Trivia
Harvey Keitel was then cast as Willard. Two weeks into shooting, director Francis Ford Coppola replaced him with Martin Sheen.
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George Lucas was originally set to direct "Apocalypse Now" from a screenplay by John Milius. Lucas' initial plan was to shoot the movie as a faux documentary on location in South Vietnam while the war was still in progress. Francis Ford Coppola, who was to be the executive producer, tried to get the film made as part of a production deal with Warner Bros. The deal fell through, and Coppola went on to direct The Godfather. By the time both men were powerful enough to get the film made, Saigon had fallen and Lucas was busy making Star Wars. Milius had no interest in directing the film. Lucas gave Coppola his blessing to direct the film himself.
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While in pre-production, director Francis Ford Coppola consulted his friend and mentor Roger Corman for advice about shooting in the Phillipines. Corman's advice: "Don't go."
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The boat's name is "Erebus", seen on the transom, referring to the son of the Greek god of utter darkness, as the movie's source novel was called Heart of Darkness. (Erebus and Terror were also the two lost ships in the famous 1845-6 British polar expedition of Sir John Franklin.) The back of the seat in the forward turret (with dual M2 .50 cal MGs) of the PBR (Lance's position) has the words "God's Country" written on it. The steel gun-shield protecting the gun mount (single M2 .50 cal MG) on the back of the boat is marked with the words "Canned Heat".
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Francis Ford Coppola believed that Marlon Brando was familiar with Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" and had prepared for the role before the legendary actor arrived on the set. When Brando did come out, Coppola was horrified to find that Brando had never read "Heart of Darkness", did not know his lines, and had become extremely fat (Kurtz had always been written as a tall but starvingly-thin man). After some panicking, Coppola decided to film the 5'10" Brando as if he was a massively built, 6'5" brute (to explain Brando's size) and steered the camera clear of Brando's huge belly.
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Francis Ford Coppola spent days reading Joseph Conrad's source novel "Heart of Darkness" out loud to Marlon Brando on the set.
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The scene at the beginning with Captain Willard alone in his hotel room was completely unscripted. Martin Sheen told the shooting crew to just let the cameras roll. Sheen was actually drunk in the scene and punched the mirror which was real glass. Sheen also began sobbing and tried to attack Francis Ford Coppola. The crew was so disturbed by his actions that they wanted to stop shooting, but Coppola wanted to keep the cameras going.
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When Francis Ford Coppola asked Al Pacino to play Willard, Pacino turned him down saying, "I know what this is going to be like. You're going to be up there in a helicopter telling me what to do, and I'm gonna be down there in a swamp for five months." The shoot actually lasted 16 months.
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Marlon Brando so angered Francis Ford Coppola that the director turned over the filming of Brando's scenes to Jerry Ziesmer, the assistant director.
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Martin Sheen had a heart attack during the filming and some shots of Willard's back are of doubles, including Sheen's brother Joe Estevez who was flown out specially. Coppola was so worried that backing would be withdrawn by the studio and distributor if news of Sheen's heart attack leaked out, that he kept it quiet, even to the extent of explaining Sheen's hospitalization as being due to "heat exhaustion" in the official Shoot Schedule.
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Scenes featuring Aurore Clément as the owner of a French plantation were filmed but cut from the finished picture. They were replaced in the 2001 "Redux" edition.
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During some sequences, the sound of the helicopters was created on a synthesizer to blend in with the music.
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Marlon Brando was paid $1 million in advance. He threatened to quit and keep the advance. Francis Ford Coppola told his agent that he didn't care, and if they couldn't get Brando, they would try Jack Nicholson, Robert Redford, and then Al Pacino. Brando eventually turned up late, drunk, 40kg overweight, and admitted he hadn't read the script or even "Heart of Darkness", the book it was based on. He read Coppola's script, and refused to do it. After days of arguments over single lines of dialogue, an ad-lib style script was agreed upon, and this was shot according to Brando's stipulations that he appears in shadows.
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There are three different treatments of the ending and credits. In the 35mm version, the credits roll over surrealistic explosions and burning jungle. The 70mm version has none of this, no credits, nothing but a one-line copyright notice at the end. Both versions are available on video. The 70mm version has been letterboxed. A third version has the credits rolling over a black background.
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There are no opening credits or titles. The title of the movie appears as graffiti late in the film, which reads, "Our motto: Apocalypse Now". This was done simply so the film could be copyrighted, since it could not be copyrighted as "Apocalypse Now" unless the title was seen in the film.
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Randy Thom, one of the film's sound mixers, said that the sound mix took over nine months to complete.
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Most of the dialogue was added in post-production, as extraneous noise (such as helicopters) left many scenes with unusable audio.
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According to his book "In the Blink of an Eye", Walter Murch took nearly two years to edit the movie, with an average of 1.47 cuts a day.
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The character played by Harrison Ford wears a name badge that reads "Lucas". George Lucas directed Ford in American Graffiti and Star Wars, two films which made Ford famous. G.D. Spradlin's character is named "R. Corman", after producer Roger Corman.
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Martin Sheen's character name combines the names of the two eldest sons of Harrison Ford, Benjamin and Willard.
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In May 1979 this became the first film to be awarded the Palme D'Or at The Cannes Film Festival before it had actually been completed. Because the Cannes jury was unable to come to a unanimous vote, this film shared the Best Picture prize with The Tin Drum ("The Tin Drum").
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Laurence Fishburne lied about his age (he was 14 at the time) when production began in 1976.
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The photojournalist quotes two T.S. Eliot poems. In a late scene in the film, a slow pan over a table in Kurtz's room shows a copy of "From Ritual to Romance", a book by Jessie Weston that inspired Eliot's poem "The Wasteland".
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Kurtz reads from the T.S. Eliot poem "The Hollow Men". Eliot was inspired to write this poem by "Heart of Darkness" by Joseph Conrad, the book on which this movie was loosely based. The first line of the poem reads, "Mistah Kurtz - he dead". Kurtz leaves this line and the following line out when he reads. Also, the photojournalist says "This is the way the fucking world ends. Look at this fuckin' shit we're in, man. Not with a bang, but with a whimper, and with a whimper, I'm fucking splitting, Jack." This is taken from the same poem's famous last two lines, "This is the way the world ends. Not with a bang but with a whimper."
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Eleanor Coppola filmed and recorded the making of this film, leading to Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse.
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The character of the photojournalist ('Dennis Hopper') was first suggested by 'Chas Gerretsen', unit photographer and Robert Cappa Gold Medal Award winner (1973) during a lunch with Francis Ford Coppola, regarding the scene where an American TV correspondent (played by Francis Ford Coppola) yells at some passing soldiers, "don't look at the camera," that if Francis wanted to portray the manic side of the press, he should use a photojournalist because,"we were all crazy." The three "black body Nikon F" cameras, with lenses, out of the four Dennis Hopper carried, had been used by Chas in Vietnam. He sold the three cameras to Zoetrope Studios after Dennis Hopper, who'd been originally been cast as Lt.Colby, became the Photojournalist. Chas used three Nikon F2 cameras and one Leica M4 during the filming of Apocalypse Now. He didn't like using blimps (sound boxes) because it prevented him from immediately shooting an image when he saw it (as he'd learned as a photojournalist). He was given permission by Francis to shoot in between the actor's dialogue (except for Marlon Brando) to the great unhappiness of the sound-man who had to edit out the clicking of the camera.
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"Dennis Gassner" is the author of one of the articles about Kurtz in the dossier given to Willard. Dennis Gassner designed the dossier information for the movie and later became a noted production designer.
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Writer Michael Herr was called in to write much of Willard's voice-over dialogue and a few scenes. The scene where Roach uses a grenade launcher to kill the NVA soldier in the wire during the scene at the Do Long bridge is taken directly from "Dispatches," Herr's memoir of the year (1967-'68) he spent in-country as a journalist accredited to Esquire magazine during the war.
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Besides being a straightforward pun, Col. Kilgore's name is also the name of the hometown of a gung-ho helicopter door gunner described by writer Michael Herr in his book "Dispatches".
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Shown - again - as an "official selection" though not part of competition at Cannes Film Festival, May 2001.
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The famous line "terminate... with extreme prejudice" is spoken by Jerry Ziesmer, who also served as the film's Assistant Director.
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In addition to the other T.S. Eliot references, one book shown at the Kurtz compound is "The Golden Bough", one that Eliot said, along with "From Ritual to Romance", his "Waste Land" was largely based.
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John Milius originally wrote the script in 1969. It was then known as "The Psychedelic Soldier".
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Was voted "Best Picture of the last 25 years" by the Dutch movie magazine 'Skrien' on December 3rd 2002.
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The canteen scene with Lt. Col. Kilgore and the wounded Viet Cong is based on an actual wounded VC fighter who fought while keeping his entrails strapped to his belly in an enameled cooking pot. The incident was documented by the photojournalist Philip Jones Griffiths. The real-life U.S soldier was quoted as saying, "Any soldier who can fight for three days with his insides out can drink from my canteen any time!".
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The poem quoted by The Photojournalist (Dennis Hopper) (the line about "a pair of ragged claws") is from the poem "The Lovesong of J Alfred Prufrock" by T.S. Eliot.
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In the original script and the shooting of some scenes, Colonel Kurtz was originally to be called Colonel "Leighley" (this can be seen in bonus materials of 'Apocalypse Now Redux' DVD edition). In the movie when Harrison Ford says the line "pick up Colonel Kurtz path at Nu Mung Ba", you can see his mouth doesn't match the word "Kurtz" (indicating it was re-dubbed). (see the Alternate Versions)
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James Caan was the director's first choice to play Col. Lucas. Caan, however, wanted too much money for what was considered a minor part in the movie. Harrison Ford was eventually cast in the role.
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One of the sequences cut from the original release version but added to the "Redux" version is a sequence featuring the soldiers making out with two Playboy playmates. Colleen Camp was the playmate surrounded by birds. Camp said her character trained birds at Busch Gardens; Camp actually did this in real life.
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The people on the riverboat were actual Vietnamese refugees who had come to the Philippines less than six weeks earlier.
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When the photographer (Dennis Hopper) is babbling about the religious fervor of Kurtz, he babbles out portions of the poem "If" by Rudyard Kipling.
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The movie's line "I love the smell of napalm in the morning." was voted as the #12 movie quote by the American Film Institute, and as the #45 of "The 100 Greatest Movie Lines" by Premiere in 2007.
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The movie's line "The horror... the horror..." was voted as the #66 of "The 100 Greatest Movie Lines" by Premiere in 2007.
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Military sets for the movie were nearly destroyed by a hurricane during filming. Instead of breaking them down and starting over, the partially-destroyed sets were used to create new scenes in the movie (including the scene in "Redux" where the playmates are stranded at the deserted military base).
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Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos agreed to let his army supply the helicopters and pilots used in the film. The Marcos government was also fighting rebels in the area where filming was taking place, and sometimes withdrew the helicopters and pilots when they were needed in battle, replacing them with pilots who weren't familiar with the filming, which caused some problems.
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It took Francis Ford Coppola nearly three years to edit the footage. While working on his final edit, it became apparent to him that Martin Sheen would be needed to tape a number of additional narrative voice-overs. Coppola soon discovered that Sheen was busy and unable to perform these voice-overs. He then called in Sheen's brother, Joe Estevez, whose voice sounds nearly identical to Sheen's, to perform the new narrative tracks. Estevez was also used as a stand-in/double for Sheen when Sheen suffered a heart attack during the shoot in 1976. Estevez was not credited for his work as a stand-in or for his voice-over work.
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Francis Ford Coppola invested several million dollars of his own money in the film after it went severely over budget.
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The film was originally supposed to be scored by Francis Ford Coppola mainstay David Shire. His score was not used, however, in favor of Carmine Coppola and Mickey Hart's synth and percussion score.
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When Steve McQueen was being pursued for the role of Willard, the script was called "Apocalypse Three" as it featured three main characters, including a helicopter pilot. Gene Hackman reportedly was considered for the role of the pilot, as it was Francis Ford Coppola's idea initially to cast the three roles with stars.
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Francis Ford Coppola, who considered offering the role of Willard to Al Pacino, said that Pacino would probably have played the role if they could have filmed the movie in his New York City apartment. Jack Nicholson also was offered the role but turned it down.
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One of the photos Willard studies in the dossier shows Kurtz in a line of soldiers being decorated by Gen. William C. Westmoreland.
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The visit by the Playboy Playmates was based on an actual visit by 1965 Playmate of the Year Jo Collins. She was so popular with the troops that she was made an honorary GI. The Playmate of the Year character in the movie was played by Cynthia Wood, who was herself Playmate of the Year in 1974.
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Nick Nolte has said that he has never wanted a role more than that of Captain Willard, and was very disappointed when Coppola picked Harvey Keitel. When Keitel was fired, Nolte thought the role was his, but Sheen eventually got the part.
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Emilio Estevez hung out on the set of the movie in the Phillipines with his father Martin Sheen during the filming of the movie. When casting for The Outsiders 4 years later, Francis Ford Coppola remembered Emilio hanging out on the set of 'Apocalypse Now', and wanted him to play Two-Bit in 'The Outsiders'.
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While in the movie the main character is sent to kill Kurtz, in the source novel ('Heart of Darkness'), the main character is sent to rescue him.
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Although no date or year is given for when the film takes place, a newspaper being read by the crew features an article on the trial of Charles Manson. This would date the action to November 1969.
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When Francis Ford Coppola first described the role to Marlon Brando, Brando remarked that an American colonel wouldn't have a name like Kurtz, he would have an English name like "Leighley." Having never read "Heart of Darkness", Brando did not appreciate the reference. Brando eventually read "Heart of Darkness", but not until after the film's completion. After reading the book and liking it, Brando demanded that his name be changed to Kurtz in the film, and Harrison Ford's lines were dubbed to accommodate him.
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According to the George Lucas biography "Skywalking," Lucas' decision to pull out of Apocalypse Now destroyed his working relationship with Francis Ford Coppola, who felt betrayed, and all but ended their friendship, and the Colonel Lucas character was meant as a back-handed snub to his then ex-friend. It would be years before they would be on speaking terms again, and would not work together again until 1986's Captain EO.
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The letter Martin Sheen is reading in the deleted scene "Letter from Mrs. Kurtz" is actually a poem by Jim Morrison.
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Marlon Brando improvised the line "You're an errand boy, sent by grocery clerks, to collect a bill."
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The total length of film printed for the movie was approximately 1,250,000 feet. That number roughly translates to a total of around 230 hours worth of footage.
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Robert Duvall 's character, Col. Bill Killgore, was loosely based on author and syndicated columnist Col. David H. Hackworth's exploits in Viet Nam. Hackworth, born and raised in Southern California, commanded a helicopter Air Cavalry brigade in which pilots actually wore Civil War campaign hats and flew in helicopters with crossed swords painted on them.
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According to an interview given by Robert Duvall for NPR's Fresh Air on July 22, 2010, Colonel Kilgore's name was originally going to be Colonel Carnage, but they changed it to make their statement about him less obvious.
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In the DVD commentary, Francis Ford Coppola downplays his involvement in the controversial slaughter of the water buffalo, saying he "happened to film a ritual" being performed by Ifugao natives. However in the article "Ifugao extras and the making of Apocalypse Now", cast and crew detail how Coppola staged the entire scene, directing the natives to chant and sing while they killed the animal which Coppola provided. Afterwards, Coppola "went overboard and ordered a whole truckload" of animals which he gave to the Ifugao to slaughter on camera. However only one water buffalo slaughter was used in the final cut. ('Flip Magazine 2003, v.2, n.3, pp. 29-33, 90-91')
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Francis Ford Coppola initially wanted to use Universal Studios-owned Sensurround system but they would not let him do so. This forced him to create an own version of the sound surround system.
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The original editor Barry Malkin withdrew in the earlier stages of the production. However, it was he who recommended his friend Richard Marks to do the editing.
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The opening tracking shot of the film was originally a discarded trim from the entire footage shot the village napalm attack. While going through the trims, Francis Ford Coppola accidentally stumbled on the trim and added it. He later said that having that trim complemented well with the The Doors' "The End" and the accompanying montage.
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Editing the helicopter napalm attack took one year to complete. Approximately 10 percent of the footage shot (130,000 feet) was from that sequence itself.
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Although top billed, Marlon Brando does not appear until more than 2.5 hours into the movie (Redux version) and his total appearance time is 15 minutes.
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The scene in the beginning where Willard is moving around chaotically in his underwear and eventually punches the mirror was filmed on Martin Sheen's 36th birthday.
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In the Playboy Bunny show scene, several drums with the name "Dow Chemicals" are visible. Dow is one of the companies that manufactured Agent Orange, the chemical defoliant used throughout Southeast Asia to kill the jungle plant life that the United States government claimed was aiding the enemy in hiding from Army forces.
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Although the filming on locations in the Philippines lasted from March 1976 until May 1977, Marlon Brando's presence on set was only 6 weeks (from September 2nd until October 11th 1976).
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The character of Colonel Kurtz is inspired by the story of the traitor Lope de Aguirre, sixteenth-century Spanish soldier.
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This film holds the record on the MovieMistakes.com website for the movie with the most errors - a total of 395.
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This film features Laurence Fishburne and Scott Glenn. Both actors have played the role of FBI Agent Jack Crawford. Glenn played the role in the theatrical film "Silence Of The Lambs" while Fishburne played the role on the TV series "Hannibal".
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Spoilers
In the theatrical version of the film, Robert Duvall and Dennis Hopper leave the exact same way: by standing up from a squatting position and walking out of the frame to the right. However, this changes in the "Redux" version of the film which features a few extra minutes with Duvall's character.
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The Golden Bough", by James Frazer, is one of the books on Kurtz's night table. It is an anthropological study of rites in several cultures in which a young usurper ritually kills an aging king and inherits his throne.
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Francis Ford Coppola was unable to find a satisfactory way of ending the film until his wife, Eleanor Coppola, witnessed the Ifugao tribesmen employed as extras performing an animal sacrifice.
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The document that Willard skims through near the film's conclusion, on which "DROP THE BOMB. EXTERMINATE THEM ALL" is scrawled, is entitled "The Role of Democratic Force in the Underdeveloped World, by Walter E. Kurtz, Colonel USSF" and is "Commissioned by The Center For Democratic Studies, Santa Barbara, California". This is taken directly from Joseph Conrad's novella, where a report written for "the International Society for the Suppression of Savage Customs" by Kurtz is also graffitied with a similar message: "Exterminate all the brutes!"
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The original script by John Milius climaxes with Kurtz fighting off an attack by U.S. Army helicopters, firing a machine gun, while exclaiming to Willard, "I can feel the power in my loins!" Francis Ford Coppola thought this was absurd.
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The sequence where the PBR gets attacked with spears exactly mirrors the attack on the jungle boat in the novel "Heart of Darkness". Both captains are killed with a spear.
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In or just before each of the scenes where a member of the boat crew dies, purple smoke from a flare is visible. A similar thematic element is used by Francis Ford Coppola in the Godfather series where oranges appear just before or in a scene where a character dies.
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