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APOCALYPSE NOW1979

Apocalypse Now

Apocalypse Now
© Zoetrope 2000

Movie Rating

MOVIE RATING

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Average Rating: 4.5 (out of 5)   (98 votes cast)


Source of Film

SOURCE OF FILM

Heart of Darkness (1899)

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

Francis Ford Coppola (1979)

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

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."

Film Awards

FILM AWARDS


The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

OSCAR NOMINEE
WINNER

MPAA Rating

MPAA RATING

Rated R

Box Office Ranking

BOX OFFICE RANKING

  • 1979 Domestic Box Office Rank: #3[1]U.S. flag

Theatrical Revenues

GROSS

  • (Adjusted Gross in $millions)
  • Domestic Theatrical Release:  $364[1]U.S. flag

Sources

SOURCES

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

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."

Film Awards

FILM AWARDS


The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

OSCAR NOMINEE
WINNER

MPAA Rating

MPAA RATING

Rated R

Box Office Ranking

BOX OFFICE RANKING

  • 1979 Domestic Box Office Rank: #3[1]U.S. flag

Theatrical Revenues

GROSS

  • (Adjusted Gross in $millions)
  • Domestic Theatrical Release:  $364[1]U.S. flag

Sources

SOURCES