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Clarence wrote: Mon Apr 29, 2019 1:08 pm 40th Anniversary UHD Blu-Ray out August 27th.

It even advertises the Tribeca Q&A as a bonus.

Looks like a very comprehensive package.

I heard that the Q&A was really good.

Glenn Kenny gave his thoughts this morning. He says what's in and what's out so don't read it if you don't wish to be spoiled.

I'll upgrade for the PQ but I would have loved the work print. I have a bootleg of it but it's not the best. I love, as with Scott's 5 Disc Blade Runner that they're giving the previous versions with it too. I hate when a new cut becomes the only one going forward. Has happened with many, many Director's Cuts.

Is only the Final Cut benefiting from the new restoration from the original negative (à la the Blade Runner 4K) or are all 3 cuts getting the same upgrade treatment?

All 3 cuts are on the 4K disc so I would presume that's the case

Any guesses as to what stays/goes? the main criticism of redux always seemed to be the section with the French settlers feeling out of place with the films slow recent towards otherworldly madness.

See the fifth post above yours from flyonthewall which links to Glenn Kenny's summary of what's in the final cut (sadly not all of the plantation sequence has been cut).

Its been awhile since I'v watched Redux but to be fair I do remember feeling the biggest issue with that sequence was the length of it.

I had more of an issue with the playmate sex scene than the French settlers material, although the latter does outstay its welcome early on. I don't think the original cut can be improved upon, but I'm sure I'll check out the final cut eventually.

Totally agree about the length of the plantation scene (almost redeemed by a radiant Aurora Clement) and the playmate sex scene being not just completely out of place but also poorly executed from the top down. The '79 cut is perfect but this is one of the rare movies i'll keep buying release after release after release. Saving my money now for the ultra-ultra HD 50th anniversary blu release in 2029.

I always prefer to see extra footage within its intended context rather than as deleted scenes personally.

Its been awhile since I'd watched Reduc but I remember my biggest issue with the Plantation scene was the length, felt like it slowed down a film that otherwise has a consistent forward motion to it until you get to Kurtz.

Back in high school, deep in the throes of my burgeoning cinephilia (which sounds like something that needs lancing), I had a conversation with one my teachers about film, and she noted that the only movie she'd ever walked out of the theater on was Apocalypse Now. She said she just couldn't handle it, which struck me as odd given that some of her favorites included Silence of the Lambs and Full Metal Jacket; having seen it on VHS on an 18" set a few times by that point, I assumed she (as someone who came of age during the war) found the content too emotionally raw to handle, but I didn't realize until last night what she really meant. I had never seen the film in a theater, and watching the Final Cut in IMAX — my entire field of vision taken up by an enormous, inescapable screen and being hammered with overpowering sound — was an entirely different experience that has reframed the way I view what Coppola created, and made me respect even more the achievement of what was already one of my two or three favorite films. By the end of the "Ride of the Valkyries" sequence, my hands were literally shaking, and I could absolutely understand how anyone might be unable to make it through the whole experience.

As for the cut, it's been long enough since I've seen Redux that I'd be curious to see how I feel about the absence of the second scene with the Bunnies, but the scene I found myself missing the most was Willard in the shipping container, being listening to Kurtz read the Time article. I also didn't mind the plantation scene nearly as much in this version (though some of that may have just been the sense of relief at getting a few relatively quiet minutes to recover), and in particular found the scene in the French widow's bed with the opium pipe not nearly as out of place as I had on previous viewings.

Anyway, I know I'm not breaking any news by saying this is a singular theatrical experience, but if you've only seen it at home and can make a large-format screening in your area, do yourself a favor and make it a priority.

The packaging for the 6-disc UltraHD Final Cut is shoddy. Meanwhile, my wife passed through the room during Hearts of Darkness, and "can i get a club soda, club soda department?" is her new catchphrase.

The doc itself has as many memorable lines as the movie.

"Sofia says it looks like the Disneyland Jungle Cruise"

"'I summon fire from the sky. Do you know what it's like to be a white man and summon fire from the sky?'"

Bought it today and agree on the packaging, but I really dig the artwork. I liked the Chas Gerretsen piece, his still photos bringing a three-dimensional element to scenes that are already seared in our memories. The video piece comparing all of the home video releases was also pretty cool.

Reverend Drewcifer wrote: Sat Aug 31, 2019 12:05 am The packaging for the 6-disc UltraHD Final Cut is shoddy.

From a content standpoint, I can’t complain about the price, but for such a milestone release the lack of textual content is surprising. The bizarre 2/3 outer-wrap cardboard is inexcusable. It’s an extra cost with no discernible function and that actually makes shelving the set more difficult. Would a slipcase have killed them? I love the artwork and the internal layout is fine, but it’s a significant drop in design quality from the Full Dossier release (slipcase and perfect-bound booklet) of a few years ago. I gladly would have paid a few bucks more for a product that didn’t fall apart out of the shrinkwrap.

Did Milius ever comment on or criticize the changes Coppola made to the script? I reckon that because the two were such great friends that he might have chosen to be silent about it, but given the fact that he was never too far away from the production even as it got into post (we see him in footage shot during voice-over sessions with Martin Sheen) I've always been curious about what he thought about the changes to the ending, for instance.

It’s been a while since I’ve seen Redux. In last night’s viewing of Final Cut I felt the overall pacing was much better than Redux with the excision of the Playmates next-day scenes and whatever else got dropped, but I still find the plantation scene diminishes rather than contributes to the pacing of the film. I may reserve final judgment as to whether that dream-world/history-lesson insert really works to stage the entry into Kurtz’s nightmare-world.

As I see the theatrical cut and Redux as entirely different films due to differences in emphasis and pacing, this version didn’t quite bridge the gap for me. Without the plantation scene but with the other modifications, it would have been a subtle but definite improvement on the theatrical cut. With the plantation scene, it’s not quite as radically different as Redux so suffers by direct comparison to the theatrical cut.

Great release overall. I hope to see the 4K HDR version some day. I am still cursing Lionsgate for the shoddy packaging though. It’s obvious this needed a slipcase — even a chintzy one!

The ouroboros nature of Kurtz’ use of Eliot’s The Hollow Men just struck me, given that the poem actually begins with an epigraph from Conrad’s Heart of Darkness: “Mistah Kurtz — he dead.”

DeprongMori wrote: Sun Sep 01, 2019 8:33 pm Without the plantation scene but with the other modifications

Isn't that just called the "Theatrical Cut"?

aox wrote: Mon Sep 02, 2019 3:28 pm

DeprongMori wrote: Sun Sep 01, 2019 8:33 pm Without the plantation scene but with the other modifications

Isn't that just called the "Theatrical Cut"?

Read it as the Redux version minus just the plantation scene.

aox wrote: Mon Sep 02, 2019 3:28 pm

DeprongMori wrote: Sun Sep 01, 2019 8:33 pm Without the plantation scene but with the other modifications

Isn't that just called the "Theatrical Cut"?

There were lots of subtle things in how cuts and scenes were handled in Final versus Theatrical that improve on the original Theatrical, plus some larger insertions from Redux that serve the film well, such as Willard’s theft of Kilgore’s surfboard. Such tinkering to improve the flow, richness, and pacing from the original theatrical are typically dubbed “director’s cut” to distinguish it from “original theatrical cut”. So, no, it is not the “Theatrical Cut”.

ivuernis wrote: Mon Sep 02, 2019 3:42 pm

aox wrote: Mon Sep 02, 2019 3:28 pm

DeprongMori wrote: Sun Sep 01, 2019 8:33 pm Without the plantation scene but with the other modifications

Isn't that just called the "Theatrical Cut"?

Read it as the Redux version minus just the plantation scene.

It should be read as Final minus just the plantation scene. Final jettisons a lot of material from Redux, most notably the next morning with the Bunnies after the USO Show fiasco.

DeprongMori wrote: Mon Sep 02, 2019 5:12 pm

ivuernis wrote: Mon Sep 02, 2019 3:42 pm

aox wrote: Mon Sep 02, 2019 3:28 pm

Isn't that just called the "Theatrical Cut"?

Read it as the Redux version minus just the plantation scene.

It should be read as Final minus just the plantation scene. Final jettisons a lot of material from Redux, most notably the next morning with the Bunnies after the USO Show fiasco.

Ah, thanks. I misread your original post. Needs an interactive version à la Black Mirror: Bandersnatch.