Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse: The Extraordinary Apocalypse Now Documentary Gets a Stunning Upgrade (4K)

The Film:

When it comes to documentaries, there are none that I enjoy more than those that involve the creation of art, whether it's the method of recreating a painting in the astounding "Tim's Vermeer," the preparation of a film that never came to be in the fascinating "Jodorowsky's Dune," or the chaos of making a film that has everything go wrong in my favorite documentary of all time, "Lost in La Mancha."

This brings us to one of the most famous docs of this kind, Fax Bahr & George Hickenlooper's "Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse" from 1991, a stunning behind-the-scenes look at the making of "Apocalypse Now" that gets us up close and personal with pretty much all of the main principals involved as they unfold the tale (from the set in the '70s and several years later for the doc) of how the film came together over the course of about eight grueling months amid incredibly difficult circumstances.

Utilizing a mountain of footage shot by Francis' wife Eleanor, which included interviews, video from on set, peeks at alternate takes, and even fascinating interactions between Francis & the cast, we are given a unique glimpse of a film that was fraught with a number of problems during production. With a primary focus on Francis, we watch as he deals with the chaos of a ballooning budget, shifting schedules, difficult actors, awful weather, a constantly-changing script that didn't even have an ending, and a raging self-doubt that had him believing that he was making a truly awful film.

Docs about the making of films where everything goes fine are all well and good, and can be highly enjoyable as well (such as the Appendices on the Extended Editions of "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" Trilogies), but a lot of the time, it can be even more compelling to watch a filmmaker try to overcome a multitude of challenges that are presented during production. Sometimes it can simply be too much to get through, as in the aforementioned "Lost in La Mancha," which gives us a fascinating glimpse of an early attempt by Terry Gilliam to make "The Man Who Killed Don Quixote," an attempt in which just about everything that can go wrong does, while at other times we get to see a director step up to these challenges and persevere right to the very end of the shoot, which is exactly what we get to see with Francis Ford Coppola in "Hearts of Darkness."

When it comes right down to it, anyone who has an interest in filmmaking (and obviously fans of Coppola's beloved war epic) will find this to be a fascinating glimpse at the creation of a classic. It's rare to get such a personal look at the making of such a highly-regarded film, particularly one that was made 50 years ago, so this is indeed quite the captivating treat for cinephiles, making it a must-see for them as it makes its debut in stunning 4K quality.

Video/Audio:

"Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse" comes to 4K in a 1.37:1, 2160p Ultra High Definition transfer of outstanding quality. The new upgrade has beautifully cleaned up both the 50-year-old on-set footage and the 35-year-old interviews conducted for the film, making them look sharper & clearer than ever before. Likewise, the 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio is fantastic, giving you all of the dialogue & music in excellent quality. Overall, Lionsgate has done a marvelous job in both departments for this extraordinary documentary's 4K debut.

Special Features:

The Making of Hearts of Darkness (38 Minutes): A featurette featuring interviews with Francis Ford Coppola, Sofia Coppola, Roman Coppola, and co-writer/co-director Max Bahr.

Conclusion:

Fax Bahr & George Hickenlooper's "Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse" is a fascinating glimpse into the making of what many consider to be one of the greatest war films of all time. Utilizing a ton of behind-the-scenes footage shot during production & interviews conducted several years later, we are treated to a stunning first-hand look at the multitude of challenges Coppola & his team had to endure to bring "Apocalypse Now" to fruition. It remains one of the finest documentaries about filmmaking ever made, and is an easy recommendation to add to your collection as it makes its 4K debut.

Score: 4.5/5

Now available on 4K.

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