A revealing documentary about the trials of making the classic film, which is a fascinating story in its own right.

Apocalypse Now, from director Francis Ford Coppola (The Godfather, The Conversation, Bram Stoker's Dracula), is considered one of the greatest war films of all time, it features in the book 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, as does this documentary about the making of the film, which was rated well by critics. Told mostly from the point of view of Coppola's wife Eleanor, with interviews from Coppola himself (including without his knowledge) and the cast and crew, this film chronicles the ups and downs, high and lows and generally the sensational events during the making of Apocalypse Now, based loosely on the book Heart of Darkness. It shows the director's frustration with the various occurrences on and off set, problems during scriptwriting and filming, the firing of Harvey Keitel and replacing him with Martin Sheen, Sheen drunk on set, injuring himself and having a heart attack, trying to secure the casting of Marlon Brando or any big name in the part of Kurtz, funding and distribution for the film, and the tabloids capturing all this. With contributions from Sam Bottoms, Gia Coppola, Roman Coppola, Sofia Coppola, Robert Duvall, Laurence Fishburne, Frederic Forrest, Albert Hall, Dennis Hopper, George Lucas and Martin Sheen. It is interesting to see what really goes behind the scenes during all the aspects of making a film, before and during the production, and it goes to show that filmmaking really is not an easy process, a great documentary. Very good!

I've never seen behind-the-scenes documentary filmmaking quite like this, except for something like Werner Herzog's Burden of Dreams, where a nightmarish series of events kept occurring, including a massive monsoon, military unease(the Filipino government for which he worked out a partnership, kept taking helicopters from him during key moments in his movie!), constant re-writes(Coppola was constantly "revamping" John Milius' script), casting issues(the lead had to be changed even though Harvel Keitel's name was printed on the poster advertising the movie!), cast and crew succumbing to numerous crises both physical(Martin Sheen has a heart attack, his role is so incredibly demanding!)and psychological(director Francis Ford Coppola nearly had a nervous breakdown and claims to almost go mad while going through the 200 day process of bringing APOCALYPSE NOW to the screen)and dealing with budgetary problems(Coppola had to put up his own money and house as collateral)as the movie's delay made the media rounds with much scrutiny(one headline read:APOCALYPSE WHEN?). Coppola's wife documented footage, pieced with interviews with the likes of Martin Sheen and Lawrence Fishburne(who was 14 or so when he starred in the movie). Coppola had audio interviews with his wife that she secretly kept for the documentary to elaborate the toll for which the movie was taking on her husband. The heart attack of Sheen really set back Coppola as did Marlon Brando's eccentricities(the way he needed constant discussion with Coppola of the character and script). The most eye-opening moments include the late Dennis Hopper, obviously in a bad state with drugs(his bouts with Coppola are fascinating as it pertains to asking Hopper to commit to a scene with Brando). This film truly shows a man suffering for his art, doing whatever it takes to get it made, even if there were plenty of times where he was more than a bit critical of the work that was being made. The scene where Coppola wants Sheen to reach down to the very lower depths to present a pain his character is going through, the darkness overtaking him and being spilled forth, is startling. Coppola truly gave all that he had for this film and it is presented for us--all the afflictions, wear and tear, that one is burdened with during the movie-making process is shown, honest and open for us to experience.

With "Apocalypse Now", Francis Ford Coppola sought to expose colonialism. But as his wife Eleanor's documentary shows, he ended up creating it in the process of filming his movie. "Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse" mostly looks at the problems that plagued the film's production and nearly bankrupted Coppola*. But it also shows how he went to a third world country, brought western technology, and made the people there work for him. The madness depicted in the movie is nothing compared to the events on the set.All in all, it's an amazing insight into one of the greatest movies ever made. Still, you should see the movie before the documentary, just so that the story behind it doesn't bias you. Perfect.*Apparently, as a result of his near bankruptcy, Coppola smashed four of his five Oscars and briefly separated from his wife.