Does an artist have the right to re-visit his work? It would be unusual, albeit amusing, to see a painter daubing on his pictures in a gallery after having second thoughts. An author would be castigated for re-releasing a novel with the plot altered and characters re-written.

But in the protean world of film, the final cut is never as final as it seems. The director's cut has become common as (generally over-long) movies are released on DVD, a process begun by Ridley Scott, who re-released his masterpiece, Blade Runner, without the cuts and disastrous voiceover demanded by its film company. It emerged from the re-cutting process as a classic of its genre. Now even gross-out comedies and daft romantic movies get the director's cut treatment.

However, one film which seems as if it will never be completed is Francis Ford Coppola's mad, wonderful, amorphous masterpiece Apocalypse Now, his own personal Heart of Darkness, as well as his adaptation of the Conrad classic.

Coppola nearly killed himself during the chaotic making of the movie and famously never really knew how to finish it. Anyone who has seen the 1991 documentary, Hearts of Darkness, will know how, in Coppola's own words, the production "little by little went insane." But in these days of seemingly endless conflict, mayhem and death, the film's aura of crazed, dead-eyed psychosis, particularly vivid when portrayed by Dennis Hopper, is as relevant as ever.

A psychedelic treatise on war, Vietnam, madness and napalm, it has already had an original release, a DVD release, a lauded "redux" release with an extra 49 minutes of footage, and now Apocalypse Now: The Complete Dossier is out, with even more cut scenes and additions.

Among these is a 16-minute scene of Marlon Brando, as bloated nutcase Colonel Kurtz, reading The Hollow Men by TS Eliot - an example of a scene that would not have added anything, apart from a quarter hour of intense boredom, to the original film.

One famous artist once told me the most important aspect of her work was knowing when to say "stop" to herself, and edit her work accordingly, but in the movie world this admirable self-restraint does not seem to hold sway. However, it could be worse - lingering in Coppola's archives is the original cut of Apocalypse Now - a full five hours long, with the famed Wagnerian helicopter attack lasting more than half an hour. Let's hope it stays in the can.

Apocalypse Now: The Complete Dossier, out now.

ROBERT Duvall, who so memorably played Colonel Kilgore in Apocalypse Now, once released a movie called Operation Tango (not one of his best, it must be said), merely so he could be on screen displaying his obsession with the dance style. Which leads us with a quick twostep to Glasgow, which this weekend is staging its first ever Tango festival - a weekend of Argentinean Tango, dance and workshops.

Today and tomorrow, workshops are being led by Bennie Bartels, Ines Moussavi and Sven Froese, who will teach the basics and more intricate moves. At night, the Grand Salon de Tango will be accompanied by the Tango Real Quartet from Berlin. It has all been arranged by Dance House, and its new director, Karen Wood. Exciting things might be happening in Glasgow in the dance sphere, once Scottish Ballet moves to its new Tramway home, which could form a centre as vibrant as Dance Base in Edinburgh. The Tango activity this week can be seen at the Quality Central Hotel, Gordon Street, Glasgow.

Tickets from the box office, 07876 202457, or via tango-in-the-city@hotmail. co. uk.

HEAVY lies the crown . . . Jonathan Mills, an amiable Australian composer, has just started one of the most daunting jobs in Scotland - he is the new director of the Edinburgh International Festival, taking over from Sir Brian McMaster. He has a hell of a job on his hands. Whatever he puts in next year's programme will be scrutinised in detail and, inevitably, be compared to McMaster. However I suspect Mills has steel behind his diffident exterior, and he is not afraid to speak his mind - this week, he will deliver the Sir William Gillies Bequest Lecture at the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh.

One of Australia's most experienced festival directors, his previous positions include artistic director of the Melbourne International Arts Festival, the Melbourne Federation Festival and the Brisbane Biennial International Music Festival.

The pressure is on: next year is the diamond anniversary of the Festival and the threat of rival festivals, the "thundering hooves" of other cities, has been declared. Mills has already hinted at a more collaborative approach to fellow festivals, a bigger role for the visual arts, and extensive events for children. He will not, however, have been pleased this week to hear of the increased costs and temporary closure of the Usher Hall, a key venue. So it will be interesting to hear what the new director feels and thinks about the most famous arts Festival in the world.

Sir William Gillies Bequest Lecture by Jonathan Mills, on Thursday at 7pm, Hawthornden Lecture Theatre, Weston Link, The Mound, Edinburgh. Event is free but ticketed, doors open at 6.30pm. Tickets available from the RSA office: 0131 225 6671.