Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmakers Apocalypse watch along
Added 2024-07-17 16:00:13 +0000 UTCHELLO MY WONDERFUL FILM FRIENDS!!
I’m super happy to report how smoothly last night’s watch-along test went. I know there will always be a few tech hiccups here and there, but I’m thrilled with my new setup!
I’ve been wanting to do a Documentary Week for a while, and I thought it was finally time to watch this one. It’s a wild and in-depth look at the making of this film, and it’s incredible she had all this footage.
Thanks so much for being here with me! I can’t wait to get things rolling again and watch some movies! I’m incredibly thankful for your ongoing support and patience with the last week and a bit as I got everything sorted ❤️
Have a wonderful day!
xx
Ames
YT Link:
https://youtu.be/pFYzVsrrPjE?si=g3NyavtYgkxs7kno
Comments
Wow! I just saw this comment, thanks so much for sharing. Glad he came back and so sorry for your loss ❤️❤️❤️I’m blown away from the sending do the tapes that must have been so special for him while he was away!
Amalia Wolf
2024-11-02 05:25:41 +0000 UTCSo sad
Amalia Wolf
2024-11-02 05:24:30 +0000 UTCSadly, Eleanor Coppola died April 12th, at the age of 87.
Kinokind
2024-07-23 06:20:59 +0000 UTCI’m late to the party for comments, just did the watchalong. I’ve seen this documentary about four times, it’s an amazing film. I was born in 1969. I have tapes that my mother recorded when I was three that we sent to my father in Vietnam. He came back and lived until last year. He never spoke about the war with me. I was always fascinated with the war, coming of age in the 70’s. When I was a teen the subject of Vietnam was having a societal shift from one of shame to one of sympathy for the soldiers who were killed and the vets who survived. Platoon came out when I was 17 and it was a much talked about subject. When I saw Apocalypse Now it had a tremendous effect on me, I watched it over and over in my VHS cassette. Watching it felt like taking drugs, it was mind altering in a way. The movie itself, as this documentary illustrates, was an exercise in confusion and chaos without knowing how to end it, just like the war. The teenaged boy in me thrived on that sort of chaos, I didn’t know who I was yet but I knew the journey was gonna be wild. Anyway…..I got sidetracked lol. A.N. is a GREAT movie and so is this documentary. Speaking of, Ken Burns Vietnam and Vietnam in HD are both stellar documentary series.
Catchermag
2024-07-21 02:27:29 +0000 UTCPS: Love that you got to see (and hear) a bit of Orson Welles! Or, as I call him: Awesome Welles! He was only 23 or 24 when he did that radio version of "Heart Of Darkness", and only 25 when he directed "Citizen Kane".
Toc
2024-07-19 10:16:21 +0000 UTCTotally agree with Coppola being a great salesman. And the helicopter pilots were insane. Brando improvising profound dialog is pretty impressive; it's not my fave performance, to me it's just Brando being Brando, that's the way he talks in interviews.....Brando said in his memoir "I was pretty good at bullshitting Francis", and that's how it always looks to me. But still, I couldn't imagine anyone else in that role, definitely not Nicholson or Pacino or any of the other guys he was talking about. Robert Duvall says he thinks the Brando section of the recut is much better; I've been meaning to rewatch just that section to see what he means!
Toc
2024-07-19 10:11:19 +0000 UTCA spear
Catchermag
2024-07-19 03:19:50 +0000 UTCI'm astounded that the iconic helicopter scenes turned out so well considering that they had new pilots everyday. And the sheer logistical challenge of setting up those explosions and sets and taking care of the cast and crew in a remote, fairly poor country -- just mind-blowing! (Now I want to see the French plantation version.) Brando's improvisation is also amazing. Gotta be one of the great performances of all time, certainly one of the best supporting roles. You're right, Coppola is a great salesman. From dealing with the crew, the cast, the government, and the studios, the film wouldn't have been possible w/o his almost insane self-confidence. I really enjoyed this, glad your new setup is working well.
JM63
2024-07-18 22:59:29 +0000 UTC😆😆😆ya “not acid just speed” just kills me! And ur write OMGosh she is the one narrating! See more parallels!
Amalia Wolf
2024-07-18 21:01:52 +0000 UTCI felt like I couldn’t finishing my words LOL but glad I could give some insight on that! Glad it resonated with u!!
Amalia Wolf
2024-07-18 21:00:14 +0000 UTCLoved your commentary during Sheen's breakdown, and how actors strive to get private moments. And all that stuff with Dennis Hopper: priceless!!!!!!
Toc
2024-07-18 20:30:37 +0000 UTCFinally got to finish it! First off, the animal stuff totally turns my stomach too, believe me, it's not just you.....and although I could do without it, it definitely fits into "the heart of darkness". Brando most definitely was method.....he's THE method actor, he's the one who got everyone being a method actor! But by this time, he was more of a prankster; he'd get these big salaries and then he'd act up on the set. He had a sort of embarrassment about being an actor, in relation to the political causes he was always involved with, he'd never talk about acting during interviews, he'd always change the subject when asked. From "Apocalypse" till the end of his career, he was usually difficult to work with. I always say: Hearts Of Darkness is pretty much "Apocalypse Now".....except Eleanor narrates it, not Martin Sheen!! (PS: Love Sam Bottoms talking about all the drugs he did while shooting. "No, I didn't drop acid that night, I was doing speed....." LOL)
Toc
2024-07-18 20:25:40 +0000 UTCAWWWW
Amalia Wolf
2024-07-18 16:22:56 +0000 UTCI joined instantly when I saw this was posted 👍️👍️👍️👍️👍️
Erik Lundmark
2024-07-18 14:36:16 +0000 UTCRight
Amalia Wolf
2024-07-17 22:53:59 +0000 UTCFor me, even better!
VivendoBem
2024-07-17 21:43:00 +0000 UTCOh my, never thought I’d see this here, but it’s fantastic. Equally as good as the iconic film!
Catchermag
2024-07-17 20:55:56 +0000 UTCI don't think Dennis Hopper was acting... that performance was inspired... chemistry?
Samuraibry1
2024-07-17 20:52:44 +0000 UTCThanks for watching!! It was a great doc!
Amalia Wolf
2024-07-17 20:15:15 +0000 UTCA great doc on the making of a 'messterpiece'. The story may have a happy ending but we get to see the costs associated with that level of artistic obsession. Yes, my glass is half empty. Great reaction. Can't wait to see what's next.
James Rogers
2024-07-17 19:58:43 +0000 UTCI can't wait to watch this. Stories like this about troubled productions are so fascinating to me. If you'd want to watch another documentary about a movie with an incredibly troubled production, I'd highly recommend Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's Island of Dr. Moreau. It's about the making of the 1996 movie The Island of Dr. Moreau. It covers Richard Stanley's experiences while he conceived and developed the idea of doing the movie, his time as director, the aftermath of his firing, everything that went wrong, and the overall finished quality of the film. I've seen it, and the stories about the making of The Island of Dr. Moreau are pretty crazy.
Jeb Manning
2024-07-17 17:30:51 +0000 UTCFelt a bit rusty hahah but it was fascinating for me to watch actors/directors work together
Amalia Wolf
2024-07-17 17:02:57 +0000 UTCLolol
Amalia Wolf
2024-07-17 17:02:09 +0000 UTCYes I heard about that!! So sad RIP
Amalia Wolf
2024-07-17 17:02:03 +0000 UTCEleanor Coppola did a fantastic job on this documentary. May she rest in peace. She passed away earlier this year.
Jeffrey Schmidbauer
2024-07-17 16:49:29 +0000 UTC"Don't look at the camera! Make like you're fighting!"
Jeffrey Schmidbauer
2024-07-17 16:46:01 +0000 UTCIt’s so good!!
Amalia Wolf
2024-07-17 16:41:58 +0000 UTCHoly smokes!!!!!! Very cool!!!!!! I'll be able to watch this later with you!!!! So psyched!!!!! I cannot wait to hear and see what you notice! Blown away to find this posted today! PS: It goes with the sweltering heat of this summer, too! You rock, sister!!!! Damn, can't believe it!!!!
Toc
2024-07-17 16:41:52 +0000 UTCWOW did he! That’s amazing!! It was so well done! I felt rusty as a reactor after 1 week off hahaha but holy moly this was such a good documentary!
Amalia Wolf
2024-07-17 16:41:49 +0000 UTCWOW!!! What a surprise!!! I had no idea you had this on your radar! Gene Siskel picked this as the # 1 movie of 1991. No greater documentary that better shows what a director has to endure to put his vision on screen than HEARTS OF DARKNESS...
RFK Fan
2024-07-17 16:38:50 +0000 UTCYESSSS! Great choice!
Jeffrey Schmidbauer
2024-07-17 16:37:21 +0000 UTCYou are totally right!!! My word for it is CRAZY it’s such a fascinating story
Amalia Wolf
2024-07-17 16:25:45 +0000 UTCOh wow. I absolutely love that you are reacting to this! It's such a fascinating and illuminating companion piece to Apocalypse Now. It truly is staggering that Coppola managed to pull anything at all out of this chaos, let alone one of the greatest films ever made.
Henry Graham
2024-07-17 16:05:49 +0000 UTC
