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HEARTS OF DARKNESS
A Filmmaker's Apocalypse
Paramount
"I'm making the worst movie, ever."
Francis Ford Coppola, 1976
Finally available on DVD, Eleanor
Coppola's personal diary of the
making of her husband's 1979
blockbuster, Apocalypse Now, is
a required primer for any
connoisseur of the trippy Viet
Nam war opus.
Shot on 16mm film on a shoe
string budget while Apocalypse
Now was being cast and shot
from 1975 to 1977, the bulk of the
93 minute documentary focuses
on the travails of the over 200 day
shoot of AN in the hot, humid and
even war torn Philippines.
Although previously available on
video in the early 1990s, and
given a modest theatrical run,
this version of Hearts of
Darkness is essential for the new
commentaries by the Coppola's,
even if Francis' contribution is on
the lean side, in totality.
Eleanor gives a good account of
herself, explaining how that while
her husband had final say on
what went in her doc, he
nonetheless allowed material that
causes him embarrassment even
to this day.
For instance, there is a rather
macabrely humorous segment in
which Ms. Coppola had recorded
her husband without his
knowledge as a crisis arose
when star Martin Sheen suffered
a serious heart attack.
Ford Coppola-afraid that the
news hitting the studio backers
in Hollywood would stop the film-
rants and raves, making it seem
like the show must go on, despite
Sheen's serious illness.
In his new commentary, Coppola
seeks to clarify his remarks and
even apologizes to Sheen and
his family for appearing coarse.
And Eleanor Coppola fills in
many details about her film,
including how it was developed
at the time of shoot in Rome, and
sent back to the Philippines in
cases of Italian delicacies,
sometimes taking up to 2 weeks
to arrive, leaving Ms. Coppola
with a constraining time lag.
On the down side, this long
awaited DVD does not feature a
5.1 soundtrack, nor a widescreen
picture.
But it does tend to transport the
viewer back to the era, when the
media was hot on Ford
Coppola's heels, with headlines
like "Apocalypse When?"
And while there is no extra
footage added to the original cut
of Hearts of Darkness, there is
enough here-including a not to
be missed hopped-up Dennis
Hopper chided by Ford Coppola
for not learning his lines-is well
worth the price of admission.
As a bonus, a making-of
documentary of Ford Coppola's
new film Youth Without Youth
provides a look at the director's
muses and mistakes, 30 years on.
A Filmmaker's Apocalypse
Paramount
"I'm making the worst movie, ever."
Francis Ford Coppola, 1976
Finally available on DVD, Eleanor
Coppola's personal diary of the
making of her husband's 1979
blockbuster, Apocalypse Now, is
a required primer for any
connoisseur of the trippy Viet
Nam war opus.
Shot on 16mm film on a shoe
string budget while Apocalypse
Now was being cast and shot
from 1975 to 1977, the bulk of the
93 minute documentary focuses
on the travails of the over 200 day
shoot of AN in the hot, humid and
even war torn Philippines.
Although previously available on
video in the early 1990s, and
given a modest theatrical run,
this version of Hearts of
Darkness is essential for the new
commentaries by the Coppola's,
even if Francis' contribution is on
the lean side, in totality.
Eleanor gives a good account of
herself, explaining how that while
her husband had final say on
what went in her doc, he
nonetheless allowed material that
causes him embarrassment even
to this day.
For instance, there is a rather
macabrely humorous segment in
which Ms. Coppola had recorded
her husband without his
knowledge as a crisis arose
when star Martin Sheen suffered
a serious heart attack.
Ford Coppola-afraid that the
news hitting the studio backers
in Hollywood would stop the film-
rants and raves, making it seem
like the show must go on, despite
Sheen's serious illness.
In his new commentary, Coppola
seeks to clarify his remarks and
even apologizes to Sheen and
his family for appearing coarse.
And Eleanor Coppola fills in
many details about her film,
including how it was developed
at the time of shoot in Rome, and
sent back to the Philippines in
cases of Italian delicacies,
sometimes taking up to 2 weeks
to arrive, leaving Ms. Coppola
with a constraining time lag.
On the down side, this long
awaited DVD does not feature a
5.1 soundtrack, nor a widescreen
picture.
But it does tend to transport the
viewer back to the era, when the
media was hot on Ford
Coppola's heels, with headlines
like "Apocalypse When?"
And while there is no extra
footage added to the original cut
of Hearts of Darkness, there is
enough here-including a not to
be missed hopped-up Dennis
Hopper chided by Ford Coppola
for not learning his lines-is well
worth the price of admission.
As a bonus, a making-of
documentary of Ford Coppola's
new film Youth Without Youth
provides a look at the director's
muses and mistakes, 30 years on.