There are some movies out there that make you wonder how it was made, and then there are movies that make you wonder "Is this the same guy that directed that last masterpiece?"
Hearts of Darkness is one of the first documentaries of its kind to show the behind the scenes footage of what it was like to make Apocalypse Now, one of the most memorable, over-hyped war movies of all time. It was hyped up as being the movie to completely define the entirety of war movies and Vietnam through the adaptation of Joseph Conrad's Hearts of Darkness by director Francis Ford Coppola. The studio pretty much gave him the keys to the castle.
When you make a movie (so I assume) there are certain tasks and goals that need to be accomplished when you go out to direct a mega-movie such as this. There is also the aspect of how one handles stress and manages others on the set.
Coppola was known for working with megastars like Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Robert Deniro, and many of the other big names of the time that could carry a film. Directing some of the best performances of a generation was Coppola's best attribute. Studios figured that he was the guy to go to for turning a script into an Oscar masterpiece.
But then there are things that come out of nowhere when you begin to fly too close to the sun. Coppola had to go out into the hot tropics and find ways to shoot his movie. He had to figure out his script to follow, which he rewrote and rewrote, deal with talent that would seem difficult to deal with, and then put out the fires that would occur when the star of the movie suffered from a heart attack.
This is the making of the movie that broke Francis Ford Coppola. It is highly entertaining, and if you've ever wondered where Tropic Thunder got some of it's comedy reference from, look no further. This is the movie to watch and enjoy.
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