On 13th June 2011 Francis Ford Coppola's stunning APOCALYPSE NOW is released onto UK Blu-ray as a lavish 3-disc Special Edition.
Heralded by many as the film that crystallizes most perfectly the experience of the Vietnam War, Francis Ford Coppola’s hallucinatory masterpiece APOCALYPSE NOW has been painstakingly restored by his own Zoetrope studios under his close supervision, and has recently enjoyed a re-release in cinemas.
Martin Sheen (TV’s The West Wing) stars as Army Captain Willard, a troubled man sent on a dangerous top-secret mission into Cambodia to assassinate a rogue Green Beret, Col. Kurtz (Marlon Brando, The Godfather, On the Waterfront, Last Tango in Paris), who has barricaded himself in a remote outpost. As Willard ventures deeper and deeper into the wilderness of the jungle, he embarks on a strange journey that leads him to Kurtz – but also forces him to come face to face with the terrifying vision of the heart of darkness in us all.
With an all-star critically acclaimed cast that also includes Robert Duvall (The Road, Crazy Heart, The Godfather Pt I & II), Dennis Hopper (Easy Rider, Blue Velvet), Harrison Ford (The Indiana Jones series) and Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix Trilogy), APOCALYPSE NOW so impressed the Cannes jury when shown as only a work in progress that it won the Palme D’Or that year (tied with Tin Drum). Vittorio Storaro’s stunning cinematography and masterful sound editing from the genius Walter Murch won the film deserved Oscars and were just two of many awards the film has won over the years.
This highly anticipated Blu-ray Disc premieres in 1080P High Definition Widescreen in a 3-Disc Full Disclosure Edition. Also for the first time, these movies will be presented for home entertainment audiences in their original theatrical aspect ratios (2.35:1). The 3-Disc Full Disclosure Edition will include Apocalypse Now and Apocalypse Now Redux with more than nine hours of bonus material including new interviews with on-screen and behind-the-scenes talent, as well as the acclaimed making-of feature documentary Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse. In addition, this version features a 24-page collectible printed booklet and includes an introductory letter written by Coppola with personal accounts about the making of the film.
The Collector’s edition also features extracts of the original screenplay with handwritten notes by the legendary director, original drawings of the film’s storyboard, never-seen-before photos and memos sent to the cast and crew during shooting, and also the 1979 original Theatrical Program.
Moreover, this edition contains 5 Exclusive postcards including behind-the-scenes photos taken by famed American photographer, Mary Ellen Mark.
Disc 1: Apocalypse Now feature / Apocalypse Now Redux feature / Audio commentary by Francis Ford Coppola
Disc 2: Interview with John Milius (49 mins) / Interview with Fred Roos (casting Apocalypse) (12 mins) / A Conversation with Martin Sheen and Francis Ford Coppola (60 mins) / The Mercury Theatre on Air: Hearts of Darkness Nov 6 1938 (37 mins) / The Hollow Men (17 mins) / Monkey Sampan “Lost Scene” (3 mins) / Additional Scenes (27 mins) / Kurtz Compound Destruction with credits (6 mins) / The Birth of 5.1 sound (6 mins) / Ghost Helicopter Flyover (4 mins) / Apocalypse Now: The Synthesizer Soundtrack by Bob Moog (still images) / A Million Feet of Film: The Editing of Apocalypse Now (18 mins) / The Music of Apocalypse Now (15 mins) / The Sound Design of Apocalypse Now (15 mins) / The Final Mix (3 mins) / Apocalypse Then & Now (4 mins) / 2001 Cannes Film Festival: Francis Ford Coppola (39 mins) / PBR Streetgang (4 mins) / The Colour Palette of Apocalypse Now (4 mins) / Disc credits
Disc 3: Hearts of Darkness feature / Audio commentary by Francis and Eleanor Coppola / John Milius script excerpt with Francis Ford Coppola notes / Storyboard Collection / Photo Archive: unit photography, Mary Ellen Mark photography / Marketing Archive: original trailer, radio spots, theatrical program, lobby card and press kit, photos
Now here's your chance to win one of these very special Blu-ray sets. Thanks to Optimum Home Entertainment we have 3 copies to offer as prizes. To be in with a chance of winning you need to answer the following question correctly:
Name the composer and the piece of music that accompanies the famous helicopter attack footage?
Update 30th June 2011. The competition is now closed. The winners are: E. Wright (Derbyshire), Sam Love (Shropshire) and Alex Palmer (Belfast). Expect your Blu-ray in the mail very soon.
Here's the trailer:
