Out of all the hailed directors of the modern era of cinema (the Kubricks and Scorseses and Tarantinos) Coppola has been the one that to me, has most successfully lived up to his incredible hype. Of course, I haven't watched his weaker efforts, apart from The Godfather part III, but if I've watched other classics by other directors, often described as masterpieces, and ended up underwhelmed, with Coppola that hasn't happened. His three sensations (The Godfather Part I, The Godfather Part II and Apocalypse Now) have met every single one of my expectations and are all completely worthy of the masterpiece title. Apocalypse Now in particular was surprising and enthusing from start to finish. I found every single shot of the movie breathtakingly beautiful and the editing was some of the best I've ever seen. The soundtrack is maybe the greatest of all time, and the story, whilst not original, is a take I had not yet seen on the Vietnam war where through a mission against someone on his own "team" we discover the gruesome reality and inhumanity of the conflict. The Americans often call the locals "savages" but time and time again we are shown that they're the ones who do barbaric things. I loved it, and just like both Godfathers it has immense rewatch potential and I will certainly be watching it again.

Also, I guess I should say I watched the theatrical release and it worked really well for me. I see people in the comments saying it's too long, so I'm happy I chose to watch the shorter one, as I fully thought it was the perfect length.