Apocalypse Nowis one of the most highly regarded films of all time. Directed byThe Godfatherdirector Francis Ford Coppola, written by Hollywood renegade John Milius, and starring Martin Sheen and Marlon Brando, the film is a dark and hallucinatory trip up river set amidst the chaos of the Conflict in Vietnam. It is a masterpiece thatCoppola and company pushed themselves to the brink to make.
It’s no secret that the film was a nightmare to put together; filmmakers Fax Bahr, George Hickenlooper, and Eleanor Coppola even made a documentary about the problematic production entitledHearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse. Still, with so much top-of-the-line cast and crew involved, one can’t help but wonder what caused all the dysfunction. From inclement weather to out of control drug use and everything in between, the production of the Vietnam War epic was riddled with troubles. In the following article, we’ll examine and break down each of the major issues that plagued the making ofApocalypse Now.
A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse
The production ofApocalypse Nowwas especially hard on its director. To get the film off the ground, Coppola invested nearly every dollar he had and risked total financial ruin if the film didn’t do as well as intended. Additionally, much ofthe cast and crew were taking drugs throughout the shoot, and though Coppola stayed away from the acid and speed that many of his co-workers were indulging in, he experimented with marijuana. Although he enjoyed the way in which it loosened his tongue up to say what he really meant to people, it had the unsavory side effect of making him very paranoid.
This drug-induced paranoia mixed poorly with his stress about his finances, and ultimately caused him to suffer an epileptic seizure on set. He also experienced a total nervous breakdown that took weeks to recover from, and allegedly threatened to commit suicide on multiple occasions. Much likeApocalypse Now’s poor soldiers gradually losing their sanity the more they delved into the jungles of Vietnam, the troubled production plunged Coppola into his own mouth of madness.
Hostilities and Heart Attacks
One of the biggest stress-inducers for Coppola and crew on the set ofApocalypse Nowwas the fact that arealCivil War was being waged not far from the set of the film. Most of the military equipment for the film had been loaned to the production by Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos, who would frequently call his helicopters and equipment away from the set to do battle with Communist insurgents nearby. This caused numerous lengthy production delays, and inspired fear in much of the on-set personnel. Another frightening occurrence that resulted in a massive delay was when it was discovered that some of the dead body props brought to the set were actually real human remains.
According to Screen Rant, “This led to a police investigation and the crew’s passports being temporarily confiscated, and the bodies being taken away by soldiers.”
The production also faced many issues with the principal cast. The first major one was the recasting of the main character; for several weeks, Coppola shot footage with Harvey Keitel in the role of Captain Willard. When Keitel wasn’t giving Coppola what he wanted, he was fired and replaced with Martin Sheen. The subsequent re-shoots added time and inflated the film’s budget, and spelled doom for the rest of the production. Sheen’s struggles with alcoholism made set-life miserable for both himself and those around him, and he later nearly died after suffering a heart attack on set. Besides Sheen, other cast and crew members suffered from ailments, drug addictions, and various tropical diseases.
Another now-famous difficulty that the production faced was that of Marlon Brando,the main villain and star of the last act of the film, arriving on set drunk, overweight, and completely under-prepared. Coppola was forced to put the production on hold for days while he re-imagined the character of Colonel Kurtz and gave Brando all the information that he already should have had.
Related:Apocalypse Now Used Bodies Provided by a Grave Robber for Props Until Police Intervened
Trouble with a Typhoon
As if all of the above problems weren’t enough to make for a disastrous film production, the set ofApocalypse Nowwas ravaged by a typhoon at one point. Typhoon Olga hit hard and destroyed much of the set construction. This forced the filmmakers to go on a month-long hiatus, during which time the production continued to go over time and over budget. The eventual return to the jungle was dreaded by all, and sets had to be rebuilt from scratch.
Related:Apocalypse Now Redux or Regular: Which is Better?
A Rocky Release (and Reappraisal)
Although it was a nightmare to make,Apocalypse Nowdid eventually wrap.According to Collider, “Having shot over 1,000,000 feet of film and completed principal photography,Apocalypse Nowwould spend nearly two years in post-production and the film’s budget would top off at $30 million.” That’s quite the increase over the original $12 million budget that Coppola was approved for, and post-production came with its own series of obstacles. When the film was finally all put together, the first few screenings did not go well.
After a few more months of cutting and fine-tuning, however, the film was released and was met with acclaim. While it did have its fair share of critics at the time of its 1979 release, most of those detractors have disappeared as time has gone on. Today the film is celebrated as one of, if nottheultimate film about the Vietnam War. Additionally, although it nearly drove him to the edge, and he surely hated every moment on its set,Apocalypse Nowis widely regarded asone of Coppola’s finest films.
