This Opens Captain Willardís eyes to the horror of the situation he now finds Himself in.. Even more intriguing, however, is the similarity between the transformation of The characters in Apocalypse Now, and the cast and crew that created it. In Hearts of Darkness, (a documentary about the making of Apocalypse Now.) Eugene Coppola becomes the narrator ( a Marlow or Captain Willard) and Francis becomes Kurtz.. «Francis believed that only if he could duplicate Willardís experience, could he Understand his moral struggle. In other words, he had to lose control of his own Life before he could find the answers to the questions that his narrative asked (Worthy 24).» Coppolaís main horror was his fear of producing a pretentious Movie. «Eleanor repeatedly calls the making of Apocalypse Now a journey into Coppola's inner self. Coppola, like Kurtz, is regarded as a deity. Moreover, While Willard stalks Kurtz in Apocalypse Now, Coppola stalks himself, raising Questions which he feels compelled to answer but cannot, finally announcing his Desire to «shoot himself. « He means suicide, but the cinematic connotation of The term, «to shoot,» jointly criticizes both the U. S. and Coppola's film for Exercising a demented self-absorption (Worthy 24).»
Coppola had to deal with Perhaps the most agonizing of his troubles: his shriveling self-confidence. As The budget soared, as the producers worried, as the crew and actors grew Restless and dispassionate, Coppola worried that he did not have what it takes To finish the film. He struggled with the ending, with his own creative ability, And with his sense of purpose.. Martin Sheen, who plays Captain Willard, is the one who really faces the horror. During the filming he has a nervous breakdown and later a heart attack. Some of His co-actors believed that Martin was becoming Captain Willard, and was Experiencing the same journey of self discovery.. We live our lives sheltered in our own society, and our exposure to cultures Outside of our own is limited at best. Often, the more technologically advanced Cultures look down upon those that they deem to be simpler. On the occasion that Some member of one culture does come into contact with another, simpler culture, A self discovery happens. Both cultures realize that deep down inside, all Humans are essentially the same. We all posses a good and an evil side, and no Culture, not matter how «advanced,» is exempt from that fact..
This discovery Often causes madness as this evil side is allowed out. Only those who have Completed the «journey into self» can understand the actions of people such as Kurtz. They are alone in this world of horror. The Horror!
Works Cited.
1. Apocalypse Now. Dir. Francis Coppola. With Martin Sheen, Robert Duval, and Marlon Brando. Zeotrope, 1979.
2. Conrad, James. Heart of Darkness and Other Tales. Great Britain, BPC Paperbacks ltd. 1990. 3. Hearts of Darkness. Dir. Fax Bahr, George Hickenlooper. Paramount, 1991.
4. «HEARTS OF DARKNESS -- A FILMMAKER'S APOCALYPSE.», Magill's Survey of Cinema, 6-15-1995.
5. Worthy, Kim, «Hearts of Darkness: Making art, making history, making money, Making `Vietnam'.».,Vol. 19, Cineaste, 12-01-1992, pp 24.
Pages: 1 2
Apocalypse Now and Heart of Darkness
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