71. "Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmakers Apocalypse" chronicles what Academy Award winning director's harrowing journey to complete 1979's "Apocalypse Now"?
From Quiz Dissecting the Director
Answer:
Francis Ford Coppola
"Apocalypse Now" is the brilliant movie that updates Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" by moving the story from the jungles of Africa to the horrors of the Vietnam War. The film starred Marlon Brando, Martin Sheen, Robert Duvall, just to name a few of the powerful cast. Nominated for eight Oscars, the film managed to win only two for sound and cinematography, losing both the Best Picture and Best Director awards to "Kramer vs. Kramer". However the story of how the film ever got made and the human toll the movie took on its director, Francis Ford Coppola, is almost as compelling as the movie itself.
"Apocalypse Now", like many movies, faced delays and rewrites in the pre-production process; unlike most movies the delays in production were more extensive. The initial location development started in the Philippines in early 1976. Harvey Keitel was originally cast as the lead character - a disenchanted army sniper (assassin) named Capt. Willard. Principal photography began in March 1976, but was stopped soon after when Coppola decided to replace Keitel with Martin Sheen.
In May 1976 Typhoon Olga hit the Philippines, destroying some of the movie sets, further delaying filming and creating cost overruns. When Brando arrived on the set he was vastly overweight, had neither read the script nor Conrad's book and demanded that his part be rewritten to avoid displaying his gathering girth. Things got worse when star Martin Sheen had a heart attack in March 1977. The heart attack was the culmination of Sheen's relentless drinking and poor overall health. A famous scene early in the movie shows a mentally unbalanced Willard fly into an alcohol-fueled rage and wreck his hotel room. The scene was unscripted and Sheen was actually drunk during filming, hitting a real mirror breaking the glass. Sheen alternated between crying and trying to attack Coppola directing the scene off camera. Despite concern from on-lookers, Coppola kept the cameras going and the scene is a highlight of the finished movie. Sheen needed further time off to recover, further requiring weeks of additional delays. The film was not released until the summer of 1979, almost two years after the initial expected date. Despite these issues the finished product is a masterpiece considered an essential American classic and ranks 30th on the American Film Institute's 100 Years 100 Movies 10th Anniversary list (2007).
"Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmakers Apocalypse" was made using footage taken by Coppola's wife, Eleanor, during the movies filming. The documentary is a raw and often harsh look at her husband, the movie's crew and its stars (Brando in particular). Released in 1991, the documentary opened at the Cannes Film Festival and was shown on both US television (where it won best a Best Documentary Emmy) and in theaters around the world.
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