As far as Hollywood's venerated filmmakers are concerned, Francis Ford Coppola is a force of nature. Gregarious and articulate, pragmatic and pretentious, his boundless energy is palpable in every word he utters, even in the wee hours of the morning, and he pulls no punches, whether he's making incisive observations about the movie industry or acknowledging the distance he's gone out on a limb to get his movies made. Because of his vast and accomplished body of work, it's difficult to stake a definitive claim as to which film is his crowning achievement; but in the interim, 'Apocalypse Now' is as suitable a choice as any, and its arrival on Blu-ray this week makes it a particularly worthy topic of conversation, if not celebration.
Navigating fuzzy reception and dropped calls, Coppola recently spoke to Cinematical via telephone in conjunction with the Blu-ray release of 'Apocalypse Now.' In addition to clarifying this collection's legitimate claim as the 'Total Disclosure' edition, Coppola reflected on the production and legacy of the film, and offered a few opinions on the future of the filmmaking industry, not to mention his place within it.
