Rated: R
Starring: Francis Ford Coppola, Marlon Brando, Dennis Hopper, Robert Duvall, Laurence Fishburne, George Lucas, John Milius, Martin Sheen
Directed by: Fax Bahr, Eleanor Coppola, and George Hickenlooper

Finally on DVD is the infamous documentary Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker"s Apocalypse, an absorbing and unflinching look into the making of the classic Vietnam War film Apocalypse Now.

The documentary is made up of behind-the-scenes footage shot by Apocalypse Now director Francis Ford Coppola"s wife Eleanor; secretly recorded conversations between Eleanor and her husband; and interviews with George Lucas, John Milius, Martin Sheen, Robert Duvall, Laurence Fishburne, and Francis Ford Coppola.

Apocalypse Now was loosely based on the classic novel Hearts of Darkness written by Joseph Conrad, and this film quickly recounts the various attempts to adapt the novel onto the silver screen by filmmakers Orson Wells and George Lucas.

After Lucas left the project, Coppola took over, deciding to finance the movie himself, assuring creative control through his newly founded Zoetrobe Studios. With the Philippines chosen as their shooting location, Marlon Brando and Harvey Keitel signed on to star. After a deal was struck with the Philippine government for the use of their military helicopters, Coppola and Co. were ready to begin filming a supposed 16-week shoot, beginning in February, 1976. The shoot ended up accumulating 238 days of principal photography.

Within those 238 days, Keitel was fired and replaced by Martin Sheen, whose poor health and alcoholism lead to a near fatal, on-set heart attack; numerous scenes were ruined when the government helicopters, supposedly at Coppola’s disposal, were ordered mid-shoot to fight against rebel militia; a typhoon destroyed sets, delaying filming for 2 months; Marlon Brando finally appears on the set grossly overweight and under prepared; and the erratic behavior of the cast (especially Dennis Hopper) was driving Coppola mad. As expected, press speculation back in America was ripe, portraying Coppola as a man gone crazy, which is actually not far from the truth.

What Hearts of Darkness really represents is the madness and genius of Francis Ford Coppola, the portly Italian-American director of The Godfather. He was the family man and movie geek, turned insane visionary in the jungles of the Philippines.

The way in which he approaches his work is a sight to behold. An intuitive filmmaker, Coppola’s style of direction on Apocalypse Now is best described as both capricious and sagacious. He is extremely well researched and can work exceptionally well under pressure, but he also has a tendency to waffle about, continually changing the script back and forth, until there was no script to be had, only newly written pages of dialogue each day.

Discipline is not his forte. Instead of taking control and directing the film in the more traditional sense, Coppola opts to let the film take him where it needs to go. Throughout the journey, Coppola confronted his fears and almost lost his sanity in the process.

Along with Coppola, Martin Sheen was also exorcising his demons. A disturbing breakdown featuring a naked and bloodied Sheen was caught on camera (and implemented in the film). Later he would have a heart attack so fatal, that last rites were given to him by a priest who could not speak English. But the most shocking aspect of this story was Coppola’s reaction to the news, a combination of cold-blooded denial and resilience. He was going to finish this film no matter who or what stood in his way.

And finish it he did. Three years after filming began, Apocalypse Now was finally released to much anticipation and acclaim, winning the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival and two Academy Awards. For all of the hell Coppola went through making it, no amount of awards or box office receipts will be accolade enough. Just having finished it was the ultimate payoff.

SPECIAL FEATURES

Along with audio commentary by Francis Ford and Eleanor Coppola, Hearts of Darkness contains a bonus documentary entitled Coda: Thirty Years Later. Shot and directed by Eleanor Coppola, the documentary looks at the making of Youth Without Youth, Francis Ford Coppola’s first film in almost 10 years.

Starring Tim Roth and Bruno Ganz, the film is a period piece which focuses on the philosophical themes of time and consciousness. It is beautifully shot and sounds immensely interesting, and I believe worth a look when released.

This Reviewer's Rating: 4 / 5

---

Comments

Add New Search RSS

Write comment
Name:
Email:	do not notifynotify
Title:
	Please input the anti-spam code that you can read in the image.

3.25 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."