“My film is not a movie. My film is not about Vietnam. It is Vietnam. It’s what it was really like. It was crazy. And the way we made it was very much like the way the Americans were in Vietnam. We were in the jungle. There were too many of us. We had access to too much money, too much equipment, and little by little, we went insane.” – Francis Ford Coppola.
It might sound a bit over-dramatic and pretentious, but after watching this, you realise that there is little exaggeration in that statement.
For the uninitiated, Hearts of Darkness is the incredible feature-length documentary about the making of Apocalypse Now. The fact it was ever completed is pretty miraculous. Sets destroyed by typhoons, the main lead having a heart attack, helicopters loaned from the Philippine army being called away on missions during tricky shots, the filming was pretty much one disaster after another, and luckily, a fair amount of it was captured on cameras filming behind the scenes.
Without that evidence, I’m sure a lot of it would be considered nothing more than urban myths. If you are a fan of Apocalypse Now, or just seeing the process of films being made, this is, in my opinion, the greatest behind-the-scenes footage ever filmed, and seeing the reception the completed film receives at the end of the feature is a joyous thing to see.
Hearts of Darkness has been a bonus feature on Apocalypse Now DVD and Blu-Ray releases pretty much as long as the formats have been around. This time around, Studio Canal have released it as a 4K UHD and deluxe Blu-Ray set of it’s own. The big question is, is it worth the upgrade?
The answer is both yes and no. Remastered in 4K, the difference between 16mm footage on this and previous releases is negligible, as are the clearer shots of interviews filmed afterwards. The footage from the completed film has been replaced with upgraded footage and looks spectacular, maybe even making the surrounding footage look worse than it is. The same can be said about the sound mix, where scenes from the film, compared to interviews and home movies, can be quite jarring.
The Special Features are now spread over 2 discs. First up is the audio commentary by Eleanor and Francis Coppola, carried over from the previous releases, which is still a fascinating listen.
Next up is The Making Of Hearts Of Darkness. This might be the world’s first ‘Making Of A ‘Making Of’ Documentary. Francis appears in a new interview, along with his offspring, Sophia and Roman, who share some great anecdotes from their being on the set of such an epic production, seen through the eyes of a child. Co-director Fax Bahr also pops up, talking about assembling the footage into some coherent story.
The final feature on Disc One is a touching featurette, Art Is All Around Us. Eleanor Coppola is the main focus, recalling the other behind-the-scenes footage she filmed for the family, including productions by Sophia and Roman. It ends quite sadly, with Francis talking about her passing and how he tries to be more like her to keep her spirit alive. It is very touching and a lovely tribute, dedicated to her.
Disc Two is mainly comprised of Eleanor’s previously mentioned Behind The Scenes footage, for productions including Marie Antoinette, The OC, Youth Without Youth, The Virgin Suicides and The Rainmaker. Also included are some of her other shorts, ranging from 1-4 minutes.
Summing up, Hearts of Darkness leaves other ‘Making of’ documentaries in the shade. It shows the joys, the stresses and the sheer effort to make such an ambitious project to reality, and seeing the struggles pay off to such a great reception is so uplifting, you might get the urge to cheer.
Studio Canal have really pushed the envelope with this release, even if some of the Special Features seem to be completists only. The Deluxe box set also comes with two posters and a book of essays and notes.
A truly remarkable documentary, but if you have it from previous releases, you might be happy with what you already have. If it hadn’t been available in so many formats before, this would be a more worthwhile purchase, but die-hard fans of Apocalypse Now will be in movie heaven.
FILM – 10 PICTURE – 7 AUDIO – 7 EXTRAS – 8
REVIEW BY STEVE WELLS
