Few productions were as troubled and chaotic as the epic war film by Francis Ford Coppola, “Apocalypse Now”. To begin with, the head had to be refounded halfway through the shooting, the shoots were postponed for unforeseen reasons, and the real socio-political factors have constantly interfered with the scheduled calendar. However, it was only the tip of the iceberg “Apocalypse Now”. The real extent of the documented horrors in “Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse” highlights the environment that is uncomfortable on the set, exacerbated by interpersonal clashes, health problems / hygiene concerns and extreme weather conditions. To say that things took an infernal turn would be an understatement, but Coppola and Co. had no choice but to go through.
To worsen things, the Typhon Olga struck the Philippines in 1976, moving more than 1.3 million from the local population and destroying everything on its way. Coppola production was strongly affected accordingly, because the typhoon destroyed filming / equipment sets developed, which added additional pressure on an already expanding budget. According to the veteran actor Scott Glenn (who plays Captain Richard M. Colby in the film), the typhoon almost took the life of Coppola (!!!) while they were running in Ulugan Bay. Addressing the Hollywood Reporter, Glenn told how he had instinctively avoided a possible disaster and saved Coppola’s life with a quick reflection:
“That night, the Typhon Didang [also known as Olga] – The worst storm since 1932 – tore us directly. He transformed the isthmus where we seduced on an island. Francis had climbed into a canoe pirogue, which was attached to a rope on the shore. 50 meters away, I could see exactly what was going to happen: the current would pull the boat downstream, the rope was tightened and the stern would pass. The instinct came into play. I sprinted, I took out my sea knife and cut the rope as it was tense. The boat derived downstream, but they returned. That night, Francis said, “You saved my life”. I said to him, “I cut a rope.” »»
Coppola was extremely grateful and offered Glenn the choice to choose any scene that would allow his character to do more than the existing script welcomed. Glenn opted for more screen time at the end of the film, even if Colby did not have too many talking lines. “I wanted to be close [Marlon] Brando, [Dennis] Hopper, all. So I took it. The best decision I have ever made, “said Glenn, looking behind the experience positively.
The manufacture of the apocalypse is now sadly famous and controversial for a reason
The controversies surrounding the manufacture of “apocalypse now” are complex and multiple. Decisions less than ideal were made by everyone on the set, but most of the reverse could not be anticipated or controlled. For example, government workers that have been used for filming, such as helicopters, were constantly recalled by the president to fight against the insurgency forces, leaving Filipino pilots formed from other choices than to oblige. In addition, most of the sets were built in tropical jungles (which led to working conditions that were quite difficult), but an alarming lack of security measures has won things. According to The Independent, the flare explosions and the colorful smoke presented in history must have been done practically, which makes things “extremely dangerous” for the construction team and all the people involved.
In the midst of the shenanigans related to the actors (where some, like Dennis Hopper, went to the complete method and did not double for weeks, and others, like Marlon Brando, arrived completely unprepared on the set), Coppola production was officially out of the rails. After replacing Harvey Keitel, Martin Sheen (who plays the veteran assassin, Captain Benjamin L. Willard) had to acclimatize to chaos on the set while facing his own problems, and the actor underwent an almost fatal heart attack during production. Coppola also underwent an epilepsy crisis at some point, highlighting the very real dangers to work in such extreme conditions.
This is only a brief overview of the problematic manufacturing of “Apocalypse Now”-as the production ended, the budget had increased from $ 12 million to more than $ 30 million (the fact that Coppola self-funded a piece of it certainly did not help). The director also had to modify more than a million feet of film, which had to be an arduous test in itself, adding to the sadly complicated inheritance of such an important work of art.
