I feel the redux includes so much more that doesn't necessarily move the story but adds to the crazed atmosphere of Vietnam. I feel like a cut inbetween the original and the redux would be best, shorten the French plantation scene just a tad (which I didn't entirely mind) and maybe a few other spots, but that's all questionable. I really love redux, I'll stand by it any day.
shareI like both cuts for different reasons.
I understand the reasoning for both cuts and all filmed scenes.
I think many people prefer the Redux version. I grew up with the Redux version but while I loved the film, I always felt like some scenes were to long or redundant. I can understand your point of how it adds to the atmosphere but personally I prefer the shorter original version.
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Hmm only seen Redux so far.
I guess a few cuts wouldn't hurt but there wasn't really much that bothered me. The French plantation scenes probably did benefit with cuts for a theatrical release though.
I think the Redux is neccessary if you've seen the theatrical cut and want to see more. The French plantation scene is important to show the 3 distinct viewpoints in the film and why Willard is adrift and conflicted. Kilgore (and the military) represent the America's ideals at the time and use of war (and authority) as a neccessary tool for improvement. Kilgore revels in war, soldiers follow orders despite their insanity. Obnoxious and Operatic displays of technology destroying villages.
The French plantation are the culture and tradition. They feel they have a right to their land despite their grip in the region eroding.
Kurtz represents chaos and a primeval debased approach to life. He's seen and rejected the horrors of life. He is the abyss that's waiting for anyone who ventures far enough down the river.
In each of these scenarios someone tries to seduce Willard into their sect. But there's always a character there to show him what could happen if he doesn. Colby, Hopper, Harrison Ford's bumbling inept officer, the plantation owner.
No one gets out unscathed. Never get out of the boat.
"... doesn't necessarily move the story but adds to the crazed atmosphere of Vietnam".
That's exactly what Redux does. It's a difficult version to sit through but if you do it pays off as being a much more immersive and literary version. The extra scenes don't push the plot but they do leisurely and methodically paint the entire picture of where we are in the experience. Redux is massive, simply due to length, but also tangential and varied in its depiction of the people and overall landscape of the war zone. It gives us the little stories along the way, the people they meet who are lost mad ghosts in this trail to Kurt's madness. The entirety of Redux feels more like a bad surreal dream and a punishing experience of existence. The original cut walks us through hell while Redux makes us sit there as our departure is delayed indefinitely.