Hearts Of Darkness [Blu-ray]

This brilliant documentary captures what was going on behind the scenes of Coppola's movie. It is a story nearly as fascinating as the movie itself. Tip: only watch it after you have seen the final cut of Apocalypse Now.

Showing how the movie is made, The format was different which was excellent and really interesting, Definitely worth buying.

If you're a fan of " Apocalypse Now [Blu-ray ]" you have to see this documentary, partly filmed by Francis Ford's wife Eleanor Coppola, about how the movie was made. Insightful, informative and down right harrowing, you can't help but be drawn into FFC's obsession with getting "his" movie made. I won't reveal any more info suffice to say that the quality of the picture & audio on this BRD release is pretty good considering some of the source material. Highly Recommended for any film student or Coppola fan.

Happy with the product and more than happy that it arrived on time.Can't wait to see this documentary on one of the most difficult fiimings in modern film history..

Fascinating documentary about the tortured making of the greatest ever war film. I was left wanting more as I feel much was left unaddressed.

It worked out great. Great price on this product and a really interesting documentary about the making of a Apocalypse Now! Five stars out of five! :-)

This is a fascinating documentary and a fitting footnote to Coppola's mesmerising Apocalypse Now - still the most ambitious (and possibly the greatest) war movie ever made, flawed though it may be in parts.Hearts Of Darkness - which takes its name from the Joseph Conrad novella on which AN is loosely based - is the story of the making of the film, shot on a handheld VCR by the director's wife Eleanor. It's an honest and uncompromising visual diary, showing her husband's many frustrations and crises on location in the Phillippines (think devastating hurricanes, leading actor having a heart attack, helicopters requisitioned to fight a civil war, etc etc). And as if all those problems weren't enough, Coppola then had to deal with a massively-overweight Marlon Brando turning up for his million-dollar cameo appearance, not knowing his lines and threatening to quit on the spot if the camera showed his enormous girth!All the interviews and anecdotes are highly absorbing - especially scriptwriter John Milius, Martin Sheen and Coppola himself, whose closing monologue, recorded nearly 40 years ago, is still just as profound and relevant today. Also of interest is the famous 'plantation scene', edited out of the final cut of AN at the last minute although included in the later (inferior) 'Redux' edition. But perhaps the most dramatic moments are of Coppola on the phone to Hollywood, desperately trying to keep the lid on Sheen's heart attack so that his studio doesn't pull the plug on the whole shebang.Spellbinding stuff - very possibly the best documentary ever made about the process of film-making and a pure inspiration to anybody who has a goal and wants to find the drive/determination to make it come to fruition, no matter what the obstacles.

Maybe the best film about the making of a film ever.Funny, frightening, informative, sad and triumphant, it fullycaptures the madness of creating one of the great epic filmsof the last 50 years.It also offers insight into how much of art is accidental or discoveredinstead of planned.If you are interested in film, the artistic process, Francis Coppola oranything else about 'Apocalypse Now' this is a must see.Indeed, it's pretty much a must see for anyone.

Hace décadas ví este excelente documental en el cine. Después de tres décadas sigue tan impresionante y alucinante como en esa primera ocasión.Tenía muchos años buscando el DVD, por lo que me dió mucho gusto conseguirlo a buen precio y con excelente calidad tanto de imagen como de sonido.Valió la pena la espera.

Utilisation personnelle

This is a superb add-on to the movie. See Martin Sheen in "real life" while making the actual movie, and see what the Director and Crew had to go through to make the movie. Incredible!

... wir waren zu viele, wir hatten zu viel Equipement, wir wurden verrückt. Es war wie der wirkliche Vietnam-Krieg" So sieht Francis Ford Coppola rückblickend die 238 Drehtage von -Apocalypse Now-, für den eigentlich 16 Wochen Drehzeit geplant waren. Coppolas Ehefrau Eleanor hielt diese Drehtage in einem Video-Tagebuch fest. Das beweist eindeutig: Der Film mag verrückt gewesen sein, die Dreharbeiten waren in ihrem extremen Wahnsinn mindestens ebenbürtig. 1976 begannen die Dreharbeiten auf den Philippinen. Eigentlich wollten Coppola und Co. den Film in Vietnam drehen, aber da machte die Produktionsfirma nicht mit. Sie sah die Schauspieler bereits in Leichensäcken die Rückkehr antreten. Coppola hatte sich die Unterstützung von Diktator Marcos gesichert und war zuversichtlich. Den ersten Dämpfer verpasste ihm ein Taifun, der die Dreharbeiten zwei Monate lahm legte. Dann taucht ein Hindernis nach dem anderen auf und die Dreharbeiten zogen sich ins Unendliche. Der Hauptdarsteller Harvey Keitel musste gegen Martin Sheen ausgetauscht werden. Der bekam später tatsächlich einen Herzinfarkt. Am Ende war es dann Marlon Brando, der Coppola fast in den Wahnsinn trieb. All das in einem Kulturraum, der dem Filmteam ungefähr so vertraut war wie die Rückseite des Mondes. Natürlich gab es auch noch Finanzprobleme. Als der Dreh schließlich im Kasten war, gab Coppola dem Film die Note 6 und erklärte frei und frank im Interview, dass der Film nichts taugen würde. Was für eine Einschätzung. Drei Golden Globes und zwei Oscars beschwichtigten später Coppolas Einstellung.Selten war man so nah dabei, wenn ein filmisches Genie fast an sich selbst scheitert. Eleanor Coppola hat rund um den Dreh von -Apocalypse Now- eine fantastische Dokumentation abgedreht. Da passt es am Ende, dass sich Schauspieler dazu bekennen, während der meisten Szenen schwer unter Drogeneinfluss gestanden zu haben. Der Rückblick auf das Darstellergenie Brando erlebt man dann eher auch mit gemischten Gefühlen. Was für eine Diva! Nebenbei gibt es jede Menge Wissenswertes zu erfahren. Ich wusste zum Beispiel nicht, dass sich Orson Welles schon an einer Verfilmung des berühmten Joseph Conrads Romanes versucht hatte und gescheitert war.Eleanor Coppolas Dokumentation und die Rückblicke auf die Dreharbeiten stammen aus dem Jahr 1991. Seitdem hat sich im Medium Film einiges verändert. Ein Dreh wie dieser ist heute unvorstellbar. Wie sagte Coppola seinerzeit so schön: "Jetzt gibt es diese wunderbaren kleinen 8 Millimeter Kameras und Film kann endlich zur Kunstform werden, weil nicht mehr die aufwändige materielle Produktion dahinter steht. Vielleicht wird dann ein kleines, dickes Mädchen einen Film drehen und der nächste Mozart werden. Das wäre schön." Kann man so sehen, ganz sicher. Bei -Apocalypse Now- sah das komplett anders aus. Wie dort ein hoch ausgezeichneter Starregisseur seine Grenzen weit überschreitet, das ist in -Heart of Darkness- atemberaubend gut zu betrachten...

In his treatise on strategy and warfare, On War, Carl von Clausewitz explains that "Everything in war is very simple, but the simplest thing is difficult." He goes on to explain that "the difficulties [in war] accumulate and end by producing a kind of friction that is inconceivable unless one has experienced war... Countless minor incidents - the kind you can never really forsee - combine to lower the general level of performance, so that one always fall far short of the intended goal. Iron will-power can overcome this friction; it pulverizes every obstacle, but of course it wears down the machine as well."Friction is the difference between real war and war on paper, he says. It is the difference between the plans drawn up by political and military leadership and what actually happens on the battlefield.The concept of friction, however, is applicable to any sort of planning exercise. We've all planned events or projects that sounded great on paper, but once we began carrying them out, we realized it wasn't at all as we had initially hoped. Remodeling a kitchen that went from being a summer project has now crept into Christmas time. Or perhaps a project at work that ended up costing much more than originally anticipated. Friction is all those little unforeseen delays, costs, and obstacles that impact the timeliness, price tag, and overall quality of a project or an event.The practical implication of friction was beautifully illustrated in the film, Hearts of Darkness: a Filmmaker's Apocalypse, which documents the filming and production of Director Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now. It shows how Coppola went into the filming of the project with such high hopes, but so many unforeseen variables, many of which were out of his control, ended up almost wrecking the project and ruining Coppola.The filming of Apocalypse Now took place in the Philippines, which at the time was engaged in a civil war. Coppola was renting helicopters from the Philippine government for one of the most famous scenes in the film. However, filming was often interrupted because the government would take a few of the helicopters back to fight the rebels. Martin Sheen, who played Captain Willard, the film's main protagonist, had a heart attack midway through the filming and needed several weeks to recover. Typhoon Olga came through and destroyed much of the set and forced the closing of production. And finally, Marlon Brando, earning a then-unprecedented $1M a week, arrived on set much overweight, not prepared, and unhappy about the ending. The film ended up being $30M over budget and four times over schedule. In a recorded phone conversation with his wife, Coppola confessed that he no idea what he was doing and even contemplated suicide.In the end, Coppola successfully managed the immense friction of the production. Apocalypse Now is arguably the best Vietnam War movie ever made and the film is one of the best in history.But how did Coppola pull this off? How did he overcome the insurmountable obstacles that were thrown at him and create a masterpiece? In other words, as Clausewitz asks, "Is there any lubricant that will reduce this abrasion?" He immediately answers: "Only one, and a commander and his army will not always have it readily available: combat experience... Habit hardens the body for great exertions, strengthens the heart in great peril, and fortifies judgment against first impressions. Habit breeds that priceless quality, calm, which... will lighten the commander's task."Clausewitz believes, thus, that experience is what reduces friction. Experience is what instills a sense of realism into the outlook of an initiative. An experienced leader understands that there will be problems that crop up and add delays and increase costs of the project. Experience teaches him to not get ruffled by these problems and to take the unexpected in stride. Experienced leaders not only maintain an even keel when the unforeseen hits, but also use it to their advantage through natural gestures and improvised courses of action. The friction forces them to be innovation and creative.By the time of the filming of Apocalypse Now, Francis Ford Coppola already had several Academy Awards under his belt. He won Best Picture and Best Director Awards for The Godfather and The Godfather Part II; two other films he directed and produced, The Conversation and American Graffiti, respectively, were nominated for Best Picture; and he had won three Best Screenplay Awards. Coppola had begun his film career 17 years earlier and was, at the time, at the peak of his career. Needless to say he was an experienced film director.In The Hearts of Darkness, you get to see how such an experienced professional and leader handles the immense friction that happened in the production of Apocalypse Now. He improvised the entire beginning scene when Martin Sheen, who at the time was very drunk from a birthday celebration, punches the mirror in his hotel room in Saigon. He worked around Marlon Brando's weight by dressing him in all black and only shooting him in the dark. And lastly, he worked the torrential downpour from the tropical storm - it rained for many days straight - into the shooting. I couldn't imagine the film without these improvisations!Only a director of Coppola's experience and will power could have managed the magnitude of friction that was inherent in the production of Apocalypse Now and successfully turn it into one of the best films of all-time (and even he almost failed).