Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse (1991)

Directed by: Fax Bahr, Eleanor Coppola, and George Hickenlooper

Written by: Fax Bahr and George Hickenlooper

Players: Francis Ford Coppola, Eleanor Coppola,  John Milius, George Lucas, Martin Sheen, Frederic Forrest, Lawrence Fishburne, Marlon Brando, and basically the rest of the Apocalypse Now cast and crew.

Setup: Released 12 years after Francis Ford Coppola’s completion and public reveal of his massive fever dream set against the chaos of Vietnam, his wife Eleanor (along with Messrs. Bahr and Hickenlooper) guides us through the epic example of how life imitates art (or vice versa) with her own behinds-the-scenes footage of her husband attempting to create Destruction At Once!

Sorry, I mean Apocalypse Now.

Review: I first saw (and was subsequently blown away by) Apocalypse Now three years ago, not knowing much about it besides the setting of Vietnam and it being directed by Coppola.  Partaking in research as I normally do with a film I hold dear, I discovered it was loosely based on a Joseph Conrad novel (Heart of Darkness, as represented by this film’s title), there was a “Redux” version released in 2001, Martin Sheen almost died, and… what?!  Needless to say, this last bit of information was only the tip of the iceberg behind the scenes of one of the greatest films ever made (in my personal top 5). 

With this we embark on a truly fascinating peek into the actions of an award winning auteur (all shot by his wife Eleanor, as an assignment by the director).  Even with today’s bombardment of special featurettes accompanying every single DVD release, one cannot deny the excitement of seeing verisimilitude on display when self-fulfilling interviews are all we see otherwise: actor’s saying “Oh it’s a dream come true; Uwe Boll just KNOWS actors…you know,” or producers saying “Our movie made the Dalai Lama weep, AND just got nominated for a Pulitzer.”  While, ironically enough, our star Coppola (that is, Coppola of the 70s) may have actually made claims similar to these,  his opinion here seems genuine even when 90s Coppola tries to downplay it. 

Another aspect that makes this backstage glance stand apart is the fact that we ostensibly have personal access to the filmmaker at his most desperate (besides shooting footage, Eleanor secretly recorded conversations between the couple), painting a portrait of a brilliant yet fragile artist battling between his grand vision and the oncoming harsh realities of the immediate environment.  Throughout the film we see a constant struggle not just with our real-life characters on screen, but also with the editing delivering us an unbiased and undeclared verdict.  At the end, Coppola will be viewed as a tyrant, savant, neither, or both.  However we, and not the puppeteers, will rule this. 

 

Of course I would be remiss to suggest this film is just about potentially the greatest filmmaker of the 70s (Godfather 1 & 2, The Conversation, and this… if only he had stopped before Jack).  So many other people are a major part of this film (along with the film its about…man this gets confusing!), including all mentioned in the cast that consists of actors, writers, and partners.  We are also delivered a delicious history of the film juxtaposed against audio snippets from Orson Welles’s radio adaptation of Heart of Darkness (which I assume contained much less production drama).  Duality abound with Apocalypse’s script imitating production drama, viewpoint dichotomies from separation of more than a decade, and real life drama that makes you wonder how the on screen project was finished at all, Hearts of Darkness is a film to cherish like you’ll never see anything like it again.  As today’s Hollywood would never allow Apocalypse Now to me made with such risk (hi there CGI!), it will inadvertently kill off any chance of pulling back the curtain to such a grandiose tale ever again.    

Tidbit: Eleanor claims to have been recording conversations between her and Francis for her Diary.  While this could be argued as a betrayal of trust if not true, maybe she deserved some content to work with, especially if her husband inadvertently changes their lives for more than a year (filming was only supposed to last about 3 months).

Extra Tidbit: If you dig the combo of “fantastic film” with “fantastic film about fantastic film”, I hear Fitcaraldo (phenomenal) and Burden of Dreams (about the making of the former; still need to watch it) would be the next step.  

Drink of Choice: I wanted to get “meta” with the drink (movie about a movie, drink about a drink) but without any clear success, and wanting to avoid any obvious selections (Napalm shot?) I choose the Bajito:

• 2 shots Dark Rum
• 4 Basil Leaves (optional)
• 4 Mint Leaves
• 5 Slices Lime
• 1 tbsp Sugar

Combine ingredients with ice and shake vigorously (like a typhoon that is about to destroy your set).  Pour into tumbler glass, serve neat, and enjoy this earthy and tropical refreshment, edgy enough for a glimpse into the wild of humanity behind and in front of the camera…. A look into the jungle’s dark depths, the dark depths of a man’s soul, unflinching in – oh man, I need to shut up and take a drink!