Hearts of Darkness - A Filmmaker's Apocalypse

In his treatise on strategy and warfare, On War, Carl von Clausewitz explains that "Everything in war is very simple, but the simplest thing is difficult." He goes on to explain that "the difficulties [in war] accumulate and end by producing a kind of friction that is inconceivable unless one has experienced war... Countless minor incidents - the kind you can never really forsee - combine to lower the general level of performance, so that one always fall far short of the intended goal. Iron will-power can overcome this friction; it pulverizes every obstacle, but of course it wears down the machine as well."Friction is the difference between real war and war on paper, he says. It is the difference between the plans drawn up by political and military leadership and what actually happens on the battlefield.The concept of friction, however, is applicable to any sort of planning exercise. We've all planned events or projects that sounded great on paper, but once we began carrying them out, we realized it wasn't at all as we had initially hoped. Remodeling a kitchen that went from being a summer project has now crept into Christmas time. Or perhaps a project at work that ended up costing much more than originally anticipated. Friction is all those little unforeseen delays, costs, and obstacles that impact the timeliness, price tag, and overall quality of a project or an event.The practical implication of friction was beautifully illustrated in the film, Hearts of Darkness: a Filmmaker's Apocalypse, which documents the filming and production of Director Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now. It shows how Coppola went into the filming of the project with such high hopes, but so many unforeseen variables, many of which were out of his control, ended up almost wrecking the project and ruining Coppola.The filming of Apocalypse Now took place in the Philippines, which at the time was engaged in a civil war. Coppola was renting helicopters from the Philippine government for one of the most famous scenes in the film. However, filming was often interrupted because the government would take a few of the helicopters back to fight the rebels. Martin Sheen, who played Captain Willard, the film's main protagonist, had a heart attack midway through the filming and needed several weeks to recover. Typhoon Olga came through and destroyed much of the set and forced the closing of production. And finally, Marlon Brando, earning a then-unprecedented $1M a week, arrived on set much overweight, not prepared, and unhappy about the ending. The film ended up being $30M over budget and four times over schedule. In a recorded phone conversation with his wife, Coppola confessed that he no idea what he was doing and even contemplated suicide.In the end, Coppola successfully managed the immense friction of the production. Apocalypse Now is arguably the best Vietnam War movie ever made and the film is one of the best in history.But how did Coppola pull this off? How did he overcome the insurmountable obstacles that were thrown at him and create a masterpiece? In other words, as Clausewitz asks, "Is there any lubricant that will reduce this abrasion?" He immediately answers: "Only one, and a commander and his army will not always have it readily available: combat experience... Habit hardens the body for great exertions, strengthens the heart in great peril, and fortifies judgment against first impressions. Habit breeds that priceless quality, calm, which... will lighten the commander's task."Clausewitz believes, thus, that experience is what reduces friction. Experience is what instills a sense of realism into the outlook of an initiative. An experienced leader understands that there will be problems that crop up and add delays and increase costs of the project. Experience teaches him to not get ruffled by these problems and to take the unexpected in stride. Experienced leaders not only maintain an even keel when the unforeseen hits, but also use it to their advantage through natural gestures and improvised courses of action. The friction forces them to be innovation and creative.By the time of the filming of Apocalypse Now, Francis Ford Coppola already had several Academy Awards under his belt. He won Best Picture and Best Director Awards for The Godfather and The Godfather Part II; two other films he directed and produced, The Conversation and American Graffiti, respectively, were nominated for Best Picture; and he had won three Best Screenplay Awards. Coppola had begun his film career 17 years earlier and was, at the time, at the peak of his career. Needless to say he was an experienced film director.In The Hearts of Darkness, you get to see how such an experienced professional and leader handles the immense friction that happened in the production of Apocalypse Now. He improvised the entire beginning scene when Martin Sheen, who at the time was very drunk from a birthday celebration, punches the mirror in his hotel room in Saigon. He worked around Marlon Brando's weight by dressing him in all black and only shooting him in the dark. And lastly, he worked the torrential downpour from the tropical storm - it rained for many days straight - into the shooting. I couldn't imagine the film without these improvisations!Only a director of Coppola's experience and will power could have managed the magnitude of friction that was inherent in the production of Apocalypse Now and successfully turn it into one of the best films of all-time (and even he almost failed).

Brilliant documentary about the creation of Apocalypse Now. Fans of the film, Coppola or Martin Sheen should check this out. Eleanor Coppola's work is as grand as her husband's.

Apocalypse Now is my favourite movie and as one fellow reviewer says correct … I am a fanatic.I also love Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse (Hearts of Darkness) and cannot understand how so many people are commenting on Apocalypse Now Redux and yet have not watched Hearts of Darkness. For example one reviewer who gave the original movie 5 star asks “I wonder why Coppola deleted the French Plantation scene from the original movie?One important aspect of Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse is that there is Commentary to the Commentary. Blink and you will miss it. That is Eleanor Coppola actually comment on the documentary. Fans of Francis will get an important insight into the man. For example, he is to this day “embarrassed” about certain scenes in Apocalypse Now. We are not directly told which scenes but Eleanor hints at which ones.Like some reviewers, I remember the original release of Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse as being longer and more in depth. Eleanor Coppola answers this by saying that she did not want to embarrass Martin Sheen (Captain Willard) about his real heart attack and there was more discussion about narcotics. I agree with Eleanor as she says talking about drugs detracts from the documentary.I think it’s fantastic that a documentary exists on possibly (and I highlight possibly) the greatest movie made. I could not believe it when I heard in 1991 that Hearts of Darkness existed, Eleanor goes on to say that people like myself, people in the early teens when Apocalypse Now a released in 1979 urger her and Francis to release Hearts of Darkness.John Milius: wrote part of the script. ALL the parts concerning John Milius are extremely humorous, especially, his preferred ending where …… this rime I will NOT spoil this scene. You have to watch it to believe and the fact that George Lucas was initially going to film it. Wow ….The documentary ends with Francis reflecting on movie making and says words to these effect a“ .. a fat girl from Ohio” will probably beat a well-known director/cinematographer by using a hand held camera. Francis does not have to worry for the following reasons:• Apocalypse Now will never be re-made, OR, more importantly have a sequel• The cinematography is so beautiful and perfect that CGI cannot duplicate or replace it• Labour Of Love: Apocalypse Now was such a personal labour of love for Francis that no studio to this day would allow a director that much autonomy. (Francis suffered greatly due to Apocalypse Now and his other hit Dracula 11-12 years later was filmed indoors on massive studio lots and sound stages)Once again if you are a hard core fan, there is so much in Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse that a 7,000 word review would not do it justice AND hopefully clarifies the three points above. There are interviews with all the actors. You will laugh out loud at the parts that contain Dennis Hopper and Marlon Brando. Perseverance. The one thing that I learned from the documentary and the movie Apocalypse Now is persevere until the end. All fans owe it Francis who put everything on the line … admits he was frightened …. to bring us the timeless masterpiece,Apocalypse Now.

Hace décadas ví este excelente documental en el cine. Después de tres décadas sigue tan impresionante y alucinante como en esa primera ocasión.Tenía muchos años buscando el DVD, por lo que me dió mucho gusto conseguirlo a buen precio y con excelente calidad tanto de imagen como de sonido.Valió la pena la espera.

This is a superb add-on to the movie. See Martin Sheen in "real life" while making the actual movie, and see what the Director and Crew had to go through to make the movie. Incredible!

「地獄の黙示録」の長尺版が公開され日の目を見なかったシーンを見る事ができたがその裏側に興味を持っても、DVDにメイキングは収録されていない。VHSかLDでは発売されていたが、版権の問題もあり国内の発売は絶望的だ。英語が分からなくても、書籍で発売されているエレノア・コッポラの「ノーツ」と映画を理解する手助けとして、立花隆氏の単行本（文庫も出ている）を読めば、字幕が分からなくても理解できるだろう。スタジオでCGを使って…という工業製品的映画が多い中一人の作家が芸術を生み出す苦悩を見るのは「物を作る」作業をする事に携わる人は必見の作品である。

As good if not better than apocalypse now! A great look into the madness of making this film.

Nice insight on the madness of movie making.