“We were in the jungle, there were too many of us, we had access to too much money, too much equipment, and little by little we went insane” – Francis Ford Coppola

In this riveting insight into the making of one of the world’s most iconic war films, Fax Bahr and George Hickenlooper show audiences just how harrowing the creation of Apocalypse Now really was. Uncontrollably exploding production cost was only the start of their problems; Typhoon Olga destroyed nearly 80% of the movie sets, the leading actor Martin Sheen had a near-fatal heart attack during filming, and many other crew members became sick on set during the 238 days of filming this legendary war film in the Philippines. Yet despite the countless setbacks and risk of financial ruin on Coppola’s part, the final product is the masterpiece we know it to be today. In Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse, we get an intimate and often shocking look at of the most notorious shoots in cinema history that few survived unscathed.

Bahr and Hickenlooper interviewed the cast and crew in 1990 for their stories of the chaos and insanity that took hold on set, then weaved it with the footage Eleanor Coppola had filmed during the creation of the actual film from 1976-1977. The result is a truly breathtaking insight in to the making of Apocalypse Now and also the psyche of the creator himself, who went so far as to put his house and possessions up as collateral in order to finish filming.

At the time of its release, Apocalypse Now was polarising to say the least. Now, we dive in to its legacy, its controversies, and its lasting affect on those involved in its creation.

Hearts of Darkness will be showing Sun 20 Jul – Wed 23 Jul. Tickets available now.