Brian presents Apocalypse Now

(Scott)-Not gonna say much about this one, Brian does a fine job of summing it up.... just wanted to say
that it IS a favorite film of mine, coming from a film buff, that's saying a LITTLE bit at least (although I disagree with Brian that this trumps "The Godfather", but it IS close)...... check this out, I haven't heard this OST in years but I do recall it being badass.
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Apocalypse Now. One of the greatest films of all time, a hallucinatory war story, and still Francis Ford Coppolla's greatest work (sorry, Godfather fans). I've loved it since I first saw it as a teenager. I think every kid should have to watch it once they hit their teens. No movie is like this, and many have attempted to reach it's level in the years since 1979. And the movie's soundtrack is an intensely layered masterpiece, using many different sources... and pretty much creating 5.1 sound in the process.

First up is the two disc 1979 release. And this is the actual soundtrack: including songs, music cues, narration,
and conversations. I've always thought this is really evocative even as just audio. Hearing Martin Sheen's narration or Robert Duvall's speeches; it's really cool. Spent a lot of time as a teen smoking pot and listening to "Do Lung Bridge" too many times. This is a cool one. It also contains that original uncensored master of "The End", when Morrison gets into his "fuck, fuck, fuck yeah" ending.

To coincide with the release of the Redux version of the movie in 2001, a CD was put out, comprising all the synthesizer music used in the original film. If you've ever watched the behind the scenes stuff on the DVD, you'll see how this whole thing was put together by several "synthesists", transposing music written by Carmine Coppola, which underscored a good chunk of the film, especially helicopter and river shots. If you like expansive 70's electronic albums - like Tomita or Vangelis - definitely check this one out.

To make a more native score to the film, Francis Ford Coppolla enlisted the help of Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart. While I'm not a Deadhead, I've always appreciated him as a percussionist. And he gathered a huge array of native percussion instruments, and several great players, to create this primal score, mainly intended for the latter part of the film. While not all of it was used in Apocalypse, this is an interesting sonic journey on it's own.

Enjoy this. I've been procrastinating with this post for awhile, and I'm glad to have it up. The bonus link for this post is my two favorite albums by a guitar-slinging comedian. Just check out "Craig" and "Beelz", and keep an ear out for Jay Mohr playing Christopher Walken.