"Apocalypse Now: The Complete Dossier" -- Francis Ford Coppola delivers one of the year's best commentaries in this double-disc release. "I wanted it to have the biggest picture -- the greatest sound," the director said of his vision for the Vietnam war film. This DVD set carries out Coppola's orders: The film looked outstanding on previous DVDs, but the video takes another step up here, to near reference quality. The powerful 5.1 audio carpet-bombs the soundstage. Among the many extras is a short film built around 17 minutes of Marlon Brando reading T.S. Eliot's "The Hollow Men." (Paramount)
Top Movies Released on DVD in 2006
The year 2006 has seen the release of some outstanding movies on DVD, and I've made a list of those I found to be the best. My criteria included the artistic merit of the movie, the enhancement value of the bonus materials, and the picture and sound quality. I applied these criteria in a completely subjective fashion, and the result is a personal, idiosyncratic list of my own favorites that doesn't necessarily reflect the popular wisdom. In alphabetical order, here are some of the best DVD movie releases for 2006.
Apocalypse Now - The Complete Dossier DVD
Beginning with winning the Palme d'Or at Cannes, Francis Ford Coppola stunned the film world in 1979 with his brilliant Apocalypse Now. Years later, the footage shot in the 1970s was reedited and released in 2001 under the title Apocalypse Now Redux. The main difference between the versions is that Redux contains 49 minutes of footage not included in the earlier release. Both versions are available on this DVD set. I've always been fascinated by Coppola's masterpiece, and Apocalypse Now - The Complete Dossier has deepened my understanding and appreciation of this extraordinary film.
This box set smells like ... a winner
Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune movie critic
"Apocalypse Now Redux"--the longer "director's cut" of Francis Ford Coppola's Vietnam War masterpiece "Apocalypse Now"--is one movie that easily deserves to rank alongside "Citizen Kane," "The Rules of the Game," "Vertigo," "Fanny and Alexander" and Coppola's own "Godfather" trilogy on the short list of greatest films. Now, long and short versions are available together in the year's best DVD package, "Apocalypse Now: The Complete Dossier."...The great value of "Redux" and this "Dossier" is that they finally reveal Coppola's full intentions. It's possible that, one day, we will regard "Redux" as the equal of "Kane."
Best DVD releases 2006: BEST DVD's 2006
Apocalypse Now - The Complete Dossier (2-disc Special Collector's Edition) (1979)
Best Commentary
Apocalypse Now: The Complete Dossier (Special Collector's Edition)
Why It Rocked: Even if you agree that Francis Ford Coppola officially went crazy while making his 1979 opus, there's no disputing that the end result of his madness was a cinematic masterpiece. The long-overdue release of a two-disc Collector's Edition DVD at least partially confirms this, as it delves into the making, and remaking, of the film over some three years - not the least of which via Coppola's commentary track, which talks in great detail about the decisions he made to get the film produced. From shooting helicopter scenes in flying helicopters to the discovery of footage that would eventually provide the film's iconic opening shot, Coppola dishes about it all, and in so doing offers a first person account of entering a director's own heart of darkness.
Apocalypse Now: The Complete Dossier is one of the best DVD sets of 2006 and should be on your shelf.
Apocalypse Now: The Complete Dossier proves itself to be one of the best DVD releases this year. It's an amazing release with some great supplementary information and an impressive theme for its packaging. Only the documentary “Hearts of Darkness” could be added in to make this set truly feel “complete” (although the original trailer for the movie might have been nice too). If you haven’t seen Apocalypse Now, or have been holding out to see the Redux version, this is one of the better opportunities you’re going to get to see a classic movie on DVD.
Current top 10 commentary tracks
These are the commentary tracks in the RateThatCommentary.com database that have gotten the highest user votes so far.
5. Apocalypse Now -- Commentary track: Screenwriter/director Francis Ford Coppola. Rating: 9.0
Coppola’s commentary for the movies is actually quite good. He kicks things off by telling the story of how the opening sequence came together by accident: it was actually filler footage from one of the cameras during the “Ride of the Valkyries” sequence. The director speaks eloquently about the film’s themes and doesn’t shy away from the stories behind infamous moments, like how he allowed the scene where Martin Sheen smashed the mirror and cut his hand to go on even though the actor was really drunk and bleeding. Coppola tells all kinds of fascinating anecdotes, like the origin of Colonel Kilgore, and provides many factoids, like the creation of the “Valkryies” sequence, associated with making the movie. The Redux commentary is essentially the same but with new comments over the added footage.
DVD Audio Commentary - The Best & The Rest
Apocalypse Now (The Complete Dossier)
Commentary by director Francis Ford Coppola. Hands down, this is the finest Coppola commentary I've yet encountered - and no mean feat that, considering that all of Francis's commentaries to date have been outstanding (OK, OK, his Patton commentary being the exception that proves the rule). He effortlessly tells the tale of his experiences creating his masterpiece (and like it all happened yesterday). I was as completely spellbound throughout this commentary as I was the very first time I saw the actual film (waaaayyyy back in 1979... at a midnight movie... on acid... oops, too much information). Anyway, if you thought you knew everything there was to know about this production after watching "Hearts of Darkness", get ready for a ride.
On DVD, everything old is new again. While that is not always a good thing, it certainly is in these 10 releases:
- Apocalypse Now: The Complete Dossier: Sitting in its brown cardboard wrapper, this collection looks modest. Inside, it is a stunner with both versions of Francis Ford Coppola's Vietnam War classic (the original and the Redux expanded cut) and sterling extras.