There are some movies that inscribe themselves in cinematic history for decades and remain classics, still holding up long after their release date. Gone with the Wind. Stars Wars. And Apocalyse Now.

Now, a remastered final cut version of Francis Ford Coppola’s masterpiece – a full forty years after its initial release -  is set to make you “love the smell of napalm in the morning” when it arrives in all seven IMAX theatres in Gauteng, the Western Cape and Kwa-Zulu Natal, from 23 to 29 August 2019. 

According to the Gravel Road Distribution Group the impending film is a “never-before-seen cut, restored by Coppola, to the highest and finest audio and visual standards.”

More specifically, it has been restored from the original negative for the first time, with more than 11 months and 2 700 hours spent on cleaning and restoring the film’s 300 173 frames. Furthermore, it has the distinction of being, according to the Coppola, the most complete version of his multi-awarded classic.

Ranked as one of the best films of all times, the film stars Academy Award winner Marlon Brando (1972, Best Actor, The Godfather), Academy Award winner Robert Duvall (1983, Best Actor, Tender Mercies), Golden Globe winner Martin Sheen (2001, Best Actor – TV Series, “The West Wing”), Academy Award nominee Dennis Hopper (1986, Best Supporting Actor, Hoosiers), Academy Award nominee Laurence Fishburne (1993, Best Actor, What’s Love Got to Do with it), and Academy Award nominee Harrison Ford (1985, Best Actor, Witness). 

The film follows Army Captain Willard (Martin Sheen), a troubled man sent on a dangerous and mesmerizing odyssey into Cambodia to assassinate a renegade American colonel named Kurtz (Marlon Brando), who has succumbed to the horrors of war and barricaded himself in a remote outpost.

Apocalypse Now was nominated for 8 Academy Awards (including Best Picture) and won 2 Academy Awards for Best Cinematography and Best Sound, 2 BAFTAs for Best Direction and Best Supporting Actor and the Palme d’Or in Cannes.

If you missed it the first time round, or want to refresh your memory now, tt can be viewed at Bay West, Cape Gate, Cradlestone Mall, Eastgate, Gateway, the Grove and Mall of Africa later this month. If you still need convincing, then take a look at the trailer below.