Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse 4K UHD Review: There and Back Again

Eleanor Coppola accompanied her husband Francis to the Philippines, and at his request, shot behind-the-scenes footage during principal photography of Apocalypse Now for United Artists’s publicity unit. She also recorded their private conversations without his knowledge. Directors Fax Bahr and George Hickenlooper edited her material and recorded new interviews with some participants to create Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse, a compelling documentary that reveals Francis’s journey to complete the film paralleled Captain Willard’s journey to kill Colonel Kurtz.

Hearts reveals an adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s novella was first attempted in 1939 by Orson Welles, who hoped for it to be his directorial debut film but the studio passed. In 1969, Francis wanted to produce John Milius’ script of Apocalypse Now with Lucas directing but no studio was interested in a Vietnam War movie while the war was ongoing. Years later, Francis took over the project, re-writing the script and spent his own money to complete it.

Many things that could go wrong did. In terms of the cast, Brando was extremely difficult, even before he got to the set. A few days into shooting Willard was recast with Martin Sheen, who had a near-fatal heart attack. A typhoon caused major damage to sets and equipment, resulting in lengthy delays. Philippines President Marcos allowed the use of his military helicopters, but they and the pilots were frequently called away as the country was dealing with a Communist insurgency.

Yet through it all, Francis willed Apocalypse Now to completion, suffering through self doubt and potential financial ruin as the documentary shows.

The video has been given a 2160p Dolby Vision transfer displayed at an aspect ratio of 1.37:1 for the material shot on 16mm footage while Apocalypse Now clips change to 2.39:1. The interviews and film clips appear in strong hues with inky blacks and a sharp focus that reveals detail. Even with an ultra high-definition upgrade the 16mm footage doesn’t reach the same heights nor would be expected to due to the format’s limitations and Eleanor’s shooting not being given the same planning and attention so colors aren’t as strong and focus fluctuates as she captures what’s occurring. The image isn’t always clean. A blue vertical line can be seen running through one shot.

The audio is available in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. Dialogue from all sources is clear. Effects and music from Apocalypse Now fill the surrounds. The gunfire and explosions come through with great oomph. The latter even rattling the subwoofer cabinet at one point.

The lone extra is “The Making of Hearts of Darkness” (38 min), which features Francis, and his children Sofia and Roman, and co-director Fax Bahr.

Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse is fantastic companion to Apocalypse Now, but one doesn’t have to be a fan or even have seen the film to appreciate the story it tells as Francis Ford Coppola dreams an impossible dream and brings it to fruition.