Forty years ago this week a film based on the Joseph Conrad novella Heart of Darkness (1899) was released in cinemas across America. Shot in the Philippines, Apocalypse Now was a film adaptation that changed the story’s setting from the waters of the Congo to the Nung, a river that flowed through Vietnam and bordering Cambodia. Instead of going on location which would have been inconceivable at the time, the film was shot almost entirely in villages, cities, and towns throughout the Philippines’s northern-most island of Luzon.
Gone awry, the production was often delayed due to factors ranging from typhoons to the preparedness and physical condition of cast members. Over budgeted, director/producer Francis Coppola struggled to find funding to complete the film. Initially budgeted at an estimated $23 million, filming in the Philippines was slated for completion after five months, but after a series of setbacks, the five months of shooting expected for completion tripled, causing production costs to mushroom almost $10 million over budget.
After then-A-list actors such as Jack Nicholson, Al Pacino, and James Caan turned down multiple offers to play protagonist Captain Benjamin Willard, Coppola and his casting crew went with Martin Scorsese’s old standby, Harvey Keitel. Ill-suited for the role, Keitel was dropped in favor of lesser-known Martin Sheen which further delayed completion. Troubles continued as Sheen suffered from a cardiac arrest and sets were destroyed as Typhoon Olga swept through the Philippines. After Sheen’s recovery, the up-hill battle continued when legendary actor Marlon Brando arrived on set for his role as the disenfranchised deserter Colonel Kurtz 200 lbs. overweight, with little knowledge of the script, anticipating a multi-million-dollar payday for under a month’s work.
Filled with several of the most memorable scenes in motion picture history, Apocalypse Now was one of the most visually stunning films of the 1970s. With Vittorio Storaro as cinematographer, footage shot for the opening scene depicting the napalm-induced mass defoliation of trees was shot in the midst of a conflict between Marcos’ regime and rival insurgents within Luzon’s jungles.
The small fishing town of Baler, located 120 miles northeast of Manila in Luzon’s Aurora Province, was the landscape used to shot classic scenes such as the famous “Ride of the Valkyries” helicopter raid and introduction of Lieutenant Colonel Bill Kilgore (Robert Duvall). The surreal scenario of bombs and gunfire pouring down on troops as Duvall’s character attempts to mix warfare with a little ‘R&R’ gave the film a unique perspective on war while the helicopter raid scored by the stoic music of Richard Wagner unsettled moviegoers at the film’s time of release.
When Brando arrived in the Philippines, film production brought crew and cast members 58 miles south of Manilla to the town of Pagsanjin in the province of Laguna. “Time was money” as Coppola’s newly-founded production company Omni Zoetrope agreed to pay Brando an astronomical million-dollar-a-week salary. Initially intended to be shot in Iba on Luzon’s west coast, due to inclement conditions, the “Kurtz compound” and “illuminated bridge” featured in key scenes were recreated in Pagsanjin and on nearby Magdapio River while members of an indigenous tribe known as the Ifugaos were selected as extras.
Commemorating the 40th anniversary since the film’s release, Apocalypse Now: Final Cut is currently showing in cinemas across America for a limited engagement.
This article posted Thursday, August 15 on UPROXX by Steven Hayden examines the significance of this cinematic masterpiece and the impact it has made in present-day film making.