Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse (1991)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Directors:

Fax Bahr
George Hickenlooper

Writers:

Fax Bahr (writer)
George Hickenlooper (writer)

Release Date:

27 November 1991 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary

Tagline:

The magic and madness of making "Apocalypse Now"

Plot:

Documentary that chronicles how Francis Ford Coppola's "Apocalypse Now" was plagued by extraordinary script, shooting, budget, and casting problems--nearly destroying the life and career of the celebrated director.

Plot Keywords:

Francis Ford Coppola | Making Of | Actor | Video | 1960s

Awards:

Won 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 4 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Rona Barrett	...	Herself (archive footage)
Sam Bottoms	...	Himself
Marlon Brando	...	Himself
Colleen Camp	...	Herself
Doug Claybourne	...	Himself
Eleanor Coppola	...	Herself
Francis Ford Coppola	...	Himself
Gia Coppola	...	Herself
Roman Coppola	...	Himself
Sofia Coppola	...	Herself
Monty Cox	...	Himself
Robert De Niro	...	Himself
Robert Duvall	...	Himself
Laurence Fishburne	...	Himself
Harrison Ford	...	Himself
Frederic Forrest	...	Himself
Albert Hall	...	Himself
Dennis Hopper	...	Himself
George Lucas	...	Himself
John Milius	...	Himself
Fred Roos	...	Himself
Martin Sheen	...	Himself
Tom Snyder	...	Himself (archive footage)
G.D. Spradlin	...	Himself
Tom Sternberg	...	Himself
Vittorio Storaro	...	Himself
Dean Tavoularis	...	Himself

MPAA:

Rated R for language.

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:R (Manitoba) | Australia:M | USA:R | UK:15

Company:

American Zoetrope

Trivia:

Francis Ford Coppola initially had no desire to release Hearts of Darkness on DVD, due to him disagreeing with the way he is depicted in the documentary. It was finally released on DVD in late 2007, albeit with an optional Coppola commentary track that clears many things up.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the end credits for musical listings under the Doors song The End, Elektra (Records) is misspelled (as "Electra.")

Quotes:

John Milius: ...studio executives, you know, are not noted for their social courage.

Movie Connections:

References The Godfather (1972)

Blew Me Away.

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.