MESSAGE TO LOVE:THE ISLE OF WIGHT FESTIVAL 1970

Here's a famous music festival that's bigger than "Woodstock"...


Judging by my previous concert reviews, you already know how I review so here you go.



 
As the film opens, we hear Ukulele player Tiny Tim singing "There'll Always Be An England" as we learn about the Isle. We find out that the Isle is near England and you can only take a boat to get there. Tiny Tim's singing sets the mood and tone for this film and even though we don't see him, we do know surprises await us. Can't wait to see the concert.

JIMI HENDRIX




Jimi just woke up and jokes about just showing up and just leaving without performing. Of course we all know he wouldn't do that to us. He sings the films title named after his song "Message To Love" and we see a montage of Hippies entering the Isle. Great song but unfortunately we only see Jimi's face for most of the performance and his performance is cut short. A disappointment right there, but trust me will see more of Jimi.

RIKKI THE MASTER OF CEREMONIES 


We meet our host Rikki who tells the people how hard they worked to put on this Festival for the hippies and for those who act rough "Will go to hell!". This concert was a year after the "Altamont Free Concert" with the Rolling Stones. This introduction speaks the language of why this event was made. He also seems like a good host and I can't wait to see more of him. After the speech, we hear music play John Lennon's song "Give Peace A Chance".

THE WHO



The Who take the stage performing "Young Man Blues". The Who, one of  the greatest bands of all time do a crazy job performing at the Festival. Roger, Keith and John all do an incredible job but it's Pete who steals the performance. He jumps up and down, he goes crazy with the guitar and does his famous trademark guitar strumming. A really epic performance but Pete steals the whole song.

FREE



Rikki says that this is only the beginning and that he might join in the crowd. We then see the Director interview some hippies about the Festival and what they should put in the film. The band Free takes the set with their hit single "Alright Now". The band rocks out loud, the cinematography captures the epicness of the performance and I like that the film cuts when there's a flash of light in the audience. Things are really getting good.

TASTE

 

There's some money problems about the concert and the promoters are wondering about pay. We also get an interview of Tiny Tim on his opinions if the Festival should be free. Our next performance is the band Taste playing "Sinner Boy". Just like all the previous performers, they rock the stage. Like Pete Townshed from "The Who", the guitarist Rory Gallagher steals the show with his rockin guitar solo. I also love how hyped the audience are, epically that naked girl.

TINY TIM



Earlier, we heard Tiny Tim sing "There'll Always Be An England", now we get to see him perform it. He sings it through a megaphone and brings the spirit of England with his voice. What interests me the most is the crowd of people, clapping their hands, waving their arms, throwing confetti string and wave their flags. Tiny Tim you really brought that great feel of being from England.

JOHN SEBASTIAN



Next up is John Sebastian singing "Red Eye Express". He puts a lot of groove into the song and has the audience participate to sing the lyric "I'm Flyin'" as John plays and waves his guitar in the air. John brings a very fun performance in this concert and I laughed when he told the audience to smoke a joint for him. It's a shame that it's short performance and I wish to see him do one more song.

DONOVAN



We hear and see a little bit of Donovan sing "Catch The Wind". His song and voice is nice but we're more focused on the audience smoking a joint for John Sebastian. Rikki also sounds like he doesn't care about the young people taking drugs. We even get an interview during the song about the drug situation. Well documented but please not over a performance, in fact we get half a performance.

TEN YEARS AFTER

 

After a very cut short performance, Ten Years After rocks the stage with "I Can't Keep From Crying". Just like they did at Woodstock, they rock out loud with a drum solo, Alvin Lee's singing and audiences are banging their heads. Again, the person who steals the show is Alvin Lee with his sick guitar playing. Man, we have lots of great guitarist but I want to see more of Jimi.

THE DOORS



We see Desolation Row, home to the "Free Festival" radicals paint the walls and write mean spirited stuff. This montage is short but it's shocking and the music fits in. We also see more problems with the radicals as they try to break through the rolls, make speeches of freedom and Rikki and the guards are trying to stop them and keep the peace.  This is perhaps the tragic part of the festival. Oh and the toilets...ill.After seeing all that mayhem, the Doors take the stage playing "When The Music Is Over". Jim Morrison is the only one we see in the band instead of giving the band any screen time or at least over a few seconds and that's a disappointment because I would love to see the band play. With that aside Jim has soothing and rockin voice, the musics calm and it's a very chill performance that only the Doors can bring, epically Jim Morrison.

MOODY BLUES



Moody Blues plays their hit "Nights In White Satin". The minute I heard this song and saw this performance, I immediately got chills and really felt the mood of Moody Blues. The singer is calm,the piccolo solo is beautiful and the drum roll at the end is great. It's one of the best performances in the concert and to be honest this is the first time I listened to Moody Blues.

 KRIS KRISTOFFERSON


The "Free Festival" radicals are banging on the walls and are trying to brake in.  Kris Kristofferson is singing "Me And Bobby McGee" andhe sings good and the country music is really swingin'. However, people can barley hear him due to the banging on the walls; not many people like him; and right in the middle of the performance he stops. Afterwords Rikki, yells at everyone and says that they shouldn't have come to Isle if they weren't going to pay. Man, this is getting as insane as "The Altamont Free Concert".

JONI MITCHELL

 

Joni Mitchell sings her song "Woodstock" and plays it on the piano. Her performance and song really capture the "Woodstock" feel and she sings it very beautifully. However, after the song she gets interrupted by a radical and it makes her speak her feelings out about the Festival. After the interruption, she picks up her guitar and plays "Big Yellow Taxi". Again her performance is great and she beautifully sings it, aside from the interruption, Joni Mitchell is one of the highlights of the concert.

MILES DAVIS



Miles Davis and his band Jam up the set with "Call It Anything". Miles Davis does a killer job with his trumpet, the music is layed back and peaceful and I'm pleased they put him in the film. The audience themselves get lost in the music as he plays and to be honest I nearly did too. To bad it's too short and only a few minutes.

LEONARD COHEN

 

Leonard Cohen steps on the stage to sing "Suzanne". This is another calm performance. His voice is soothing and the organ music brings a very relaxing feel. The people watching him perform also look and feel relaxed.

EMERSON, LAKE & PALMER



Rikki thanks the audience for being so good and introduces the next band (Who are making their debut) Emerson, Lake & Palmer performing "Pictures At An Exhibition". People say they did a not so great job and as a result we hear a little bit of singing and then cuts to their grand finale, where they fire cannons, the drummers takes off his shirt and beats those drums like a mad man and the piano player messes with the piano. Epic finale but I don't see the point of putting them in the film if they didn't do a good performance.

JIMI HENDRIX

 

There's a fire on the stage but it appears to be a firecracker, we then cut to Jimi Hendrix's who's performance has returned to the film (Thank Heavens). He rocks off with a killer guitar solo playing "Machine Gun". Then he moves on to do "Voodoo Chile" and again a killer performance. Jimi Hendrix sure knows how to sound great and I'm really glad that we get to see him again.

JOAN BAEZ



Rikki announces that they need "a hundred and seventy thousand people to break even". We then cut to the lovely Joan Baez performing her cover on "The Beatles" song "Let It Be". Instead playing a piano, we have the song played on a Guitar and it works just as well as when "The Animals" played "Paint It Black" on the violin instead of a sitar at "The Monterrey Pop Festival". Joan Baez is great as usual and I truly love her cover on this classic Beatles song.

JETHRO TULL 



Things are getting even more rough and some artists refuse to play if they don't get paid. Next up is Jethro Tull playing "My Sunday Feeling".  His Flute playing is outstanding and his voice is rockin and the talent to do both at the same time is magnificent. By the way, what's up with the weird noises he makes towards the end of the song?

THE DOORS

 

The radicals have broke down the fences and are entering the festival. We then cut to "The Doors" playing their hit song "The End". This has to be not only one of the best performances in the film but is also a great performance of the song. It relaxes you, it rocks out loud when it wants too and Jim does an epic performance. We also get to see the band members this time which makes it a lot better than their last performance.

PEACE



Rikki announces that the walls are going down and people are aloud to come and go if they want. They only thing they're losing is money, but they realize money isn't important for this festival. Everyone then puts up their peace sign to the tune of "Amazing Grace" played by "Great Awakening". This part really had me moving and I almost even shed a tear of Joy. Oh and I love the interview of Keith Moon.

JIMI HENDRIX

 

Jimi is back and rocks the concert out loud with "Foxy Lady". His guitar playing is really sick and even plays with his teeth. His singing is also cool as well and we get a good drummer as well playing as well. Hendrix never ceases to impress me, he's an out of this world player. It's sad that he died two weeks later.

THE WHO



The Who returns to the film with "Naked Eye". Roger rocks the beginning of the song with his rock out loud voice and the song ends with Pete Townshed doing another rockin guitar solo. The audience seem to be enjoying every minute of their performance and so do I. The Who are one of the best rock bands of all time.

BOB DYLAN

 

The Festival is now over and is full of filth like "Woodstock". Rikki feels like it's the last major event ever in music History and it is, well until "Live Aid" (In my opinion). We find out what happened to the people who set up the Festival. The credits role a montage and we hear the great Bob Dylan sing "Desolation Row".

OVERALL

Even though the performances feel short and I wish it was as long as the film "Woodstock". It's still a great concert film and really captures this event very well.

RATING 4/5

MONTEREY POP

The three day concert that inspired "Woodstock" was documented into film that also inspired to make a documentary to "Woodstock" and that concert film is called...

Yup this is the original concert in 1967 in San Francisco that inspired "Woodstock" and yes some of the musicians that played at the Concert also played at "Woodstock". The film is more focused on the concert portion then the event, so I'm going to review each of the performances shown on the film.


SCOTT MCKENZIE SAN FRANCISCO



After looking at a very surreal, odd and drug looking opening credits, we hear the song "San Francisco" sung by Scott Mckenzie as we see hippies setting up for the concert, having a bit of fun and we see John Phillips from "The Mamas and Papas" help set up for the concert. It's a good opening, it brings you into the film and gets you excited for the concert. I also enjoy that they chose the song "San Francisco" as the films first song because it sets up the feel and atmosphere for the concert. Good way to start the film.

THE MAMAS AND THE PAPAS



Next we have two performances from "The Mamas And Papas". First we see another montage as we hear the concert version of the song "Creeque Alley" play. During the montage, we see hippies entering the festival and before the montage, we find out that the "Hells Angels" and "Black Panthers" are coming as well. Finally we see our first performance which are "The Mamas And Papas" performing "California Dreamin'". They sing in great harmony, the camera shots of them are well shot, the lighting is beautiful and this a classic song sung by a classic band.

CANNED HEAT














Canned Heat perform "Rollin' And Tumblin". I enjoy Canned Heat and even though their performance is not spectacular, it's still toe tappin' and you can tell they're having fun. The audience doesn't look to amazed however, and there's not a good montage representing this song, so yeah it's a bit bland. Still Canned Heat did rock, just not as hard as they usual do.

SIMON & GARFUNKEL

 

Simon & Garfunkel take the stage singing "The 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)".They sing very well together, the performance is relaxing and the lighting and camera shots is wonderful. I guess the only problem I have is it's only a minute and a few seconds long and I'd love to hear them play another song. Still great performance.

HUGH MASEKELA

 

Horn player Hugh Masekela and his band plays the song  "Bajabula Bonke (The Healing Song)". The music sounds really spiritual and is really something to listen too. I love the bongo drums, the foreign words sung, the horns playing and watching Hugh play a great solo as well. While watching this number you'll see surreal images that mixes well with the music pretty well. It's better looking then the films intro and I feel like this should be the films intro to the opening credits.

JEFFERSON AIRPLANE


One of the greatest rock bands of the 60's "Jefferson Airplane" takes the set.  Their first song is "High Flyin' Bird" and they rock, they sound great. However, their best performance is when Grace and the band beautifully sing "Today".  A wonderful and rockin performance from a rockin band and one of my favorite bands. By the way, Grace Slick looks beautiful.

BIG BROTHER & THE HOLDING COMPANY(JANIS JOPLIN)

 

"Big Brother & The Holding Company" are taking the stage but everyone's focus is on their lead singer Janis Joplin. Janis Joplin sings with her heart and soul as she sings "Ball 'N' Chain". Her voice is outstanding, she has lots and lots of energy and on top of it she's a natural at it. Janis hasn't failed me yet when I watch her perform and this performance is one of the highlights of the film and her career.

THE ANIMALS

 

Before we see them perform, we see a woman cleaning every chair at the concert. We then cut frame by frame shots of some random woman for some reason and we see "The Animals" play the song "Paint It Black". Instead of using a Sitar they use a Violin and I'll admit, it's pretty awesome and the Violin sounds killer. Eric Burdon sings great but his mic is not sounding to good, half of the time you can't even hear him. During the performance, we see a montage of people eating at the Festival. I didn't think it was possible but the band did a killer cover on "Paint It Black".

THE WHO



One of my all time favorite bands "The Who" rock the concert with "My Generation". They're outstanding, Roger sings with his rockin voice, Pete plays a rockin guitar solo and Keith really gives us a performance while playing those drums.Then they go crazy and start destroying their instruments and the last image we see, is a broken drum set that says "Who". This was a killer set and if the quality was better, I would have enjoyed it lots more.

COUNTRY JOE & THE FISH



As we see a montage of hippies taking part of the Festival, we see and hear Country Joe & The Fish play an instrumental number called "Section 43". The montage is really well put together and the song that's playing creates great atmosphere to it. The music is relaxing and Country Joe does great with his guitar and harmonica solo. Great relaxing performance after all that extreme rockin madness. 

OTIS REDDING



Otis Redding opens his set up with the song "Shake". Otis brings tons of energy and soul in this opening which is really groovy and fun to dance too but his real great number is "I've Been Loving You Too Long". He really puts a lot of emotion into it and yes he throws in a little groove into it. I just wish the quality was better and to be fair maybe it was the copy of the film I was watching. Still, what an epic performance.

THE JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE



The greatest and best guitar player of all time Jimi Hendrix plays the song "Wild Thing". Jimi gives one of the best wild and epic performance of all time. He plays the guitar sideways, plays it backwards, does tumblesaults while playing it, plays it on the floor and ends the performance by setting it on fire to create the closing tune and then he smashes it. This is the best performance in the whole film and Jimi is always bringing an epic performance no matter what he's in.

THE MAMAS AND THE PAPAS
 

"The Mammas And The Papas" show up again and sing "Got A Feelin". They sing in great harmony, the melody is beautiful and it was great seeing them perform again on the film. The montage is ok, nothing exciting but still good. Another great performance, there's at least 19 minutes left in the film and I can't wait to see more performances.

RAVI SHANKAR

 

Our next performer is Sitar player Ravi Shankar and sadly he's the last one. It's a pity that this is the last performance in the film. Don't get me wrong I love Ravi Shankar and I love how he plays the Sitar, I love the music in the films final montage and I think he's a great person to end the film but I feel like the film should have been longer. I wanted to see "The Byrds", "Grateful Dead" "Paul Butterfield" and more of the other musicians who played in the concert but hey what you see and hear is what you get. Overall, the film has a great line up, a good look at this concert, excellent music and performances and decent cinematography. I can defiantly see where the inspiration of "Woodstock" came from and for all that I'm giving this film a great rating.

RATING 5/5

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: THE MOVIE

Well I reviewed the first episode of the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" the animated series, now's the time to review the first of the film trilogy starting out with...

 

A rat named Splinter who's the pet of a Ninja Master named Master Hamato Yoshi, sees his master and his master's girlfriend get killed by a rival of his named Oroku Saki. Splinter tries to fight him, but Saki gets away, but not before cutting off a part of Splinter's ears. Really he doesn't just kill Splinter; anyway, Splinter heads to the sewers and finds four turtles covered in toxic waste which turns them into the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" and Splinter himself gets bigger and begins to talk from the waste. This is the films origins to their story and while I like the films dark take on it, I prefer the TV shows origins. Yeah, I would loved to see Oroku actually kill somebody and perhaps blame it on Yoshi than having him pull a humiliating prank on him, but it's a kid show when here it's a PG movie where things aren't all that kid friendly. The reason why I like the TV shows origins better is because we get to actually spend time with Master Yoshi who in a twist actually becomes Splinter due to the toxic waste from the Turtles he takes care of. Yeah the TV shows origins is flawed too, come on, Yoshi can't find a place to live but the sewers? Not to say that this origin is bad, it's really good, I just like the TV show origins better. Anyway, years later, crime is spreading on the streets of New York City by a Ninja Master named Shredder and it's up to The Turtles, News Reporter April O'Neil and vigilante Casey Jones to stop him and save Splinter from his clutches.

The "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" in this film are completely awesome. They're always a lot of fun to be around with; they can be funny; they know how to kick ass; and I'm starting to feel more personality from each of them then I did in the first episode of the cartoon (However, that was only the FIRST episode, not the entire show or Season for that matter). Ok, some of the puns they make are lame, but they're still fun enough to at least sell those lame puns out. As for the swearing, it didn't really bother me as much since they only say the word "Damn" than any other curse words, but then again it doesn't feel needed nor is it funny, it feels just there to get the PG rating, like the swearing in the movie "Casper" for example. By the way, I like that the film doesn't show the Turtles right away, I like that they're kept in the shadows until the title to the movie appears.  When we finally do see them, not only are they cool and fun, but the puppetry, costumes and use of animatronics by Jim Henson is TURTLETASTIC!  I'm NOT kidding, they really do look very life like and look exactly like the cartoon characters from the 80's. I'm surprised this film wasn't nominated for an Oscar for its special effects; it's really a crowning achievement! Oh and as for the Turtle's disguise when they're in the city at night wearing a Trench Coat and Fedora Hat, while looking obvious in both the show and movie that's it's a turtle wearing clothes (I mean come on, how can anyone see them as human beings), I like that the movie tries to keep them in the shadows so they don't stand out as much. On top of it, I do like that the film knows it's obvious too and actually makes fun of it at one point. As for the cartoon (Again first episode), well it does kind of do that too, but it's mostly is just the humans buying into it. Usually I'd call out bull and attack it, but it doesn't bother me that much and it does work within the context of the episode as well as having fun with it, so I'm giving it a free pass...for now.

The Shredder, much like in the first episode, he doesn't do much accept look threatening and evil until he fights in the end of the movie (Which by the way, the final battle between him and Splinter is very anti climatic). Some people also call him a rip off on Darth Vader. In cartoon wise, NO; in film wise, YES I CAN SEE WHY. I mean in the cartoon he has a more original look, feel and personality; here in the film while looking cool and intimidating, I do indeed get a Darth Vader feel when I see this character. His presence, voice, costume design, hidden scars and even saying the words "I'm your Father" to his crew, is pretty clear that the writers did take some heavy influence if not ripped off from Darth Vader in "Star Wars". By the way, is it just me or did Christopher Nolan rip off or take some heavy influence from this version of Shredder when he recreated Bane for "The Dark Knight Rises"? I get a Shredder feel when I see Bane in the Nolan film, but I digress. As for his henchman, well I like his right hand man, but to be honest; his henchman while great fighters, they suck. Why you may ask, because they're not real Ninjas, thugs or robots (for that matter) they're kids that Shredder hired to join his life of crime as he teaches them how to fight while wearing silly looking Ninja costumes. I know there's a moral about family behind it and not joining crime, but it feels like a forced in moral that's not treated effectively. It feels like the film just needed to put in some kind of lesson for kids so it's not just a film about Turtles fighting crime with no moral at all.

The supporting characters are ok. Splinter is just as smart, wise and humble as he is in the cartoon as well as serving as a great Father figure for the Turtles. Just like the special effects for the Turtles, the special effects are perfect for him too. With that said, I wish to see him actually fight then be a hostage throughout the film. April O'Neil played by Judith Hoag is decent but forgettable. She's not as fun or interesting as April from the cartoon. They don't even give her that hot yellow jumpsuit; they only give her a yellow raincoat at one point during the film. All she is, is a bland damsel in distress with nothing all that engaging about her. Casey Jones played by Elias Koteas while I haven't met him yet in the cartoon and aside from that lame Jason Hockey Mask, he's pretty cool. I can't call him a complete badass, but he's still an interesting character with some good moves and a few funny lines. There's also by the way a kid who's the son of April's boss who's in Shredders gang and to be honest, he felt like a forced in character to give Splinter a reason to tell the dark side of his back story and to be part of that forced message.

The fighting and action in this movie is really awesome! It doesn't feel toned down or cartoonish, it actually feels real. The choreography is cool; the sound effects sound brutal; we get to see the Turtles use their weapons; there are gags thrown into the fights; and I love the different fighting situations that the Turtles get into. There's the off screen fight in the opening; the fight between Raphael and Casey; the short subway tunnel fight; the fight on the roof tops with the Turtles against Shredder; and my favorite of them all, the fight in April's Apartment. Aside from the climax, they are indeed really cool fights. As for the cinematography, it's pretty good; it’s not groundbreaking, but it fits the film just fine. Oh and as for the soundtrack and music, it's not to memorable, but it does indeed fit with the New York City atmosphere as well as help bring the movie it's fun and action.

While not really much of a masterpiece, it's still a decent film. Yeah, the film ruined the character of April O'Neil; turned Shredder into a Darth Vader wanna be; has a forced in moral; doesn't give Splinter any fighting time; and brings an anti climatic climax; but with those negatives aside, the Turtles are tons of fun; the action is cool; the retelling of their origins is a good new take on the story; the special effects are beyond amazing; the shots, darkness and cinematography are nice; the music fits with the films environment; and it's an entertaining film where you feel that the people behind this film were trying very hard to create something good for families even if it doesn't fully succeed. The film is full of things that I love and hate and I'm sure most people who've seen this movie (Especially fans of "TMNT") do have things they both love to praise and complain about this film. Check it out and see for yourself. However, if this your first time watching anything "TMNT" related, it's best to start with the 80's cartoon.

RATING 3/5

APOCALYPSE NOW (REDUX VERSION)

 Last year, I reviewed the original cut of "Apocalypse Now", which I thought was a great and fantastic war film on adventuring into the insanity's of war. Now comes a version with added scenes in the film called "The Redux" version, which is the "Director's Cut". Usually when there's a film with added scenes in it, it can be really good or it could ruin a classic by breaking the flow or putting something stupid in that doesn't work or shouldn't belong in the film. I'm going to review the added scenes that were put in the movie and see if they work and should belong in the film. So where does this film fall under, ON WITH THE REVIEW...





In the original cut, the crew is out on the boat listening and jamming to "The Rolling Stones" hit song "I Can't Get No Satisfaction". However, that scene is shown much later in the Redux version, and we just see Willard read about Kurtz; and while we see them jam to the song later in the film, we see more of Willard reading more about Kurtz. I guess in a way it flows better and gives us more information on Kurtz, but personally, I think the scene with the soldiers jamming when we first meet them actually works better because it shows how insecure and young they are, as well as giving them a fun introduction, plus making you feel more attached to them. Well, at least they still kept that scene instead of editing it out, so it's not really much of a downer.

 
I'm going to admit this, in these next few deleted scenes, Kilgore isn't just as cool and insane as he was in the original film, but he actually gets a few more scenes that I wish made the original cut. He first of all gets a cool introduction than he did in the original cut. Instead of seeing him standing there leading the troops after an officer tells the crew "That they can't miss him"; the officer in this version says "There's the Colonel coming down"; he comes out of a badass helicopter that says "Death From Above" in giant red letters; and already he's ordering people around and asking for his Death Cards (Which were used in the original cut). That's actually an introduction that I wish made the original cut. There's also a brief moment where he looks at a bunch of dead bodies and all he does is just mutters out the word "Damn". Kilgore also gives Lance a pair of shorts to go surfing in (Which explains how he got them). However, the best moment with Kilgore that didn't make the original cut (Which upsets me) is the scene where a sends a wounded child and his Mother to the hospital. That scene shows that Kilgore is not completely mad and defiantly shows a compassionate side to him that we barely see in the original.

Ok, aside from one change, I seem to like this cut so far, well, here's a scene I'm glad they cut out. After knowing how bad the waves are for Lance to not even get a chance to Surf, Willard steals Kilgore's surfboard and are hiding in the Jungle because Kilgore's men are looking for them to get it back. So they're not in the Jungle to take a break from their journey and stop to get Mangoes for their trip, they're actually hiding from Kilgore because they stole his Surfboard. I read that Willard stole the board to demonstrate that the crew still haven't accepted the harsh reality of the war, but it's still stupid and was cut out for a good and obvious reason. It's a stupid moment that goes nowhere; feels like a forced in joke; is too goofy for the context of the film and is pointless to the films plot and journey.

If one pointless scene wasn't enough, we get two. After the "Playboy" Show sequence, which shows the lust and insanity of how much the soldiers miss the woman; we get a pointless scene of Chef obsessing over his "Playboy" magazines and Clean tells a story about an army sergeant who killed a man for ruining his foldouts from "Playboy". I know it's suppose to show the insanity of men missing woman and having sex when in the war, but that show sequence showed it just fine, there's no need to expand on it and on top of it, it's treated in a comical way than in a serious way. There's also a very long scene when Willard trades two fuel tanks from the ships so that the guys can score with the "Playboy" bunnies and this whole sequence is pointless (Aside from needing fuel at the "Do Lung Bridge" in this version instead of looking for information in the original version); takes away some of the seriousness that the film has; is so long and is so over the top and goofy that I'm surprised that it made it into this cut of the film instead of being part of the deleted scenes. 

This next deleted sequence lasts over 20 minutes and man does this sequence really break the flow of the film. The crew head to a French Plantation and give Mr.Clean a funereal which I'll admit I found to be very sad. Unfortunately, this sequence over stays its welcome as we get a long dinner conversation on politics, to Willard sleeping with a French girl. It really does feel like a sequence you can cut out and I'm glad it got cut in the original film because this part of the trip was too long, slow and boring.

Our final deleted scene in this version actually made me upset the most. Yeah, as if Kilgore chasing after his Surfboard, goofy moments with the crew and the "Playboy Bunnies" and a long and boring sequence wasn't enough, we get a scene with Kurtz in broad daylight, while reading "Time Magazines" to Willard. OK, the scene itself was boring, pointless and not needed, but putting a crazed maniac in broad daylight when he's in the shadows for the entirety of his appearance in the movie felt really out of place and loses the effect that the original gave us. I can't tell you how much it disgusts me to see such a crazy dark character who's kept in the shadows with little light, to be revealed on a bright sunny day! It just angers me! 

THE REDUX VERSION SUCKS! I guess if you're a fan of the film and want to see some of the missing scenes be put into the movie it's worth a look, but to be honest, I'd rather watch these scenes in a deleted scene category on the DVD than I actually want to see it be restored on film. The deleted scenes are pointless, goofy, overstay their welcome and drag on, as well as break the flow to the film and I can't believe that Coppola decided to fix something that isn't broken. Has Coppola ever restored a film with deleted scenes that was good and just as great as the original cut?

Will get to that sometime this year. If you haven't seen "Apocalypse Now" yet, the "Redux" version isn't a good place to start. See it in its original cut.

RATING 2/5