This is a fine film in its own regard, but is a must-watch for any fans of Apocalypse Now.
Video:
Keeping in mind that "Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker´s Apocalypse" was shot with primitive 16mm cameras by Eleanor Coppola, the film is primitive looking. The full-frame picture is low in detail, colors are desaturated and flat, grain is high and some moments are poorly preserved. "Hearts of Darkness" is a series of home videos that are strung together to create a powerful documentary and the scenes contained in the film were never intended to look as polished or impressive as those that were captured by the 35mm cameras used in making "Apocalypse Now." The moments in the film are inconsistent and uninspiring. This is one extremely rough looking documentary that brings back memories of watching EP recorded home videos. It was never intended to look visually stunning, nor was it minted from the best source materials. However, the included clips from the film are poorly mastered and letterboxed, which looks absolutely horrendous on a widescreen television. A little more heart could have gone into this film, but considering its genesis, it does what it needs to do. It looks quite rough, but that is the nature of the beast.
Audio:
"Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker´s Apocalypse" is presented in an unassuming Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack. English, French and Spanish subtitles are also provided. The film suffers from many of the same problems that plague the visual presentation, but the recorded narration by Eleanor Coppola is clean and intelligible. Some moments in the film are garbled and difficult to understand. One prime example of a poorly preserved scene, sound-wise, is a nicely filmed moment where Francis Ford Coppola gathers his cast and crew and undergoes a ritual that he does before each of his films. The audio is poor. The problem is the primitive equipment that went into the documenting of the making of "Apocalypse Now" and was not treated with the same respect as a full blown picture. These moments were captured at times with a simple tape recorder and not professional equipment. You can´t be disappointed with a film of this nature´s sound, but you can never call it impressive either.
Extras:
I had always felt that "Hearts of Darkness: a Filmmaker´s Apocalypse" should have been included with the DVD home video releases of "Apocalypse Now" and that this 96 minute documentary would have been an incredible bonus feature. That has never been the case and "Hearts of Darkness" now finds itself as its own release. Paramount has included a complete making-of documentary film as a supplement. Coda: Thirty Years Later (1:06:10) looks at the making of Francis Ford Coppola´s first film in ten years, "Youth Without Youth." The film is shot in Romania and Eleanor Coppola again documents her husband´s filmmaking process. Tim Roth and Alexandra Maria Lara share camera time as they discuss working with Francis Ford. This has very little to do with "Apocalypse Now," but it does show a different contrast between the making of the two films. This hour long documentary is a nice inclusion, but it pales in comparison to the main feature.
Closing Comments:
I´ve always wanted to see "Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker´s Apocalypse" as an included supplement for one of the "Apocalypse Now" DVD releases, particularly the recent "The Complete Dossier" DVD special edition release. Paramount has always disappointed me with their failure to provide this important making-of documentary on DVD, but they have finally given it a stand-alone release on the format. The film looks and sounds quite rough, but it is easily one of the finest making-of documentaries that you will ever see. Part of the power of "Hearts of Darkness" is the simple fact that "Apocalypse Now" has such a storied production period that it would be near impossible to not tell an informative and entertaining tale on the making of the Francis Ford Coppola picture that nearly destroyed him financially and emotionally. This is a fine film in its own regard, but is a must-watch for any fans of "Apocalypse Now."
Keeping in mind that "Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker´s Apocalypse" was shot with primitive 16mm cameras by Eleanor Coppola, the film is primitive looking. The full-frame picture is low in detail, colors are desaturated and flat, grain is high and some moments are poorly preserved. "Hearts of Darkness" is a series of home videos that are strung together to create a powerful documentary and the scenes contained in the film were never intended to look as polished or impressive as those that were captured by the 35mm cameras used in making "Apocalypse Now." The moments in the film are inconsistent and uninspiring. This is one extremely rough looking documentary that brings back memories of watching EP recorded home videos. It was never intended to look visually stunning, nor was it minted from the best source materials. However, the included clips from the film are poorly mastered and letterboxed, which looks absolutely horrendous on a widescreen television. A little more heart could have gone into this film, but considering its genesis, it does what it needs to do. It looks quite rough, but that is the nature of the beast.
Audio:
"Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker´s Apocalypse" is presented in an unassuming Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack. English, French and Spanish subtitles are also provided. The film suffers from many of the same problems that plague the visual presentation, but the recorded narration by Eleanor Coppola is clean and intelligible. Some moments in the film are garbled and difficult to understand. One prime example of a poorly preserved scene, sound-wise, is a nicely filmed moment where Francis Ford Coppola gathers his cast and crew and undergoes a ritual that he does before each of his films. The audio is poor. The problem is the primitive equipment that went into the documenting of the making of "Apocalypse Now" and was not treated with the same respect as a full blown picture. These moments were captured at times with a simple tape recorder and not professional equipment. You can´t be disappointed with a film of this nature´s sound, but you can never call it impressive either.
Extras:
I had always felt that "Hearts of Darkness: a Filmmaker´s Apocalypse" should have been included with the DVD home video releases of "Apocalypse Now" and that this 96 minute documentary would have been an incredible bonus feature. That has never been the case and "Hearts of Darkness" now finds itself as its own release. Paramount has included a complete making-of documentary film as a supplement. Coda: Thirty Years Later (1:06:10) looks at the making of Francis Ford Coppola´s first film in ten years, "Youth Without Youth." The film is shot in Romania and Eleanor Coppola again documents her husband´s filmmaking process. Tim Roth and Alexandra Maria Lara share camera time as they discuss working with Francis Ford. This has very little to do with "Apocalypse Now," but it does show a different contrast between the making of the two films. This hour long documentary is a nice inclusion, but it pales in comparison to the main feature.
Closing Comments:
I´ve always wanted to see "Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker´s Apocalypse" as an included supplement for one of the "Apocalypse Now" DVD releases, particularly the recent "The Complete Dossier" DVD special edition release. Paramount has always disappointed me with their failure to provide this important making-of documentary on DVD, but they have finally given it a stand-alone release on the format. The film looks and sounds quite rough, but it is easily one of the finest making-of documentaries that you will ever see. Part of the power of "Hearts of Darkness" is the simple fact that "Apocalypse Now" has such a storied production period that it would be near impossible to not tell an informative and entertaining tale on the making of the Francis Ford Coppola picture that nearly destroyed him financially and emotionally. This is a fine film in its own regard, but is a must-watch for any fans of "Apocalypse Now."
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[release]22397[/release]