APOCALYPSE NOW
That hardly constitutes a "complete dossier." "Lord of the Rings" director Peter Jackson puts out a 20-DVD background set when he makes a trailer for one of his films.
What's here is first-rate. So maybe I'd have called this "Apocalypse Now: The Essential Dossier."
At minimum I would have included the documentary "Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse" - culled mostly from the hours of film and stacks of notes generated by Eleanor Coppola, spouse of Francis.
But Coppola chose not to and, well, it's always been his movie.
"Dossier" is still a doozie.
Even before getting into the meaty stuff hauled out from the shadows, I was blown away by a 17-minute performance piece titled "The Hollow Men." That, you might recall, is the poem from which Col. Kurtz (Marlon Brando) reads excerpts out there in his jungle fortress of solitude.
This is the poem that ends "This is the way the world ends/Not with a bang but a whimper."
So, this piece is a montage of images and sounds from the temple ruins - Montagnard children playing with spent shell casings and body parts; Kurtz looking out morosely; tribal women creating intricate and ornate objects of art from fibers and reeds; boy-soldiers carving wood figures with guns slung over their shoulders. Overall, this art-and-death imagery is the haunting and weary voice of Brando/Kurtz reading the entire poem.
That alone makes this a four-star production.
But there is more, of course.
The two versions of the film are of superb visual quality, revitalized by a coloring process well detailed in the features section. The audio, too, is pristine.
The story, as has been often told, is inspired by Joseph Conrad's novel of one descent into madness, "Heart of Darkness." In the movie, set during the Vietnam War, Special Forces Capt. Willard (Martin Sheen) is sent upriver to terminate a rogue officer, Kurtz.
Kurtz has gone freelance, and quite successfully, too. The Viet Cong fear him almost as much as the U.S. military command.
The river is one huge metaphor, and the farther up the river Willard and his river boat crew travel, the deeper into the realm of madness they descend. Ultimately, they must confront Kurtz, who has yielded to the very same evils and hell that he combats.
It is inspired moviemaking, and virtually everyone that I know seems to think that the original was quite sufficient. Everyone but Coppola, who in 2001 came out with his director's cut, "Redux." Many feel that the new version diminishes needlessly and irreparably the moral credentials of Willard.
You can decide for yourself. As you watch "Redux," activate a feature that switches on an icon during the additional scenes.
There is one really creepy "lost" short scene, titled "Monkey Sampan," during which a boat seemingly overrun with monkeys floats past Willard and his crew. Only as the boat passes do they glimpse into the horrific evil that awaits them up the river at Kurtz's headquarters.
The first disc also contains nearly 30 minutes of deleted scenes and a group of production films under the title A/V Club Featurettes, "bonus extras for young filmmakers, techies and passionate 'Apocalypse Now' fans."
Pay attention to the Technical FAQ section - some of the biggest questions surrounding the "Apocalypse" canon are answered here. For example, the home video versions of the film have always been in a 2:1 aspect ratio; there has never been a 5-hour version of the film; Coppola never intended to have Willard order an air strike on Kurtz's headquarters - and so on.
The second disc carries nearly an hour's worth of features on postproduction issues, such as editing, sound mixing and music. There are brief features on Coppola's reasons for making a second version of the film; the reunion of the original boat crew (Albert Hall, Frederic Forrest, Sam Bottoms and Laurence Fishburne); and Vittorio Storaro's efforts to make the current version vividly colorful.
ALSO THIS WEEK
"RV" (Sony, 2 stars) At last, a road trip comedy that the whole family can enjoy to some degree. Robin Williams surprises his dysfunctional family when he shows up in front of the house with a big honking recreational vehicle and a map leading to Colorado camping grounds. So much for their dreams of Hawaii.
"Scary Movie 4" (Genius, 2.5 stars) Let's see, Cindy Campbell (Anna Faris)? Check. OK, it's a real sequel. If you have only a passing notion of the year's past horror and sci-fi blockbusters, you can get many of the jokes. If not, then why bother? It is, after all, for the fourth time since 2000, all about goofing on Hollywood hits and misses.
"I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer" (Sony, 1.5 stars) Latest in formulaic franchise and a candidate for "Scary Movie 5," which is in preproduction now.
"L'Enfant (The Child)" (Sony, 2 stars) Tough, gritty story of a young slacker named Bruno who sells his girlfriend Sonia's baby on the black market. Stupid git that he is, Bruno realizes the error of his way and sets off to find the baby and perhaps himself. From the directing team Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne and winner of the Palm d'Or at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival is a taut human drama. DVD extras include an interview with the directors.
"Hoot" (New Line, 2 stars) Adapted from a Carl Hiaasen novel that can only mean a few things - it is set in Florida, developers are evil scum, there are loads of eccentric characters, it's funny and Jimmy Buffett lurks somewhere on the fringes. As a rental, yes, worth the click on your Netflix queue.
FROM THE VAULTS
"The Clark Gable Collection" (Fox) Three of the big screen idol's adventure classics are available for the first time: the adaptation of Jack London's survival tale "Call of the Wild," the dashing mercenary thriller "Soldier of Fortune" and the Western trail adventure "The Tall Men."
IT CAME FROM TV
"The Simpsons" (Fox, season eight, 4 discs) Homer moves the family into a planned community; they meet Mr. Burns' illegitimate son Larry; and a hurricane hits Springfield, among other hilarious disasters.
Also available this week: "Remington Steele" (seasons four and five); "Full House" (season four); "The Flying Nun" (season two); "The Jeffersons" (season five).
Also, from BBC Worldwide, "The Charles Dickens Collection 2" Faithful adaptations of the great storyteller's classics: "The Pickwick Papers," "Dombey and Son," "David Copperfield" and "The Old Curiosity Shop."
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DVD RATINGS
4 stars: Don't miss: rent it/buy it
3 stars: Worth the risk: rent it
2 stars: On the tipping point: if nothing else is available
1 star: Don't bother: wait until it's in the $1 bin
© Copley News Service
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