that he needed it to be a success, so Coppola consciously took what he considered the odd parts of the film. Make sure it would appeal to a general audience.

This line of thinking paid off like Apocalypse now was a huge box office success and has since had an enduring legacy as a modern classic. It is probably a miracle that it came out at all and even more so that its theatrical version became one of the biggest films of the 1970s.

Apocalypse Now Redux

The restored scenes create a slower and more powerful version

In 2001, Coppola reedited Apocalypse now to put all the sequences he had removed from the theatrical version back into it. titled Apocalypse Now Redux – A retitling convention followed by The Codefather Part 3’s Coda Version – Coppola’s new version of the film is Widely considered a massive step down from the original.

Editing a film can be a delicate thing, and even the smallest changes can radically change what the movie ends up being. Apocalypse Now Reduxs differences disrupted the original film’s ecology and created a bloated, slow and uneven version of Apocalypse now Which is considered much worse than the version audiences are already familiar with.

First assembly

The first edit was never intended for public viewing

Another version of Apocalypse now Floating around – a bootleg copy. An assembly cut is the very first edit of a film, with every scene that was shot, intended only for the creative team to see before the rough-cut version. Apocalypse nows assembly cut leaked and was spread around on videotape.

It would be one of the longest Francis Ford Coppola movies of all time, Coming in 289 minutesAnd it included material not featured in any other version of the film. The plan of Apocalypse now It’s probably too unwieldy to be considered a good movie, but it’s an interesting watch for those so inclined.

Apocalypse Now Final Cat

Coppola addressed criticism with redux with a linear cut

40 years after the original version of Apocalypse now was released, Francis Ford Coppola decided not only to oversee a brand new restoration of the film But also to create a new version. The Apocalypse now The latest version was released in 2019 and was a significant improvement from Apocalypse Now Redux. Coppola took criticism from the Redux version and crafted a new version that trimmed back many of the added scenes or cut them out again.

This version pays much more attention to the ecology of the film and works much better than Redux. Which was even more exciting Apocalypse Now: Final cut is heret the new 4k transfer was made from the original film negative rather than the interpositive used in all previous transfers of the film, so the final version is definitely the best-looking of all the versions and is the one that Coppola himself is most proud of.

Why the theatrical version is the best version

The focused story still feels epic and engrossing

While the Apocalypse now Final cut is a step up from these ReduxAnd some consider it on the same level as the original, the first Theatrical version will always be the definitive version of Francis Ford Coppola’s classic and it is the tightest and most focused edit, although no less weird even with the stranger sequences cut out.

That being said, Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now: Final Cut is still a fascinating companion piece to the original and Coppola has made all versions of the film readily available to the public, even packaging the theatrical version and Redux together in like releases.

The theatrical version of Apocalypse now is the film that the audience fell in love with, and it was a classic piece of 1970s American cinema. The existence of the other versions does not create competition as to which version is best, but rather the opportunity for audiences to see how much a film can change by taking out, putting in and rearranging the edited sequences. The hope is that Coppola is finally satisfied with the movie and that there is now a version of Apocalypse now He can fully stand behind the movie he decided to make.

Which Apocalypse Now version is the longest (and shortest)

The length is equal to the quality of each version

None of Francis Ford Coppola’s versions are short, but they vary in length. The longest version is the first assembly, with 289 minutes of extremely dirty footage. The Theatrical version of Apocalypse now is the shortest – in 153 minutes. It is shorter than its counterparts, even these Final cut And Apocalypse Now Redux.

While the first version of Apocalypse now Is about 182 minutes long, the last one was 202. As in the case of the better Godfather 3: Coda Cut, which trimmed four minutes off the original, shorter means better for Apocalypse now. The theatrical version is – by far – the best version of this surreal Vietnam War classic.

The worst apocalypse now version and why it is redux

The French plantation sequence is the issues of this version

Just as the original theatrical version is regarded as the best version of Apocalypse now, Apocalypse Now Redux is generally accepted as the worst. The film still has many strengths, and it does add an interesting context to the familiar scenes and story of its predecessor. For many, however, the extended runtime of Redux Prevent it from being a real contender with the theatrical release, since the main Apocalypse Now: Redux The difference is the additional 49 minutes of material that does not reinforce the narrative, but instead.

As an example, the additional scene in which Sheen’s Willard takes his team for some hard-earned downtime while getting to know a French family may have been important to Coppola for providing some contrast with the rest of Apocalypse nows oppressive discomfort, but it reduces the heavy impact of the extensive film by allowing the audience some respite along with the long-suffering military men. The process of Apocalypse now is already one of the more unusual aspects of the film, and Redux Draws it out to an unnecessary degree, especially through its more protracted political discussions.

While the add depth and timeliness for Reduxs edited many fans, such a wide dialogue he throws a wrench in the work of the film’s already considerable runtime. Coppola fans love diving into his work, but more isn’t always better, and a director can be judged as much by what they leave out of a movie as what audiences see on screen. Redux Missed the point entirely and Added “more” scenes instead of “better” scenes.

Every version of Apocalypse Now deserves respect

These flaws do not detract from the brilliance of either version of the movie

Apocalypse now Features several versions, but that’s the case with other seminal movies in history. Apocalypse Now Redux Is not much different from movies like The God And Blade RunnerWhere there are several versions and all of them are worth watching. When you want to see movies made at the highest levels, watch all the versions of the Coppola classic and understand how Different versions of the movie offer different aspects of the same story. Each of these movies is almost a different experience, and that is why the movie remains an iconic masterpiece.

Apocalypse now Deserves respect based on what the filmmakers, actors and crew went through in making this movie. The civil war was going on while making the movie and more than one crew member almost died while making the movie, including lead actor Martin Sheen. There are even actual corpses used instead of props in some scenes, thanks to the casualties of the actual war.

With everything that happened, the whole movie – no matter which version – flowed like poetry and the final version did not look like a discarded frame. A movie that shows the depth of the human soul, it proves that war is hell.

Which Apocalypse Now version is best for first-time viewers?

One version earned Apocalypse the reputation of an all-time classic

Ten years later, Apocalypse now is still discussed as one of the greatest movies ever made which naturally draws a lot of interest from fans who have never seen the classic before. However, with the many different versions available, it can be difficult to decide which one is best for first-time viewers. So, when it comes to watching The version of the movie that helped it gain its reputation as a bold masterpiece, the theatrical version is the right choice.

Although it is valid that Francis Ford Coppola had ways that he sought to improve the movie to his true vision, the theatrical cut is the most concise and effective presentation of the movie’s epic scale, thought-provoking commentary and exhilarating pace. This movie accomplishes everything the other versions of the movie do, but it does so in a shorter runtime and a more economical story.

Fans of the original will find it interesting to check out the versions of the movie and see the differences. However, the debate about what works and what doesn’t is something to explore once a viewer has experienced the theatrical version. It is the basis for the conversation and the basis of that Apocalypse now is revisited so often. If the first movie wasn’t as interesting and compelling as it was, few people would have been interested in what other versions exist.