Film: Apocalypse Now (137/250)
First Time/Rewatch: Rewatch
The original cut was a LOT easier to get through than the Redux. Holy crap was THAT long! I first watched it just before starting this Sight & Sound challenge, and I figured if I was only going to watch it once, I might as well watch the long version. Whoops! The shorter version flowed a lot better for me, and I was able to enjoy the individual characters throughout the film, from Robert Duvall's Lieutenant Kilgore ("I love the smell of napalm in the morning!") to Dennis Hopper's wacky photojournalist, to Frederic Forrest as "Chef" and little baby Laurence Fishburne (whose final scene absolutely breaks my heart). This film is disorienting...war changes you, it can be surreal. While I hated the score the first time I saw it, it felt more fitting the second time (although I still don't love it)...it has an "off" sound to it. These characters are in a foreign land, doing and seeing things they might never have imagined. This film captures that feeling so well....the horror, the horror...
I've wanted to see this for a long time. I tend to stay away from war films even though I'm fascinated by war history; maybe because I know how heartrending they will be. Thanks for the heads up on which version of this to watch.
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