Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse

I agree with the most positive reviews of this film. It's probably THE best documentary about the making of a movie, about the emotions and tensions behind the scenes, about the psychic terror of a director/creator trying desperately to not merely hold on to his artistic dream, but to survive! A must-see for any cinemaphile, and every Coppola enthusiast.

Francis Ford Coppola was fond of saying 'Apocalypse Now' was "not about the Vietnam War; it was the Vietnam War", and this long overdue chronicle of the film's troubled production certainly proves his point. Using behind-the-scenes 16mm footage shot by Coppola's wife, Eleanor, and borrowing several passages from her published diaries, the documentary traces how what began as a modest wartime action movie (with nods to Joseph Conrad) would emerge, after several years, several tens of millions of dollars, and more than one physical and mental breakdown, as a brilliant, bloated, visionary epic. The production itself was often a living illustration of Murphy's Law: what could go wrong did go wrong, including a civil war, a devastating typhoon, a near-fatal heart attack suffered by actor Martin Sheen, and the appearance on the set of an unprepared, overweight Marlon Brando to play the emaciated Colonel Kurtz. Among the many revealing moments is Martin Sheen's drunken breakdown on camera (included in Coppola's finished film), and snippets of the fascinating, discreet audiotapes showing the director near the end of his wits. Invaluable hindsight is provided by cast and crew, including Coppola himself, who was never quite able to recover professionally from the experience.

Never in my whole life have I ever watched a documentary that was so detailed down to every last thing and has been so influential and haunting at the same time. What Eleanor Coppola did was make a documentary that showed filmmakers not what to and how to solve the things that go wrong and also not to jump into something without realising it's outcome. What she also did was collect moments on the set and off of the greatest film ever made.

I have always made that known when reviewing a lot of films on IMDB how much this film means to me and when you watch Heart of Darkness without flickering an eyelid you kind of find out why. At the beginning of the documentary you see Francis ford Coppola talking about Apocalypse Now at a press conference and he says the famous line `The film wasn't about Vietnam, it was Vietnam' and after hearing it you are thinking what the hell is this guy on about and then you watch it and you think to yourself `Oh he was probably right bless him' because no one apart from the cast and crew knew what he really meant. Then you watch the documentary and you eat your words because we see how much pressure he was under and Brando and Martin Sheen's heart attack didn't help but he pulls through. It was like he made a pack with the devil for his film to be an absolute nightmare to make but for the final outcome to become a glorified Masterpiece which is what it is.

To see what had happened when filming stopped in the jungle with the tribe and the footage of the cow's and pigs being slaughtered to death was extraordinary and disturbing that this really happens. In the scene where the cow or bull (I don't know) gets hacked into pieces is well known for being real but it was well constructed before Francis said `action' but on the documentary you see a number of men just go up to the animal and do what they have to do. It' really sinks in when looking at that part what kind of film Apocalypse Now is. I would have liked to have seen a bit more of Brando but I think it's good that we don't because it just like the film in that respect that even in a documentary he continues to be secluded from the rest and kept in the dark. Francis Ford Coppola was wasted after making Apocalypse now. Never will Hollywood not even Peter Jackson ever see a director like Francis because films like Apocalypse Now will probably never be made again because of the financial side of the business but Coppola was beyond a director, he was a master that had no hold on itself and without his belief and madness we wouldn't be blessed with this outstanding film. It's not a point that I am making it's a fact and it destroys me to think there is nobody challenging the ways he did anymore, but in a way I like it like that.

In 1976 Philippines, Francis Ford Coppola would risk everything to make 'Apocalypse Now'. It's an adaptation of Joseph Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness' to the world of the Vietnam War. The budget explodes and principal photography gets extended to 238 days. His wife Eleanor joins him filming the behind the scenes. Coppola replaces his lead Harvey Keitel. The military's help would often be diverted to fight the rebels. Martin Sheen has a heart attack. The big French section is unworkable. A typhoon destroys the production. It is absolute madness as the production becomes its own Vietnam. This is definitely not a standard production. It is a compelling watch for any film lover. It is one of the best behind-the-scenes film and should be seen as a companion piece to Apocalypse Now.

I took Abed's advice to watch this and it certainly is much better than Apocalypse Now!