4k-UHD/Movie Review: Apocalypse Now Final Cut

 

Apocalypse Now is a 1979 war movie directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Marlon Brando, Martin Sheen, Dennis Hopper, Laurence Fishburne, Robert Duvall, and Harrison Ford. It is, of course, the "other" iconic Francis Ford Coppola movie from the 1970s. While I do not think it is as good as either The Godfather or The Godfather Part II, it is still a very good movie. It is partly a commentary on the Vietnam War, partly an adaptation of the novel Heart of Darkness, and partly just weird. It centers around the character of Willard, played by a young (and very much looking like Charlie) Martin Sheen, who is on a mission to find and kill a rogue ex-Colonel named Kurtz, played by Marlon Brando. It also stars a very young Lawrence Fishburne and another Godfather Alum, Robert Duvall, as Kilgore (who has some of the best lines in the movie) and Dennis Hopper as a crazy photojournalist. It is not per-se an anti-war film but does make statements (some subtle, some not) about the absurdity of the Vietnam War. It definitely gets weird at times, especially after Brando's character shows up about 2/3 of the way through the movie.

The 4k set is a six-disc set containing two UHD discs and four regular Blu-Ray discs. It includes the theatrical version of the film, which is about 2.5 hours long, the Redux cut, which is about 3 hours and 16 minutes long, and the Final cut, which is just over 3 hours long. Each version is both on a UHD disc and a regular Blu-ray. There are a ton of extras, some of which are new, and some which are carried over from prior DVD releases of the movie, including a discussion between Martin Sheen and Coppola, which was done in 2010 for a prior release, a 1936 radio broadcast of Heart of Darkness (which was a huge inspiration for the movie) narrated by Orson Wells, deleted scenes, and much more. There is also a commentary track by Coppola on the Redux version of the movie, which gives a lot of insight into the process of making the movie, including how George Lucas was supposed to direct it before he started making Star Wars and how Coppola made a lot of it up as he was shooting the movie, and was not working off a finished script.

It is definitely not a movie that everyone will like. But if you are a fan of the movie, the actors, and/or the director and especially love when a lot of bonus material is available, it looks and sounds great. And you get every possible variation of the movie that will ever be put out. It is a must-get, even if you have one of the earlier releases.

DVD/Movie Review: The Last Tango in Paris

 

The Last Tango in Paris is a 1972 film directed by Bernardo Bertolucci and starring Marlon Brando and Maria Schneider. In its day, this movie was extremely controversial, mainly because of the age difference between the past his romantic lead prime, Brando, and barely out of her teens, Maria Schneider. In terms of nudity, it is for the most part tame by today's standards. It has become more controversial over the years because of Schneider's description of the trauma she felt filming the rape scene, which was not originally in the script and sprung upon her. There are a couple points in the uncut version where Maria Schneider is fully nude, but that it is. The film is not really erotic per se. Yes, there is a lot of nudity and sex in it, and certainly, the language is not something you heard in mainstream movies in the 70s. But it really is about two scarred people having an affair that is unhealthy for both, yet one neither can let go of.

The two characters, Paul and Jeanne come together, literally and figuratively while looking at the same apartment. That apartment becomes basically a place to have sex and nothing else. He will only agree to meet her on the condition that they never reveal their names or anything about their lives and never see each other outside of the apartment. For most of the movie, she wants more from him, trying to get him to open up and she keeps coming back despite his cruelty. In the end, it is Brando's character chasing her, which leads to the finale of the movie.

The only bonus feature on the DVD is the theatrical trailer. There is no making-of material or a commentary track on the movie. The movie will definitely not appeal to everyone. I thought the pacing was kind of slow and I think it could have easily had 15 to 20 minutes cut out and still told the same story. I think the acting was good, but not great. I am not an aficionado of Brando as some are, so I can't say I followed all his work, but personally, I thought he was better in The Godfather than in this movie. There is definitely a 1970s-era feel to the movie, so if you are generally not a fan of movies from that time you probably want to skip it. For fans of Brando or generally just dark dramas, it is definitely worth the price.