NOTE: The below 4K UHD captures were taken directly from the 4K UHD disc.

ADDITION: Lionsgate 4K UHD (September): In the "Introduction by Francis Ford Coppola" on the first 4K UHD disc (Final Cut) he states that Apocalypse Now "looks better than it ever looked and sounds better than it ever sounded." Apocalypse Now is another title that was destined for a 4K UHD home theatre release. This is a 6-disc package with two 4K UHD discs and 4 Blu-rays. In this review we will focus mostly on the two 4K UHD discs.

The best visual and sound technologies have been used to present Coppola's true vision of the film: one that delivers deep, visceral visual and auditory impact. "The audience will be able to see, hear and feel this film how I always hoped it could be-from the first 'bang' to the final whimper" said the film-maker.

The first disc is a 4K UHD transfer of the 3-hour Final Cut that represents Coppola's favorite version. It includes a 4.5-minute introduction by the director describing the three versions where the Theatrical Cut (the 2-hour 27-minute shortest version), the 3 1/4 hour Redux Extended version that added back almost 50 minutes of deleted material not present on the Theatrical. The Final Cut is a balance between the two and represents Coppola's favorite representation honoring the 40th anniversary of the film. So the second 4K UHD disc has the options of the theatrical or Redux - seamlessly-branched. The Redux has an optional audio commentary by Coppola (found on previous Blu-ray). These three are all original camera negative 4K remasterings with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos sound. The Final Cut offers the optional of the original theatrical English 2.0 soundtrack, in lossy Dolby.

"Restored from the original negative for the first time ever, Apocalypse Now Final Cut is Coppola's most complete version of his multi-awarded classic. This is the first time the original negative has ever been scanned and over 11 months and 2,700 hours were spent on cleaning and restoring the film's 300,173 frames. Brought to life through ultra-vivid picture quality with Dolby Vision, delivering spectacular colors never before seen on a screen, with highlights that are up to 40 times brighter, and blacks that are 10 times darker. It has also been mixed in Dolby Atmos to offer a truly immersive sound experience and it has been enhanced Meyer Sound Laboratories' newly developed Sensual Sound, a technology engineered to output audio below the limits of human hearing."

The Final Cut fills a triple-layered 4K UHD disc with 92-Gig of the feature and an, almost, 50 Mbps video bitrate. This is more than 2.5X that of the best Blu-ray transfer. This is characterized by significantly superior color balance and very pleasing grain textures. The visuals look absolutely magnificent in-motion - still some minor green-leaning. Coppola is correct in the introduction - it has never looked (or sounded) this immersive. Vastly improved contrast - darker night scenes and brighter day-lit sequences and there is more information in the frame. Stunning.

NOTE: 36 more full resolution (3840 X 2160) captures for Patrons are available HERE.   

We have reviewed the following 4K UHD packages to date: Don't Look Now  (software uniformly simulated HDR), The Man Who Killed Killed and then The Bigfoot  (software uniformly simulated HDR),,  Bram Stoker's Dracula (software uniformly simulated HDR), Lucy (software uniformly simulated HDR), They Live (software uniformly simulated HDR),  Shutter Island (software uniformly simulated HDR),  The Matrix (software uniformly simulated HDR), Alien (software uniformly simulated HDR), Toy Story (software uniformly simulated HDR),  A Few Good Men (software uniformly simulated HDR),  2001: A Space Odyssey (HDR caps udated), Schindler's List (simulated HDR), The Neon Demon (No HDR), Dawn of the Dead (No HDR), Saving Private Ryan (simulated HDR and 'raw' captures), Suspiria (No HDR), The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (No HDR), The Big Lebowski, and I Am Legend (simulated and 'raw' HDR captures).

On their 4K UHD, Lionsgate offer an exceptional audio experience. If you are fortunate enough to have a setup that allows for Dolby TrueHD 7.1, or Dolby Atmos in particular, this is a highly impacting aural presentation. Lionsgate offer optional English, English (SDH), French or Spanish subtitles on their Region FREE 4K UHD package.

Disc three is a Blu-ray and has the Final Cut in 1080P, Blu-ray four has the theatrical and Redux Cuts, Blu-ray five has the extras from the 2010 Blu-ray. The sixth disc is a Blu-ray and offers the 96-minute Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse (with an optional commentary by Francis and Eleanor Coppola). It chronicles how the production was plagued by extraordinary script, shooting, budget, and casting problems--nature, governments, actors, and self-doubt augment the endless hurdles of finishing the film. It documents the incredible toll it took on his life. It has comments from Coppola, his family, John Milius, George Lucas, Laurence Fishburne, Martin Sheen, Vittorio Storaro, Robert Duvall, Rona Barrett, Tom Snyder, Dennis Hopper and many others. Also on that last disc are some new extras; 47-minutes of a Tribeca Film Festival Q and A with Francis Ford Coppola and Steven Soderbergh, 20-minutes of Never-Before-Seen Super 8mm B-Roll Footage, A history of Apocalypse Now on Home Video etc.

One of the most unforgettable films in cinema history.  If those who have not yet adopted the new 4K UHD format require another reason - this is it.  What an incredible package for cinephiles - a strong candidate for disc of the year in our upcoming poll. We give it our highest endorsement - endless hours of contemplative film enjoyment at a level rarely seen in the medium. 

Gary Tooze