Apocalypse Now on DVD and Blu-ray

[TedW]

I wonder what the AR will be. Hopefully someone talked Vittorio out of that stupid 2:1 Univisium scheme.

[Jeff]

No Hearts of Darkness, and I'll bet you a bazillion dollars that it is still not 2.35. What a wasted opportunity.


That's right; I said bazillion.

[chaddoli]

I would like someone at Paramount to explain to me why Hearts of Darkness was not included. The only reason I can think of is that it'll be released separately in the future....? Still seems pretty stupid.

[Dylan]

Has it ever been available anywhere in 2.35:1 other than the clips from the "Visions of Light" documentary? Any other region DVDs or LDs?

Vittorio Storaro prefers the 2.00:1 framing (and it still looks breathtaking), but I'm also curious as to how it would play in the wider scope.

[Cinesimilitude]

lame outside box art. I bet that wont do much for sales.

I love this movie, but I think the next time I buy it will be when an all encompassing HD edition comes out on the winner of the format war, or when the two fail miserably. the 2 dvds out so far will suffice until then.

Although, If one of the features was "the first hour of the film starring Harvey Keitel" I would buy it in a jiffy.

hopefully someone will report back on whether or not it contains any of his footage.

[Gigi M.]

Full specs:

[quote]Anamorphic Widescreen Transfers
English DD5.1 Surround
English and Spanish subtitles
Commentary by Francis Ford Coppola
Watch Apocalypse Now with Francis Ford Coppola
Marlon Brando's complete reading of T.S. Eliot's poem "The Hollow Men"
Lost "Monkey Sampan" Scene
Additional Scenes: Saigon Streetlife, Military Intelligence Escorts, Intelligence Briefing (two extensions), Willard Meets the PBR Crew, Letter From Mrs. Kurtz, Booby Trap, Do-Lung Bridge “…That Road Is Openâ€

[Cinesimilitude]

Full specs:

yeah, caught that and edited my post.

[What A Disgrace]

So, how in the name of all that is holy do they expect to fit all of this onto two discs?

[FilmFanSea]

I would like someone at Paramount to explain to me why Hearts of Darkness was not included. The only reason I can think of is that it'll be released separately in the future....? Still seems pretty stupid.

The only reason that makes any sense at all is that Coppola didn't want it included. AFAIK, he owns the rights to it (it was made for his production company, American Zoetrope), and in any kitchen-sink DVD package such as this, its absence was bound to be mourned by anyone who cares about the film.

[Gordon]

Watch Apocalypse Now with Francis Ford Coppola

No, thanks - the fat fuck steals all the nachos. Greedy wop.

[filmfan]

One would think that Coppola would want to cement his Legacy with something more definitive than this set...and including the "Heart of Darkness" film would take it off the bootleg market !

I guess we can expect more incomplete editions of this thing. And the "Heart of Darkness" film as a stand-alone release ?

[Antoine Doinel]

So, how in the name of all that is holy do they expect to fit all of this onto two discs?

I was about the post the same thing when I realized that the official specs omitted the "2 disc" part. This will probably be a three disc set.

[Cobalt60]

I would like someone at Paramount to explain to me why Hearts of Darkness was not included. The only reason I can think of is that it'll be released separately in the future....? Still seems pretty stupid.

I assume it was not included for the same reason that "From Star Wars to Jedi" was not included on the Star Wars DVDs, because Coppola and Lucas suck now.

[richast2]

So, how in the name of all that is holy do they expect to fit all of this onto two discs?

I was about the post the same thing when I realized that the official specs omitted the "2 disc" part. This will probably be a three disc set.

except that 1) the MSRP is only $20 and 2) the promotional image (see above) only shows 2 discs.

[Antoine Doinel]

I was about the post the same thing when I realized that the official specs omitted the "2 disc" part. This will probably be a three disc set.

except that 1) the MSRP is only $20 and 2) the promotional image (see above) only shows 2 discs.[/quote]
Crap, I totally missed that. Then I concur: "how in the name of all that is holy do they expect to fit all of this onto two discs?".

[filmfan]

I assume it was not included for the same reason that "From Star Wars to Jedi" was not included on the Star Wars DVDs, because Coppola and Lucas suck now.

It's just that given the opportunity to re-write history and their precious Legacy, they prefer to take advantage of the opportunity.

This is surely NOT the attitude with which they started out in the business, with all of the talk about "making History", but they are human.

So keep those bootlegs coming !

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

Crap, I totally missed that. Then I concur: "how in the name of all that is holy do they expect to fit all of this onto two discs?".

Looks like there's only two hours' worth of video extras, so they can either split those over the two discs (which would be dumb) or make one of them a DVD-18.

[Gordon]

I must say, that set looks pretty cheapo. 2-discs for a films running 153 minutes and 202-minutes, plus deleted scenes, featurettes, etc? Frankly, I was expecting a real 'fan boy' deluxe set for about $50 and at least 3 discs, maybe 4 (Redux on two DVD-9s) with Hearts of Darkness (even if it was edited) and, for the love of Chirst - a DTS tracks on each version! Pretty disappointing, really and we all know that HD-DVD versions have already been pressed. If the new (?) transfer of the 153-minute version blows the old one away - or is 2.35:1 - then I'll splurge, but this should have been more comprehensive and defintive, seeing as Zoetrope has supposedly been working on this for a few years now.

[What A Disgrace]

Looks like there's only two hours' worth of video extras, so they can either split those over the two discs (which would be dumb) or make one of them a DVD-18.

Well, the set apparently has both versions of the film, and neither disc appears to be a flipper.

My suspicion is that they've spread Redux across the two discs, as well as the supplements, and they give you the option of watching the 'original' version by essentially skipping the sequences that only appear in Redux; the same way scene-specific commentaries work on some discs.

I'm not amused.

[godardslave]

i agree with gordon!

this set is a near-pointless release, and is pretty much redundant without hearts of darkness, plus most people who are interested would have bought redux already. and the way its laid out, it looks like a complete mess.

[flyonthewall2983]

My guess is that both films will be on the first disc, but it'll somehow use the branching technique that Fox has used for awhile now. And as far as Heart Of Darkness goes, I'm guessing that it'll be released on it's own on DVD. I'm very much looking forward to the set, esp. the audio commentary.

[The Fanciful Norwegian]

We're not just talking about a few added scenes, though -- there are so many differences between the original and Redux versions (including some very minor re-edits that you'd never notice if they weren't pointed out to you) that I don't see seamless branching working. Seamless branching is still problematic on a lot of players and to rely on it that extensively would be a big mistake, IMO.

[filmfan]

i agree with gordon!

this set is a near-pointless release, and is pretty much redundant without hearts of darkness, plus most people who are interested would have bought redux already. and the way its laid out, it looks like a complete mess.

Mayber there is time in the production schedule to make some changes in the whole thing....including the Content, the extras, and the method of presentation.

What would a Coppola Production be WITHOUT changes, right ?

[Antoine Doinel]

Considering they have the release date set, and about two months before they have to start sending out review and press copies there is very little time to start adding content particularly an feature (ie. Hearts Of Darkness). I worked for a budget DVD company for a couple of years and the turnaround on production on even the most basic DVD release is usually a week or two. Now add on to that the the fancy packaging and you're looking at two or three weeks minimum.

I agree, this a pretty pointless release. The fact they're cramming it onto 2 discs either means the extras aren't as substantial as they sound or they're sacrificing quality to make a few extra bucks.

[Buttery Jeb]

Sorry Frankie. No "Hearts of Darkness"=No Sale. Especially when you're calling the set "complete."

Too many other discs coming out in August. I can do without this one for a little while longer.

-BJ