As a screenwriter friend of mine remarked to me after re-watching Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse, “Sad thing is, they don’t make movies the way they did in order for them to make great docs about anymore.” And maybe he’s right. Though it may have been interesting to watch a piece like that on Infinity War, truth be told. While those movies are behemoths of a different kind, they pale compared to the madness they leaked out of the sweat and blood of the crew as they went down that river in the jungle, in search of a man named Kurtz.
“Watching the restoration felt like watching the film again for the first time.”
Watching the restoration felt like watching the film again for the first time. It was brilliant to see movie-making at its peak, with the passion and turmoil surrounding the capturing of moments that have stood the test of time. Beautiful it was to see the fresh faces of now aging stars, and of course, remembering those interviewed that now are regrettably no longer with us. Not merely Brando, but the eccentric and electric Dennis Hopper, the dependably solid Fredric Forrest, and the gone-too-soon scene-stealer who was Sam Bottoms. All come together along with that mightiest of scribes, John Milius, and Mr. Star Wars himself, George Lucas (who was originally set to direct), all remembering the battle behind the war movie, which transformed into a cinematic opera and a pillar in the filmography of one of the last masters of his craft.
It is often said that sometimes the story behind the story is more interesting than the story itself. Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse is simply the immaculate companion piece to a masterclass in photographic opulence of a kind that may never grace our screens again. Thankfully, we have movies like this to remind us of the glory days, the all-or-nothing days. Though the reaction to Coppola’s last epic was unforgivingly divisive, let’s hope Mike Figgis’s alleged documentary on the making of Megalopolis sees the light of day. And while we’re wishing on a star, let’s pray Sofia, Roman, and the other filmmakers Coppola band together and make the definitive documentary on the Don himself, before the legend passes into myth.
"…simply the immaculate companion piece to a masterclass in photographic opulence..."
