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

Directors:

Fax Bahr
George Hickenlooper
(more)

Writers:

Fax Bahr
George Hickenlooper

Release Date:

6 December 1991 (UK)

Genre:

Documentary

Tagline:

The magic and madness of making "Apocalypse Now"

Plot:

Documentary that chronicles how Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now (1979) was plagued by extraordinary script, shooting, budget, and casting problems--nearly destroying the life and career of the celebrated director.

Plot Keywords:

Actor | Making Of | Interview | Video | 1970s

Awards:

Won 2 Primetime Emmys. Another 4 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Francis Ford Coppola	...	Himself (as Francis Coppola)
Eleanor Coppola	...	Herself
Orson Welles	...	Himself - from 1938 radio broadcast (archive footage) (voice)
John Milius	...	Himself
George Lucas	...	Himself
Tom Sternberg	...	Himself
Sam Bottoms	...	Himself
Albert Hall	...	Himself
Frederic Forrest	...	Himself (as Fred Forrest)
Laurence Fishburne	...	Himself (as Larry Fishburne)
Gia Coppola	...	Herself (as Gia)
Roman Coppola	...	Himself (as Roman)
Sofia Coppola	...	Herself (as Sofia)
Dean Tavoularis	...	Himself
Fred Roos	...	Himself
Martin Sheen	...	Himself
Vittorio Storaro	...	Himself
Robert Duvall	...	Himself
Rona Barrett	...	Herself (archive footage)
Tom Snyder	...	Himself (archive footage)
Monty Cox	...	Himself
Doug Claybourne	...	Himself
Dennis Hopper	...	Himself
Marlon Brando	...	Himself

Directed by
Fax Bahr
George Hickenlooper
Eleanor Coppola		(documentary footage)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Fax Bahr
George Hickenlooper

Produced by
Doug Claybourne	....	executive producer
Michael Doqui	....	supervising producer
Les Mayfield	....	producer
Fred Roos	....	executive producer
George Zaloom	....	producer

Original Music by
Todd Boekelheide

Cinematography by
Larry Carney
Shana Hagan
Igor Meglic
Steven Wacks

Film Editing by
Michael Greer
Jay Miracle

Production Management
Steven Hewitt	....	executive in charge of production

Sound Department
Robert Gravenor	....	sound mixer
George R. Groves Jr.	....	sound re-recording mixer
Craig M. Otte	....	sound effects editor
Tim Philben	....	sound re-recording mixer
Troy Porter	....	sound re-recording mixer
Brian Risner	....	sound editor

Camera and Electrical Department
Ron Bahara	....	assistant camera
Les Blank	....	camera operator
Andrew Parke	....	assistant camera

Music Department
Brian Risner	....	music prelay mixer

Production Companies

• American Zoetrope
• Cineplex-Odeon Films

Distributors

• Triton Pictures (1991) (USA) (theatrical)
• Cineplex-Odeon Films (1991) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Showtime Networks (1991) (USA) (TV) (premiere)
• AMLF (1992) (France) (theatrical)
• Cineplex-Odeon Home Video (1992) (Canada) (VHS)
• MCA Home Video (1992) (Canada) (VHS)
• Paramount Pictures (1992) (USA) (VHS) (pan and scan)
• Paramount Pictures (1992) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Paramount Pictures (1994) (USA) (VHS)
• Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) (1994) (USA) (TV)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (1995) (Finland) (TV)
• Paramount Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Giangiacomo Feltrinelli Editore (2009) (Italy) (DVD)

Also Known As:

MPAA:

Rated R for language

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:A (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:R (Manitoba) | Australia:M | Portugal:M/12 | USA:R | UK:15

Company:

American Zoetrope

Trivia:

It was briefly considered to replace the voice of Eleanor Coppola with that of a professional actress, but that was rejected.

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:

Features "Tomorrow Coast to Coast" (1973)

Soundtrack:

The Ride of the Valkyries

The most insightful (if not, one of the most) documentaries ever made

Francis Ford Coppolla made a undeniable masterpiece with Apocalypse Now and became (for me at least) one of the greatest films ever made and the best war picture ever. To have this documentary sitting about is like having a documentary about success, failure and what life is, craziness. That is the essence caught in this film.

The film follows the events of the making of Apocalypse Now, including some moments of insight I almost couldn't believe (George Lucas might've been the director, Harvey Keitel was the original Willard, Coppolla almost gave up on the project, etc) and behind the camera footage I thought was ludicrous- in a good way. For instance, being a long time fan of Marlon Brando, it was as much cringe like as it was interesting to see deleted, improvised footage of Brando spouting lines and such. But the centerpiece here is Coppolla himself, as we see his descent into almost like what Kurtz went through, and that might be the most extraordinary part of all (considering that he is one of the best American directors of the last quarter century). One of the best pictures of 1991. A+