_(cropped).jpg?width=400){kind=small}
Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse is a 1991 American documentary film by Fax Bahr and George Hickenlooper about the production of Apocalypse Now, a 1979 Vietnam War epic directed by Francis Ford Coppola.
Contents
Synopsis and production
Hearts of Darkness chronicles how production problems—among them bad weather, actors' poor health, and other issues—delayed the filming of Apocalypse Now, increasing costs and nearly destroying the life and career of its director, Francis Ford Coppola.
The documentary was begun by Coppola's wife, Eleanor Coppola, who narrated behind-the-scenes footage. In 1990, Coppola turned her material over to two young filmmakers, George Hickenlooper and Fax Bahr (co-creator of MADtv), who subsequently shot new interviews with the original cast and crew, and intercut them with Eleanor Coppola's material. After a year of editing, Hickenlooper, Bahr, and Coppola debuted their film at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival.
The title is derived from the Joseph Conrad 1899 novella Heart of Darkness, the source material for Apocalypse Now.
