everything you have heard about this movie is true.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

Francis Ford Coppola is a distinguished director and a man of letters, and I'd be interested to see if The Sympathizer, the Pulitzer Prize winning book by Viet Thanh Nguyen, features prominently on his bookshelf. The book, published in 2015, was a reposte to Apocalypse Now, which in itself is an impressive movie in many respects.Anyone who said that history is written by the victors has never watched Apocalypse Now or any other movie in the "Vietnam" genre from our great shores. Funny that no WWI movies pumped out from the USA are called "Germany" movies.I like watching behind-the-scenes documentaries of movies, and Hearts of Darkness is one of the best. We empathize with Francis Ford Coppola on his enduring attempt to bring his vision to screen. He said at a press conference (featured at the beginning of the documentary) that "Apocalypse Now is Vietnam". That's kind of an insult to the millions of Vietnamese who suffered at the hands of the Americans in the War.

Documentary that chronicles how Francis Ford Coppola's "Apocalypse Now" (1979) was plagued by extraordinary script, shooting, budget, and casting problems--nearly destroying the life and career of the celebrated director.While it may be blasphemy to say so, I have never been a big fan of "Apocalypse Now". Despite the wide range of talent involved, it just never hit home for me. But even so, I completely appreciate that this documentary was made, because I can't imagine many movies run into so many problems and still end up being successful.There are some what-ifs, such as what if Harvey Keitel had stayed on in the role filled by Martin Sheen. I presume footage exists of the day or two he had filmed. What would it have done for Keitel, or the film? Certainly this is one of Sheen's best roles.I love the footage of Dennis Hopper, both on set and later. He was a larger than life guy, and it's great to hear him reflect in two different time periods. The same for Larry Fishburne, who was a child when production started. His view of war as "fun" shifts as he ages, and that's an interesting transition.A prophetic comment by Coppola is that he sees film at some point becoming less a profession and more an art. I am curious how he would reflect on that today (2016). While he is certainly right that independent film really took off in the 1990s, has it achieved what he wanted? And what of the ability now for movies to be made for pennies? Does this degrade the art form?

This definitely seems to stem some of the same themes Apocalypse Now does, and I honestly think that it's better. It's more focused, better paced, not as pretentious, and it makes sense. The themes of obsession and art hit harder and seem to be fleshed out more fully, and developed well. Of course, since it's real life, one can say it happened by accident, but my point still remains. Seeing just how high these actors were was really shocking (especially Dennis Hopper, oh boy). I think it could have hit even more greatness had it tapped into this more, but alas, this is a very good film that I'm sure anyone can really enjoy for what it is.

With "Apocalypse Now", Francis Ford Coppola sought to expose colonialism. But as his wife Eleanor's documentary shows, he ended up creating it in the process of filming his movie. "Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse" mostly looks at the problems that plagued the film's production and nearly bankrupted Coppola*. But it also shows how he went to a third world country, brought western technology, and made the people there work for him. The madness depicted in the movie is nothing compared to the events on the set.All in all, it's an amazing insight into one of the greatest movies ever made. Still, you should see the movie before the documentary, just so that the story behind it doesn't bias you. Perfect.*Apparently, as a result of his near bankruptcy, Coppola smashed four of his five Oscars and briefly separated from his wife.