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Dylan wrote: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.

According to Digital Bits, it looks like their going with the 2.00:1 framing for this release:

On the subject of Apocalypse Now today, a lot of you have been asking what aspect ratio the films included in the 2-disc Complete Dossier DVD release will be in. Apparently, some are displeased with the fact that while the films were shot in 2.35:1, they've seldom been released on video at that exact ratio. Confirmation from both Paramount and director Francis Ford Coppola's American Zoetrope indicates that the film's cinematographer, Vittorio Storaro, prefers that Apocalypse Now be exhibited on video at the slightly cropped widescreen ratio of 2.0:1 (as was the case on the previous DVD releases). Coppola agrees with this decision, so that's what you'll get on the DVD. While it wouldn't be our choice, it's hard to argue with the director and DP. Thankfully, however, both versions of the film on the new DVD will be in anamorphic widescreen (unlike some OTHER forthcoming and much-beloved films on disc).

As much as it pisses me off to be fucked out of Hearts of Darkness (for the THIRD time you miserable bastards!) I am still a little excited about this. I got the bare bones original and reduex for $7 each used so I can plunk down $13 at DDD and not feel like I've been "Lucased" or at least Coppola is planting a big wet one on me first.

Yeah, nice. And yet, it can't fit on two siingle sided discs.

Ok, thats a decent list of features except that several of them are only a few minutes long, if you add up the ones with times listed its only 119 minutes. If these features where backing up "Hearts of Darkness" as the main feature in a set that was orginal + redux + HOD then we'd really have something but as it is there a empty spot that anyone who appreciates the supplements they did include will notice.

And another thing, why the hell is Kurtz pouring Gatorade on his head on the back sleeve?

Cross promotion?

All of those listed video extras total 119 minutes. Original version is 153 minutes. Redux is 202 minutes. All this on two discs. There has to be DVD-14 or DVD-18 somewhere to maintain quality.

i have to admit this is looking better now. The special features are quite cool. and of course its very cheap. I'll pick it up.
as Cobalt60 mentioned, I just wish hearts of darkness was included, then it would be a really special set.
i cant help but wonder why hearts isnt on there? anyone got any ideas?

Cobalt60 wrote:And another thing, why the hell is Kurtz pouring Gatorade on his head on the back sleeve?

That looks like some Bob Peak artwork.

It is. That's his signature next to Brando's hand.

godardslave wrote:i wish hearts of darkness was included, then it would be a really special set.
i cant help but wonder why hearts isnt on there? anyone got any ideas?

I think I've figured it out and I swear I'm not kidding.

It'll make him look like a total hypocrite if he releases it. Those who know HEARTS OF (I have the VHS release of it) knows that Coppola is completely fulla shit when he says that that head-nembutal called APOCALYPSE-REUDX is closer to the film he envisioned when originally making the film. He made the film he wanted to make when he made it; that's why the first version was so goddam good, took so notoriously long to make, was made where it was instead of Hollywood, involved so much of the directors own money, and went on in production in the Philipines forever to the point where it became a joke in the contemporary press as a quintessential example of a director gone mad. At the time, when making the film, those editing room floor scenes he sacriligiously plopped back into the film in 2001, were-- and this is very clearly illustrated in HOD which is why he's probably hiding it under his mattress now-- literally despised by Coppola. He hated them, wanted to pretend they didn't even exist. He wanted to pour gasoline on them and light it. He had nothing but bile for the actors in them, the crew, himself for writing them, anything & everything remotely connected to them made him wanta vomit. That's the reason they didn't enter the final cut of the film-- no other reason. Once upon a time he was a great young director with a monstrously accurate sixth sense about what worked and didn't care if he went broke getting his vision up onscreen. Now he's a fumbling director looking to finance a lot of non-FFCoppola film enterprises like wine and his daughter, and he can't juice the Godfather any further, so he went back on his artistic principles and shat all over a settled classic that was originally all his own to begin with, to create a "new" release of it which is merely a new source of income. Releasing HOD will reveal to the vast majority of the population (i e those who haven't seen it) that he's full of bull-pooey. REDUX was a purely financial idea which betrayed his own well-documented, deepest passions about the film, deeply felt passions about those deleted scenes which thereby creates a situation wherein the Young Genius Coppola makes the Old Lost Coppola look thoroughly compromised.

That's why I think this doc aint coming out, especially in REDUX territory.

I agree with Schreck, and I want to add that this very similar to the reason that Lucas will not release "from Star Wars to Jedi", because it focus's on the hard work and inginuity of talented FX artists who's work he was happy with in the early 80's but then felt the need to cut out and replace with lousy digital FX in '97.

Did we get word on a HD-DVD/BR version of this as well?

I don't think Paramount has announced any high-def titles beyond the HD DVD slate mentioned at CES in January, which still don't have release dates. They don't seem to be in a hurry to embrace the next-gen formats. It'll be interesting to see if the potential HD DVD/BR release is in the full 2.35:1 AR, since Storaro's objection to 2.35:1 on home video is that conventional sets are too low-res for the full image.

schrek, old buddy, i think your basically correct, essentially he's embarassed by HOD.

The Fanciful Norwegian wrote:It'll be interesting to see if the potential HD DVD/BR release is in the full 2.35:1 AR, since Storaro's objection to 2.35:1 on home video is that conventional sets are too low-res for the full image.

I doubt it. The old maestro has sadly lost the plot. He is solving a problem that the whole rest of the world knows doesn't exist.

Geez, well, I have been quite happy with my current 2 copies of Apoc, but now....looking over the list....I guess I'm going to have to put the money down. I always enjoy Coppola's commentaries. Plus, Brando ranting for 20 min? Count me in!

godardslave wrote:schrek, old buddy, i think your basically correct, essentially he's embarassed by HOD.

Yep. Plus, the director of HOD said on Dinner for Five awhile back that Coppola objected to the bit in the doc where he contemplates suicide when things were going really bad on Apocalypse so it looks like a potential case of revisionist history for ol' papa Coppola!

HOD was made by his FFC's wife. She followed him around while he made the film. That's why it's so unimpeachable.

Is that the director youre talking about?

HerrSchreck wrote:HOD was made by his FFC's wife. She followed him around while he made the film. That's why it's so unimpeachable.

Is that the director youre talking about?

Fax Bahr and George Hickenlooper actually directed/made the doc. they just used Eleanor Coppola's footage in the movie. Hickenlooper was the one on Dinner for Five talking about a potential DVD release and how Coppola wanted him to cut out certain parts from the doc. I did some digging and I believe the bone of contention for Coppola was the bit where Martin Sheen has a heart attack, and Coppola says something like, "Marty doesn't die until I say so." Apparently, this soundbite was taken out of context.

Surprise: Hearts of Darkness will be released in the UK on Aug. 21, 2006: listed at play.com

thomega wrote:Surprise: Hearts of Darkness will be released in the UK on Aug. 21, 2006: listed at play.com

nice timing.

Fletch F. Fletch wrote:

HerrSchreck wrote:HOD was made by his FFC's wife. She followed him around while he made the film. That's why it's so unimpeachable.

Is that the director youre talking about?

Fax Bahr and George Hickenlooper actually directed/made the doc. they just used Eleanor Coppola's footage in the movie. Hickenlooper was the one on Dinner for Five talking about a potential DVD release and how Coppola wanted him to cut out certain parts from the doc. I did some digging and I believe the bone of contention for Coppola was the bit where Martin Sheen has a heart attack, and Coppola says something like, "Marty doesn't die until I say so." Apparently, this soundbite was taken out of context.

I need to dig out my vhs on this. It is so totally her film about her husband. She shot it, narrated it, is a complete record of her own access. It's been at least 3 years since I watched it. I mean, so much of the film his just her & FFC alone at home with no one else-- her narrating intimate footage of him typing, him at home on the phone, etc etc. They must have come in afterwards & gave continuity, concept & polish to her raw footage, then had her provide narration. Probably just as far as creating a film that worked, giving it order and sense and professional-style zing, if left in Eleanors hands, the thing would have came out a mess. Will revisit.

DVDTimes has the specs for the two discs.

Disc One: Apocalypse Now (1979)
Watch the films with Francis Coppola - Introduction to both the 1979 and 2001 editions by director Francis Coppola
Audio Commentary with Francis Coppola
Marlon Brando's complete reading of T.S. Eliot's poem "The Hollow Men" (17mins)
Lost "Monkey Sampan" Scene (3mins)
Additional Scenes – 12 never-before-seen sequences (26mins)
A/V Club Featurettes – Extras for young filmmakers, techies and fans offering a detailed look at the film's achievements in sound and image:
The Birth of 5.1 Sound (5mins)
Ghost Helicopter Flyover (4mins)
The Synthesiser Soundtrack (Article)
Technical FAQ

Disc Two: Apocalypse Now Redux (2001)
Audio Commentary with Francis Coppola
Redux Marker – An icon appears on-screen during footage added to make the 2001 Redux version of the film
The Post Production of Apocalypse Now – 4 Featurettes covering the editing, music and sound of the film through Coppola and his team.
A Million Feet of Film: The Editing of Apocalypse Now (18mins)
The Music of Apocalypse Now (15mins)
Heard Any Good Movies Lately? The Sound Design of Apocalypse Now (15mins)
The Final Mix (3mins)
Apocalypse Then and Now retrospective (4mins)
"PBR Streetgang" Cast Members' Reunion (4mins)
The Color Pallet of Apocalypse Now – Cinematography Featurette (4mins)

Well over four hours of material on a single sided disc? I think I'm going to sit this one out until I hear some reviews...and the new Patton is mighty tempting.