Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse

The magic and madness of making "Apocalypse Now". "Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse" is a documentary that chronicles how Francis Ford Coppola's "Apocalypse Now" was plagued by extraordinary script, shooting, budget, and casting problems--nearly destroying the life and career of the celebrated director. Eleanor Coppola was asked by her husband Francis to record the events leading up to the shooting of Apocalypse Now with a 16mm camera, just to keep her busy during this extraordinary long, exhausting and very complicated shoot. In precise, diary-like episodes, she unveils the terrible experience of the actors and crew working under the pressure of the logistical disaster the shoot turned out to be. The script had not been completed yet, and the project was logistically very complex. The United States military refused to cooperate, and the helicopters rented from the Philippine army were constantly called away to fight rebels. Protagonist Martin Sheen suffered a heart attack. Another huge problem was Marlon Brando's struggle, and his threats to walk off the set. But one of the darkest and biggest obstacles was Coppola's fear that he was blowing a huge amount of money ($20 million) on a bad film.