If you haven’t had the opportunity to see Francis Ford Coppolla’s Apocalypse Now in a theater, you haven’t seen the full picture that the director shot. I’m not talking about the film having footage edited from all subsequent home video releases. Instead, all video releases have been presented in a cropped format different from the original 2.35:1 aspect ratio. At the instance of the film’s cinematographer Vittorio Storaro, previous laser disc and DVD releases have been presented in 2:1.
But the next month’s Blu-Ray disc release presents the film in the 2.35:1 aspect ratio for the first time ever on home video. There’s no word as to if Storaro has changed his mind about how the film should be presented, if Coppolla has over ruled Storaro or if Storaro’s wishes were just flat out ignored. You can see how the original aspect ratio looks in the film’s trailer –
And if that isn’t enough to get you thinking about next month’s release of the film, both original version and the 2001 re-edit Apocalypse Now Redux which restored 49 minutes to the film, on Blu-Ray, then check out these additional features.
Apocalypse Now (Two-Disc Special Edition)
- Apocalypse Now 1979 Cut
- Apocalypse Now Redux
- “A Conversation with Martin Sheen” interview by Francis Ford Coppola
- “An Interview with John Milius” interview by Francis Ford Coppola
- Complete Francis Ford Coppola interview with Roger Ebert at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival
- Monkey Sampan “lost scene”
- Additional Scenes
- “Destruction of the Kurtz Compound” end credits with audio commentary by Francis Ford Coppola
- “The Hollow Men,” video of Marlon Brando reading T.S. Eliot’s poem
Featurettes:
- The Birth of 5.1 Sound
- Ghost Helicopter Flyover sound effects demonstration
- A Million Feet of Film: The Editing of Apocalypse Now
- The Music of Apocalypse Now
- Heard Any Good Movies Lately? The Sound Design of Apocalypse Now
- The Final Mix
- Apocalypse Then and Now
- The Color Palette of Apocalypse Now
- PBR Streetgang
- The Color Palette of Apocalypse Now
- The Synthesizer Soundtrack” article by music synthesizer inventor Bob Moog
Apocalypse Now (Three-Disc Full Disclosure Edition)
All of the material in the two disc edition, plus –
- Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse
- Optional audio commentary with Eleanor and Francis Ford Coppola
- 48-page collectible printed booklet with special note from Francis Ford Coppola, never-before-seen archives from the set, behind the scenes photos and more
- John Milius Script Excerpt with Francis Ford Coppola Notes
- Storyboard Gallery
- Photo Gallery, including images from photographer Mary Ellen Mark
- Marketing Archive
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