I read your blog post that was just as long. Don't be a dick.
I scanned it and it contained the words "Ichirou" and "Titanic", so I immediately bailed out. You might be able to troll Ichirou, but I'm not getting wrapped up in that. In fact, you both should simmer down, considering there's a new whipping boy (see: outside link thread) and he has already warned us that mockery will not go well.
The Ichirou thing was just a disclaimer, because for whatever reason he loves to write stuff like "OMG, you compared ______ film to _____ piece of classical literature, what an idiot!" if I try to draw parallels between works where a clear qualitative difference exists. I didn't actually talk about him.
Titanic was just in the last paragraph, and I was specifically referring to events that take place in the final act of the film, which I think everyone can agree was pretty well done.
Can't believe I'm seriously typing this out. Even a semi-long post like mine takes a max of 30 seconds to read. Am I the only one here who reads absolutely everything in the discussions I follow?
Whatever.
Apocalypse Now (theatrical)I had seen the Redux twice, but never the original.
I feel like the original flows much better. The Redux gives you a few more things to think about, but the theatrical cut just works better as a film. It's really gritty and tightly paced, and it still gives you A LOT to think about. Unlike Kingdom of Heaven or Aliens, I would pick the theatrical version of this film to show people who had never seen it before, with the Redux being reserved for fans.
And of course, I can't talk about any version of Apocalypse Now without gushing about how great the writing, cinematography and acting are. Martin Sheen, Sam Bottoms, Frederic Forrest and Marlon Brando are superb. Lawrence Fishburne was great, although I have always kind of hated his character. Even the minor characters' performances are classic. Great minor roles by Robert Duvall and Dennis Hopper. The writing, particularly Willard and Kurtz's monologues, is incredible. And there are tons of incredibly effective shots in this film, many of which make use of terrific set pieces. The river base with no commanding officer that they reach towards the end of the film really felt like a depiction of hell.
And at the end of the film, I can't help but think that
spoiler (click to show/hide)
Nothing Kurtz ever did was nearly as bad as the atrocities we witness in the fairly short timespan of Willard's journey up the river. The scene where they end up massacring everyone on that trading boat is one of the most upsetting scenes ever, particularly after you see that the woman was just going to get her puppy.
Top 10 all time.
