With a production schedule that literally lasted years and featuring some of the biggest actors in the world, Apocalypse Now has become just as well known for it’s troubled production as it is for being a masterpiece.
As Apocalypse Now has become lauded as the the best Vietnam War movie of all time, it is the subject of the documentary Hearts of Darkness, directed by Coppola’s wife, Eleanor Coppola. The documentary explains all of the outlandish things that happened during the years-long shoot, of which there are so, so many.
George Lucas Was Originally Set To Direct
As Apocalypse Now is one of the most iconic movies of all-time and is covered in Coppola’s handprints, it’s impossible to imagine the movie being made by anybody else.
However, George Lucas was on board to direct in the early 70s, and his plan was much different. He had the idea of shooting the movie in black and white and setting the movie in California. But it worked out for Lucas in the end, as it led to him directing some of the best and worst movies of his career.
Coppola Funded The Movie Himself
As Coppola was struggling to find funding for the movie, he took the massive risk by throwing $30 million of his own money in to the budget. He even signed his vineyard over to the bank in order to get that amount. If the movie ended up bombing at the box office, Coppola would have faced bankruptcy.
Luckily enough, the movie was a massive success, making more than $150 million worldwide.
Brando Did It For The Money
The only reason why Marlon Brando turned up to set for four weeks was to simply collect his easy $3 million salary. It’s hard to blame him, as he had to travel to Vietnam in miserable conditions and make a movie based on depressing circumstances.
Brando even had a list of demands, which included not working on weekends and not working past 5:30pm. He didn’t even bother to learn his lines, but when Brando finally played along, it ended up being one of his best movies.
Harvey Keitel Was Set To Play Willard
Though Martin Sheen turned in one of the best roles of his career, he wasn’t Coppola’s first choice. After an exhaustive amount of auditions for the character, the role was turned down by Al Pacino, James Caan, and Jack Nicholson, with it eventually going to Harvey Keitel.
However, Keitel was fired six weeks in to production and Sheen was brought in. And Sheen bringing an everyman quality to the role is one of the reasons why Willard is the perfect protagonist.
It Went Way Over Budget And Schedule
Despite there being a lot of mistakes people didn't notice in the movie, blood, sweat, and tears went in to Apocalypse Now, and because Coppola was so specific in his vision, he didn’t always keep within the budget or schedule.
In fact, the schedule was completely derailed, as the initial 14 week shooting time turned out to last more than two years. Though it can’t be all blamed on Coppola’s erratic directing, as Typhoon Olga delayed production by eight weeks and ruined all of the crew’s equipment.
Martin Sheen Suffered A Heart Attack
During the opening scene of the movie, when Sheen’s Willard is drinking alone in his room, the actor was really drinking in the scene, and he drank so much that he smashed his hand when hitting a mirror and suffered a minor heart attack.
Sheen has stated that it was the hardest time of his life and that he used this scene as a way to fight his demons, and the result is tough to watch, but it has become one of the most iconic movie scenes ever.
It Features A Pre-Star Wars Harrison Ford
Though he was first seen in Star Wars, as the space saga was released two years before Apocalypse Now, Harrison Ford acted in the war movie years before he scored the role of Han Solo.
The young actor had already acted in Lucas’ American Graffiti and Coppola’s The Conversation, but it was so early in his career that he was incredibly nervous, and Coppola had to rewrite the scene around Ford’s anxiety.
Brando’s Surprise
As it wasn’t until close to the end of shooting when Brando agreed to show up, the celebrated actor had become somewhat of a recluse up to that point. So it was a surprise to everyone when the actor turned up on set weighing more than 300 pounds.
All of the costumes were scrapped, as they expected the actor to be in a shape that would be expected of a colonel. This is why most of the shots of Brando in the movie are in shadows.
The Original Score Was Entirely The Doors
Coppola was close friends with The Doors, as he went to UCLA film school with Jim Morrison and all of the other members. Thanks to their close-knit relationship, the band gave Coppola the master recordings for all of their music.
The first cut of the movie, which lasted for five and a half hours, featured a score that was made up entirely of songs by The Doors. The track “The End” managed to stay in the final cut, which has helped the opening scene become iconic.
Dennis Hopper Improvised Everything
As Dennis Hopper turned up to set to play Colby, the Special Forces Captain who becomes one of Kurtz’ followers, Coppola wasn’t impressed with Hopper’s delivery, but he didn’t want to fire the actor.
Coppola created the druggy photographer on the spot, and everything that Hopper says in character in the movie is 100% improvised, and that includes all of the T.S. Eliot quotes that Hopper recites.