Apocalypse Now (1979) Lecture Notes

Introduction to Apocalypse Now (1979)

• Directed by Francis Ford Coppola (FCC).

• Starring Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Martin Sheen, and others.

• Stunning new restoration supervised by Francis Ford Coppola.

• Lecture by Professor Alan D. DeSantis.

Who is Francis Ford Coppola?

• Born to Italian-American parents in 1939.

• Director and wine owner.

• A first-generation film school director (UCLA).

• Father of the “American New Wave”.

• 1970: Patton Won an Academy Award (AA) for writing

• 1972: The Godfather (Won AA).

• 1974: The Godfather Part II (Won Cannes).

• 1974: The Conversation (Won AA).

• Note: “The Conversation” was also one of five nominated in 1974.

• By 35, Coppola was considered a Film God with 3 AAs and 1 Palme d'Or.

• In 1975, he was ready to tackle Apocalypse Now.

• Why? (Cultural/Political/Biblical/Ethical)

Not a Typical War Film

• It would NOT be a typical (Pro-American) Hollywood War Film.

• Most war films prior to A.N. were hyper-patriotic propaganda.

• FCC would make one of the first “War is Hell” films.

Cast and Crew

Apocalypse Now

• Music by Carmine Coppola and Francis Ford Coppola.

• Also filled with late 60s Rock by The Doors and Hendrix.

• Cinematography by Vittorio Storaro.

• Editing by Richard Marks, Walter Murch, Gerald B. Greenberg, and Lisa Fruchtman.

• Zoetrope Studios.

• Theatrical release poster by Bob Peak.

• Distributed by United Artists.

• Written by Francis Ford Coppola and John Milius; narration by Michael Herr.

• Based on Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (uncredited).

• Starring Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Martin Sheen, Frederic Forrest, Albert Hall, Sam Bottoms, Laurence Fishburne, Dennis Hopper.

• Release date: August 15, 1979.

• Running time: 153 minutes.

• Country: United States.

• Language: English.

• Budget: 31.5 million.

• Box office: 78,784,010[1].

Cast (The Big Guys)

• Marlon Brando as Colonel Kurtz – 3.5 million for 30 days / 1 million upfront.

  • In The Godfather with Coppola (won AA).

• Martin Sheen as Captain Willard (almost cast as Michael in The Godfather).

• Robert Duvall as Kilgore (nominated for AA).

  • In The Godfather with Coppola.

• Dennis Hopper as a crazed photojournalist & Kurtz.

Other Cast Members

• Harrison Ford – (Indiana Jones/Han Solo).

• Laurence Fishburne – as "Mr. Clean" (he was 14 when hired) from the Bronx – (Morpheus).

Viewing Movie as Journey/Quest

Viewing Movie as Journey/Quest

• Viewing Movie as Journey/Quest
  • Story is a Journey or Quest, getting progressively more difficult & crazy
   Moving towards a final destination
   Moving towards a more primitive form of barbarism
   Moving into the unknown
   Moving towards the climax of the story
   And moving further away from civilized order

Progressive Boat Trip in 6 Steps Towards Kurtz & Madness

• Start of the Journey

• Steps 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

• 1: Kurtz’ Compound in Cambodia

Crazy Facts About the Making of the Film

1) The Last of Its Kind in Filmmaking History

• Last Great Epic Without Reliance on Computerized Special Effects & CGI.

1) The Last Great Grand-Scale Movie

• Everything you see on screen was actually there.

  • Helicopters

  • Explosions

  • Thousands of Troops and Extras

  • Massive Sets

  • Kurtz' Compound

  • Fighter Jets

  • Napalm Destruction of Jungles

  • Gun Battles

  • Exploding Bridges

  • Aerial Dog-Fights (w/ Wagner)

2) No clear pre-planned shooting schedule =
a) Even after years of pre-writing…
b) Unheard of to write and re-write—from day to day (without storyboard or clear direction)
• Cost millions while cast & crew waited (& waited)
• Delays caused chaos of just “Principal Shooting”

3) Brando showed unpredictable behavior
a) Cost million $ and demanded limited-time contract
b) Refused to work with Hooper (hated him)
c) Vittorio Storaro shot him in shadow (& won AA)4) “ _”

4) "Method to the Madness"
– You cannot just “act” crazy (or high)
– You have to be crazy (& high/trip)

5) Madness Takes Its Toll: The price to pay for this deep soul searching
– Sheen would suffer a near-fatal heart attack
– This forced even more delays to the film

• The price to pay for this deep soul searching.

• Sheen would suffer a near-fatal heart attack.

• This forced even more delays to the film.

6) _ of the Philippines

• Filming during unrest of the Philippines
  a) Location: Shot in jungles in the Philippines (most similar to Vietnam)
  b) Problem: Political turmoil. Citizens trying to overthrow corrupt “USA puppet” government (martial law in the country)
  ✓ Similar to the political protests & riots in USA about the war
  c) Consequently, FFC could not count on military support
  ✓ (Massive delays that cost millions $)

• Extreme budget overruns
  – Loss of a few more million dollars (of Coppola’s)

• Due to the a) unrest, b) weather, c) unfinished script, & d) a perfectionist personality, 238 days of shooting made FFC go nearly insane
  a) Invested ALL his money / Used house for collateral

• Unplanned Filmmaking

• Because of the crazy & unplanned filmmaking

  9. There was hundreds of hours of very expensive, high-quality footage that were never used (an insane, foolish waste of $ & labor)
     • Including: The French Plantation Scene / Saigon City / Playboy Bunny Weekend / and many others
     • How & Why did it happen?

  10. Incomplete script

  11. No Clear plan (making it up as they went)

  12. No budget manager / accountant

Post-Production

• Post-Production of Apocalypse Now Almost as Crazy as the 8 Months of filming].

When FFC Returned Home:When FFC Returned Home:

• He believed he had nothing after 8 months
– Sure he had bankrupted himself & killed his reputation

1. One million feet (or 230 hours) of raw footage
   – Enough for 10 movies

2. Still no movie
   – Just a bunch of disconnected scenes
   – Hoping for hidden/buried story

3. NO usable script. NONE

4. Coppola hated his ending
   – (Spent 8 months writing)

Introducing Walter Murch

"Hear It" For Walter Murch

• Let’s “Hear it” For Walter Murch
  Walter Murch not only …
  – Edited 1.25 million feet the old-fashioned way
  – Edited & Designed the sound
  – Created the art & science of sound design

Let’s “Hear it” For the Sound
Problem: No theaters were ready
a) At its debut at Cannes (France), technicians worked all night installing 5.1 speakers
b) Back in the USA?? / Now What??
• At 1st, only 15 theaters were equipped to play the 1st Dolby Stereo surround sound (5.1)

Sound Before and After Walter Murch

• a) Sound came only from behind the screen
  b) the same “sounds” came out of each speaker

  New:
  a) Sound came from all 4 corners + 1 Top/Up
  b) Different sounds came out of each of 6 speaker sets

After Over Discussion:

Q 1: Was Willard a Hero?

6 Reasons Willard = Hero:

First, he did not – Note: Others Had Failed:

• Kurtz lost his soul & mind to evil

• Soldiers that came before Willard

• Tribe failed (turned Kurtz into God/Devil)

• And our entire US Military Leaders & US Politicians failed!!

2. Kills Kurtz in silence – a quiet, solemn act rather than a glorified one.

3. Willard resisted temptation – though offered the chance to become a “worshiped God,” he refused.

4. Dropped the weapon (anti-war statement) – introduced peace, and the tribe copied his action.

5. Brought back the report (military code?) – showing he completed the mission.

6. Left quietly (disobeyed orders) – walked away instead of continuing the violence; both Kurtz and the U.S. military wanted to “DROP THE BOMB AND EXTERMINATE THEM ALL,” but Willard chose not to.

Q 2: Why did Kurtz let Willard kill him?

• Why did Kurtz let Willard kill him?
  Kurtz chose Willard as executioner because he succeeded the trek “through the heart of darkness.”

  a) Willard proved himself – he endured the journey and the horrors Kurtz experienced.
  b) Kurtz wanted an heir – someone to carry on his legacy or understand his path.
  c) Wanted to end it all – Kurtz was exhausted and disillusioned with life and the war.
  d) Needed Willard to understand his story – Only Willard, having faced the same journey, could truly comprehend Kurtz’s descent into darkness.

Stop