APOCALYPSE NOW1979
Apocalypse Now
Movie Rating
MOVIE RATING
Average Rating: 4.5 (out of 5) (115 votes cast)
Source of Film
SOURCE OF FILM
The 1899 novella Heart of Darkness was the main inspiration for Apocalypse Now. Joseph Conrad, a Polish-born author who had spent his early years in the British merchant marines, used the experience of a particular voyage up the Congo and Lualaba Rivers deep into the African jungle as the basis for his 4th novel.
Director Detail
PRODUCER/DIRECTOR DETAIL
Film Run-time and Synopsis
RUNTIME & SYNOPSIS
3 hours, 22 minutes
Director Francis Ford Coppola mashes the Vietnam War and Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness". A young captain is sent to kill a renegade colonel.
Film Comments
FILM COMMENTS
Film Awards
FILM AWARDS
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
OSCAR NOMINEE
WINNER
Best Picture- (Francis Ford Coppola)
- (Fred Roos)
- (Gray Frederickson)
- (Tom Sternberg)
- Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium
- (John Milius)
- (Francis Ford Coppola)
- Best Director
- (Francis Ford Coppola)
- Best Art Direction-Set Decoration
- (Dean Tavoularis)
- (Angelo P. Graham)
- (George R. Nelson)
- Best Actor in a Supporting Role
- (Robert Duvall)
- Best Cinematography
- (Vittorio Storaro)
- Best Film Editing
- (Richard Marks)
- (Walter Murch)
- (Gerald B. Greenberg)
- (Lisa Fruchtman)
- Best Sound
- (Walter Murch)
- (Mark Berger)
- (Richard Beggs)
- (Nathan Boxer)
MPAA Rating
MPAA RATING
Rated R
Box Office Ranking
BOX OFFICE RANKING
- 1979 Domestic Box Office Rank: #3[1]
Theatrical Revenues
GROSS
- (Adjusted Gross in $millions)
- Domestic Theatrical Release: $364[1]
The Philippines shoot was plagued with production problems: weather destroyed sets, Brando arrived so overweight that Coppola had to change the ending, and Martin Sheen suffered a heart attack. Principle filming ultimately took 238 days and cost more than twice the original budget. Coppola pledged almost every asset he had and borrowed money from friends to help finance the overrun. He was later quoted as saying "My movie is not about Vietnam...my movie is Vietnam."