In the late ’70s, director Francis Ford Coppola, accompanied by his family, and crew, travelled to the Philippines to begin work on what could become Apocalypse Now. But it soon became one of the most notorious shoots in cinema history, spiralling into a hellish and life-threatening nightmare.
Chronicling the drama was Coppola’s wife, the late Eleanor Coppola, who shot extensive behind-the- scenes footage of the shoot in 16mm and recorded audio interviews with her husband and others involved in the movie making. In the early ’90s, Eleanor gave her footage and audio to film-makers George Hickenlooper and Fax Bahr who, after a year of editing, debuted the movie at the Cannes Film Festival.
The Apocalypse Now movie was plagued by an ambitious script, foreign shooting conditions, including typhoon and monsoon, budget restraints and casting problems. The movie took a great toll on Coppola’s mental health.
HEART OF DARKNESS : A FILMMAKER’S APOCALYPSE does something critically important–it brings perspective. It forces the viewer to think about the reality of shooting in a war zone, of how it weighs on the actors and crew and how horrifyingly young a 14 year old Lawrence Fishburn was. Even with some clear punches pulled, the film still gets at the heart of the exhaustion involved with the production.
The documentary helps paint a full picture of not only the Coppola family’s stresses, but also the toll that it took on cast members. Martin Sheen’s journey, in particular, adds layers to his performance as Willard. His haunted eyes and erratic behaviour on screen, paired with the reality of a man pushing himself to the point of exhaustion that required hospitalisation, stay in the memory.
There’s something deeper and darker in this documentary that is better than the actual movie. It is the film’s search for an understanding of the creative genius of Francis Ford Coppola.
