This is the documentary of a film maker's apocalypse. Or, more specifically, Franis Ford Coppola's struggle to make the motion picture Apocalypse Now in the late 70s. Originally intended on being shot in Vietnam itself, the was found too dangerous and filming was done in the Phillapines instead. The footage in the documentary is primarily shot by Coppola's wife and often accompanied by her narration of the diary she kept during the 200+ days of shooting. There were many disasters to overcome throughout the adventure of making this movie, including harsh weather, Philapine rebels and Martin Sheen's heart attack. Not to mention the fact that Coppola had to deal with the bitch that is Marlon Brando. Marlon demanded insane amounts of money and didn't even bother to read the book before filming started! I would have sent that fat ass back home and got somebody decent to work with. It's not like he was even that perfect for the role of Kurtz anyways. Nobody reads Conrad's Heart of Darkness and says "if they ever make this into a movie they absolutely must use Marlon Brando as Kurtz!" If I was the film maker, I would have used Oscar the grouch before I chose Brando. It's not that he's a bad actor, it's just that I hate him.
If you like Apocalypse Now, Hearts of Darkness is a must see.
4 stars
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