I am a Vietnam Vet. 1st Marine Division 65-66. I had to watch this film because I was watching another war film and it seemed so out of touch. I still see a VA shrink even today. Nam left a big impression on me. This film let me feel the intensity of the dark side of it which actually was very comforting in a sense. I have been told by different therapists to bring it all to the surface so I could deal with it but it is buried so deep that no one should have to hear about the dead and dying, besides they would not understand. I am actually wring this for me and if you care to disbelieve, then so be it.

A film where everyone-actors, director, support staff of every denomination produced a masterpiece. This is Citizen Kane or Annie Hall in Viet Nam. Perfect in both iterations and the documentary. Buy it, be entertained and amazed, and learn a few things.

A must have for fans of the film and for film lovers in general. This has all of the versions so you can watch the "short" version or the Redux with the restored plantation scene and some other ones as well. The extras are an amazing insight into how the film was made and the included documentary Hearts of Darkness shows the toll the process took of the director.

An amazing presentation of a classic film with a boatload of extras giving insight on how it came to be. So valuable for any lover of film.

This is a great presentation of one of the greatest films to ever come out of Hollywood. The set includes both versions of the film and an additional disk with special features all in a special package simulating a file dossier. Classy package! No need to review the film since everyone not born on Mars has seen it. And I bought it on Amazon "Used-Like New" in pristine condition for $4.19.

Apocalypse Now is based on a novel by Polish writer Joseph Conrad, who wrote a number of novels in English in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The film is based on Conrad's novel Heart of Darkness, which was about a river trip in West Africa to find a man named Kurtz. Both versions of Francis Ford Coppola's film, filmed in the Philippines, are based on a river trip in Vietnam to find an American soldier also named Kurtz.
The DVD and blu-ray both have a number of special features which explain the difficulties that occurred in the making of the film. The film went over budget and Coppola had to personally finance the continuing operation. Both versions were awarded top honors at Cannes and went on to make a profit.
On the blu-ray both versions are on disc one. Special features are on disc two and disc three contains a Feature-Length Documentary named Hearts of Darkness: A filmmaker's Apocalypse with commentary by Coppola's wife Eleanor.
Despite all the difficulties in producing the films, both rank, along with The Godfather Saga, among the greatest films of recent years.
For reviewers who would like to compare the film with Conrad's novel, the book Heart of Darkness is available here from Amazon vendors.

After having seen both the original and redux cuts numerous times I believe that the original version is the better one. The original feels more cohesive and tightly focused as others have mentioned while the redux version feels like it had scenes that were best left on the cutting floor like the bunnies scene and the whole surf board scene for example. Scenes like the booby trapped sampan with the monkeys, Captain Colby shotgunning the reporter to death or seeing soldiers dancing around while a pig was being sacrificed would have made it even more strange imo which was what Francis Ford Coppola said that he was going for when making redux.

I thought that the additional of nearly an hour to the movie made it more interesting. Director's cuts, in my opinion, rarely ever make the movies better. This is not the case in this instance.

great movie, love the making of - Heart Of Darkness.