"The film Francis is making is a metaphor for a journey into self. He has made that journey and is still making it. It's scary to watch someone you love go into the center of himself and confront his fears, fear of failure, fear of death, fear of going insane. You have to fail a little, die a little, go insane a little, to come out the other side. The process is not over for Francis."
---Eleanor Coppola in Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse
In class, we watched a showtime presentation based on Apocalypse Now. Here are a few segmented thoughts and facts I was able to jot down while watching this documentary...
Coppola was inspired by HoD to create a film that would adequately portray the truth behind the Vietnam war. This documentary describes Coppola's struggle of capturing his own "personal vision". In this journey, Coppola takes numerous peeks into his own Darkness.
Apocalypse Now adopts a vision of mist and haze. The scenes are foggy and clear, much like the images that Conrad effectively creates in HoD. This creates an effect of ambiguity and mystery. Am I right?
The documentary uses two narrators: Coppola and his wife. Heart of Darkness also uses two narrators. Significance? I believe this allows the audience to see Coppola and study him psychologically in different perspectives. Kind of cool.
The documentary uses two narrators: Coppola and his wife. Heart of Darkness also uses two narrators. Significance? I believe this allows the audience to see Coppola and study him psychologically in different perspectives. Kind of cool.
Coppola's greatest struggle was the script of the story. I wonder what inspired the "Eureka!" to finish the 10-year-in-production film. They probably mentioned it, but I'm sure I fell asleep. I'm sorry, I really tried not to.
Coppola had no limitations in the creation of this film. He uses an untamed tiger in one of his scenes to show true predator instinct, madness, and fear. One of the scenes is of Marty (a main character, Willard?) going insane after getting extremely intoxicated. It is not an act; Coppola wanted Marty to really immerse himself into his role. In HoD, Conrad disturbs his readers with Kurtz' fences of heads. In Apocalypse Now, Coppola buries live people in the ground for hours because he wants the "real thing". As the production progresses successfully, Coppola celebrates with native Filipinos. They celebrate by slaughtering a caribou, taking its heart, and presenting it to Coppola in which he accepts with great gratitude. W T F.
Why does one of the characters refuse to read Heart of Darkness? Brando, was it? Did he realize how twisted it would be if it had Coppola going to such extents?
One day I'll watch Apocalypse Now but for the moment, Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse will have to suffice.
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