Apocalypse Now (1979) Theatrical 1080p BluRay x265 HEVC EAC3-SARTRE

One of a cluster of late-1970s films about the Vietnam War, Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now adapts the Joseph Conrad novella Heart of Darkness to depict the war as a descent into primal madness. Capt. Willard (Martin Sheen), already on the edge, is assigned to find and deal with AWOL Col. Kurtz (Marlon Brando), rumored to have set himself up in the Cambodian jungle as a local, lethal godhead. Along the way Willard encounters napalm and Wagner fan Col. Kilgore (Robert Duvall), draftees who prefer to surf and do drugs, a USO Playboy Bunny show turned into a riot by the raucous soldiers, and a jumpy photographer (Dennis Hopper) telling wild, reverent tales about Kurtz. By the time Willard sees the heads mounted on stakes near Kurtz's compound, he knows Kurtz has gone over the deep end, but it is uncertain whether Willard himself now agrees with Kurtz's insane dictum to "Drop the Bomb. Exterminate them all." Coppola himself was not certain either, and he tried several different endings between the film's early rough-cut screenings for the press, the Palme d'Or-winning "work-in-progress" shown at Cannes, and the final 35 mm U.S. release (also the ending on the video cassette).

The chaotic production also experienced shut-downs when a typhoon destroyed the set and star Sheen suffered a heart attack; the budget ballooned and Coppola covered the overages himself. These production headaches, which Coppola characterized as being like the Vietnam War itself, have been superbly captured in the documentary, Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse. Despite the studio's fears and mixed reviews of the film's ending, Apocalypse Now became a substantial hit and was nominated for eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor for Duvall's psychotic Kilgore, and Best Screenplay. It won Oscars for sound and for Vittorio Storaro's cinematography. This hallucinatory, Wagnerian project has produced admirers and detractors of equal ardor; it resembles no other film ever made, and its nightmarish aura and polarized reception aptly reflect the tensions and confusions of the Vietnam era.

Extras

• A Conversation With Martin Sheen and Francis Ford Coppola (HD, 59:26) - A fun chat with the star and Coppola, where they discuss everything from the convoluted casting process the rigors of filming (Sheen suffered a heart attack during production).

• An Interview With John Milius and Francis Ford Coppola (HD, 49:45) - Another really interesting gabfest with Coppola and his co-scenarist. Milius discusses his own military ambitions, which played into the writing of this film.

• Fred Roos: Casting Apocalypse (HD, 11:44) - Features the film's casting director talking about the hundreds of actors tested for various roles. Screen test footage is also included.

• 2001 Cannes Film Festival: Francis Ford Coppola (HD, 38:35) - Presents the entire Ebert interview from the Festival.

• Kurtz Compound Destruction with Credits (HD, 6:06) - The jettisoned final credits sequence which Coppola ultimately rejected when he feared audiences were misinterpreting it.

• The Mercury Theatre on the Air: Heart of Darkness (Audio, 36:34) - This Orson Welles production (the week after his infamous 'War of the Worlds' broadcast) of Conrad's novella is offered, with some significant audio damage. From November 1938.

• The Hollow Man (SD, 16:57) - A really odd little period (circa 1979) featurette offering Brando reciting Eliot's poem with scenes from the film and the filming itself.

• "Monkey Sampan" Deleted Scene (SD, 3:03) - A disturbing excised segment which nonetheless features the restless natives singing "Light My Fire".

• Additional Scenes (SD, 26:28) - A collection of 12 window and pillar-boxed curios with timecode captions.

• The Birth of 5.1 Sound (SD, 5:54) - A fascinating and way too brief look at how Apocalypse Now led to a revolution in film surround sound design.

• Ghost Helicopter Flyover (SD, 3:55) - Another very interesting look at the surround design for this one sequence.

• A Million Feet of Film: The Editing of 'Apocalypse Now' (SD, 17:57) - A great look at editor Walter Murch at work with his Movieola.

• Heard Any Good Movies Lately? The Sound Design of 'Apocalypse Now' (SD, 15:22) - Shows us in-depth what the sound designers were up against as they basically invented 5.1 surround sound for this film.

• The Final Mix (SD, 3:09) - Has some great footage of the multi-room setup which was necessary to achieve the final mix for the film.

• 'Apocalypse' Then and Now (SD, 3:44) - Has some brief snippets of the Ebert interview from Cannes (see below) with insight into both versions of the film.

• PBR Streetgang (SD, 4:09) - Profiles the actors playing Willard's crew, including 17 year old Laurence Fishburne.

• The Color Palette of 'Apocalypse Now' (SD, 4:06) - Goes into the technical aspects of the three strip dye transfer Technicolor process utilized on the film.