Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse (1991) **** (out of 4)Excellent documentary about the madness that Francis Ford Coppola put himself through trying to make the epic APOCALYPSE NOW.It turns out that Coppola's wife was shooting during the entire production of the movie so directors Fax Bahr and George Hickenlooper took this footage, added new interviews with the cast and crew and turned it into a terrific example of what lengths certain people will go to in order to reach what vision they have. I think the film falls a tad bit short of BURDEN OF DREAMS but there's no question that this film is quite addicting.I think the greatest thing about this movie is that it gives you a great idea of what it takes in order to get what you want. Throughout the shooting of the film we see Coppola slowly losing his mind as all sorts of production troubles happen. There are typhoons, a war where the helicopters he's paying for are needed for battle, Martin Sheen has a heart attack and then there's Marlon Brando getting paid a million a week but refusing to shoot anything until he understands his character.It's fascinating to see the effect all of this has on Coppola and how he eventually begins to crack. My only complaint on the film is that it didn't run longer because I would have sat through another hour or so worth of material. The film also benefits from the terrific behind-the-scenes footage and especially the stuff with Brando. I've never been overly thrilled with the ending to APOCALYPSE NOW but after watching this it all makes sense.

"Hearts of Darkness" is a documentary chronicling the making of "Apocalypse Now". The title is a variation on the novel "Heart of Deakness" by Joseph Conrad--a book that was the basis for much of the film.This documentary gives extraordinary insight into the filming of "Apocalypse Now" because instead of making the documentary way after the fact like most 'making of' films, Coppola's wife was filming behind the scenes throughout the film shoot. It's surprising, then, that it took so long for this documentary to come to light. I think it is clearly a testament to the cult-like adoration of "Apocalypse Now" by some devoted fans.Some highlight of the film include: Laurence Fishburne's comments about 'how fun the war must have been'. These were incredibly stupid and naive, but you do need to remember that he was only 14--a little kid playing a man. So, to him it might have seemed that way when he made the film.Dennis Hopper was clearly 'hopped up' during the filming. His use of drugs is no bit surprise and here you get to see him in all his flaky splendor.Watching the documentary, it's amazing that the finished film was any good. Marlon Brando, despite receiving a MASSIVE salary to participate, wasn't the least bit prepared. Much of what they filmed with him was gibberish and it was all pieced together months later to try to make a coherent ending.You really cannot watch this documentary without first watching movie.My feeling about all this is that the film, though it has some interesting moments, is NOT a must-see film unless you absolutely adore the film. Otherwise, you'll probably be a bit bored by it after a while--which I was.

Hearts Of Darkness glosses over one of the more important aspects of the film's creation, the hiring and firing of the first actor, Harvey Keitel, to portray Lt. Willard. We are simply told it was not working, and cut to Francis's hiring of Martin Sheen. But, we never see any of the footage shot with Keitel, we never learn if he was simply too different from Francis's vision of Willard to work, or was he simply doing a poor job, a malcontent, or clashing too frequently with Francis. For a so-called documentary to leave such wide open says much of the aims of the documentarian, in this case Eleanor. Also left open-ended is a much talked about aspect of the filming that the documentary does not cover, and that is Francis's infidelity on the set, and how that contributed to the distance between the couple. How this affected Eleanor's documentary, much less Apocalypse Now, is certainly ripe for discussion. This is the rare instance where such is not mere gossip for gossip's sake, but pertinent information about the director's state of mind in the improvisatory aspects of the film. Was his film more gloomy because of the infidelity's consequences? Hearts Of Darkness does a great disservice to its viewers by totally avoiding such questions, even as it claims a rare intimacy, due to Eleanor's claim to have surreptitiously recorded conversations without Francis's knowledge.Overall, the DVD package is barely worth an investment, especially if a Coppola fan, but once again the studio that put out the DVD could have offered so much more for so little an investment. Hearts Of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse is a good and worthwhile 'Making Of' feature for a DVD release, but, as a stand alone documentary, it is rather lacking. Thus, with two making of documentaries, and no real feature, the package is saved by the aforementioned pluses alone. Better than nothing, but most viewers will wind up asking, 'Well, that's it?''Tis.

This is a fascinating documentary of all the legendary problems that occurred during the filming of "Apocalypse Now." It is a must-see for all those who love films, as it documents the vicissitudes of a major film project.As I wrote in my review of "Godfather III", I believe that Francis Ford Coppola is the modern-day incarnate of Orson Welles. Welles would sell off his personal assets and go into the red just to complete his film, just like Coppola. Welles' most famous account was during the filming of "Othello," which was filmed over 4 years! Welles would frequently run out of money, would act in a film (most notably "The Third Man") and use the proceeds to continue filming "Othello." He would also try to obtain financing through other sources. The amazing thing is that despite the sporadic filming of "Othello," it won the Palme D'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1952 and is still a great film.Like Welles, Coppola sold off his assets to complete "Apocalypse Now" and endured such legendary problems as Brando's obesity, Sheen's heart attack, a typhoon and an ever-changing script, to name a few. The fact that he completed the film is in itself a feat, but he made a classic film that will endure for years. I admit that this an arty, surreal depiction of Vietnam as opposed to other realistic films ("We Were Soldiers" for one) that probably are better examples of that war. However, the images in "Apocalypse Now" (i.e. Col. Kilgore, Dennis Hopper's photo-journalist, et al.) are exemplary.Maybe it's not so much of a coincidence that Coppola based "Apoclypse Now" on "Heart of Darkness"--which was the chosen piece for Orson Welles' first film.I had to bring up the Marlon Brando debacle: he didn't read the book on which the script was based like he was supposed to, he showed up grossly out-of-shape, he shut down production to find his character and didn't know his lines. In addition to that, he refused to be malleable during the shooting process, threatening not to show up but yet keeping his 1 million dollar bonus. My only question is: where can I find a job like this?