“Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmakers Apocalypse” (1991), the award-winning documentary chronicling the tumultuous making of Francis Ford Coppola’s “Apocalypse Now” recently had a theatrical run at New York’s Film Forum in a new 4K restoration.
In the late 1970s, director Francis Ford Coppola, accompanied by his family and cast and crew, travelled to the Philippines to begin work on what would become “Apocalypse Now”. But it soon became one of the most notorious shoots in cinema history, spiraling into a hellish, life-threatening nightmare. Chronicling the drama was Coppola’s wife, the late Eleanor Coppola, who shot extensive behind-the-scenes footage of the shoot in 16mm, and recorded audio interviews with her husband and others involved in the movie’s making.
In the early ’90s, Eleanor turned her 16mm footage and audio interviews over to filmmakers George Hickenlooper and podcast guest Fax Bahr, who then interwove it with new interviews with the movie’s cast members (including Martin Sheen and Dennis Hopper) and observers (like George Lucas). After a year of editing, the new documentary debuted at the Cannes Film Festival.
Says Filmwax Radio guest James Mockoski, Film Archivist and Restoration Supervisor at American Zoetrope, “For the past 30 years, Eleanor’s 16mm behind-the-scenes footage has been three to four generations removed from the original elements. For this new release and restoration of the documentary, Francis decided to scan the original sources in 4K. The extensive excerpts from the feature are now presented in their original 2.39:1 aspect ratio, rather than being letterboxed into a 4×3 frame.”
“Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmakers Apocalypse” has been restored by American Zoetrope from the original negative, with a re-mixed 5.1 soundtrack. Co-director Fax Bahr approved the grading, with the final seal of approval given by Francis Ford Coppola. Grading carried out at Roundabout Entertainment, Burbank, California.

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