'Apocalypse Now' doc 'Hearts of Darkness' returning to theaters
June 6 (UPI) -- Rialto Pictures announced Friday it will re-release the documentary Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse in theaters this summer. The film will screen for two weeks at the Film Forum in New York beginning July 4 and play nationally after.
Hearts of Darkness follows Eleanor Coppola as she documents her husband, Francis Ford Coppola, during the making of his 1979 film Apocalypse Now. Filming in the Philippines went awry, including star Martin Sheen having a heart attack and Marlon Brando's tardiness delaying production.
Behind-the-scenes directors Eleanor Coppola, Fax Bahr and George Hickenlooper first assembled their footage in the Hearts of Darkness documentary in 1991. The trio won Emmys for Directing and Editing after the film premiered on Showtime.
American Zoetrope and Roundabout Entertainment restored the documentary in 4K for this re-release.
Eleanor Coppola died in 2024 prior to the release of Francis' latest film, Megalopolis, which he dedicated "For My Beloved Wife Eleanor." Megalopolis was an idea Francis had while making Apocalypse Now and ultimately self-financed it, selling many of his vineyards for the film's budget.
Apocalypse Now was adapted from the Joseph Conrad novel Heart of Darkness. Francis Ford Coppola and John Milius adapted the book to take place during the Vietnam War.
Captain Willard (Sheen) is assigned to go upriver and assassinate rogue Colonel Kurtz (Brando), encountering several Vietnam War obstacles along the way. Robert Duvall, Frederic Forrest, Sam Bottoms, Laurence Fishburne, Dennis Hopper, Scott Glenn, Colleen Camp, Cynthia Wood, Linda Carpenter and Harrison Ford also star.
Duvall won Best Actor and cinematographer Vittorio Storaro won an Oscar. It was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay.
Francis Ford Coppola released an extended cut, Apocalypse Now: Redux in 2001 and a third version, Apocalypse Now: The Final Cut removing some of the Redux scenes, in 2019.
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