News culture It was the worst shooting in history! This actor refused to star in this film that became an absolute masterpiece

Culture news It was the worst shooting in history! This actor refused to star in this film that became an absolute masterpiece

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A career with ups and downs for Coppola

Recently, we spoke to you about new project by Francis Ford Coppola which should be released in theaters this year, and we talked to you about some of these films which did not meet with the expected success at the American box office, such as Heart stroke (One from the Heart in original version), which is considered one of the biggest flops in cinema, and Outsiders, which did not meet with much success despite positive reviews from American critics. Despite these few dark spots on his CV, Francis Ford Coppola remains an accomplished director to whom we owe works like The Godfather and its sequels, but also Apocalypse Now.

Contrary to what its title might inspire, Apocalypse Now does not speak of a dystopian future, but is anchored in the concept of Vietnam War as it is depicted in In the heart of darkness (Heart of Darkness in original version), the novel by Joseph Conrad of which Apocalypse Now makes the adaptation. The film follows the Captain Willard in his mission to find and kill the Colonel Kurtz, a once admirable man who seems to have succumbed to his animal instinct by carrying out operations of terrifying violence against the enemy. If you have never seen this film or would like to see it again, know that you can buy or rent it on myCANAL. Alternatively, you can watch it on Prime Video if you have a VPN, since it is not available on the French version.

The actors avoided this film like the plague

Interpreted by Martin Sheenthe character of Captain Willard could have been completely different if Francis Ford Coppola had managed to convince Clint Eastwood to take on the role. Indeed, after having suffered numerous refusals from icons like Steve McQueen, Al Pacino, Jack Nicholson, Robert de Niroor Robert RedfordCoppola turned to Clint Eastwoodalready known for having interpreted Inspector Harry (Dirty Harry in original version) who, by chance, had already read In the heart of darkness and seemed very interested in the idea of ​​a film adaptation.

Unfortunately, as Steve McQueen before him, Clint Eastwood ended up turning down the role because of the time investment it involved. Indeed, the actor should have stayed on the island of Luzon, in the Philippines, for at least 16 weeks for the purposes of filming. A rather inconceivable idea for an actor with growing popularity, especially since he had just started building his house, and he was afraid that things would go wrong given the problems Coppola and his team had already encountered. And he was right.

Instead of the 4 months announced, filming took almost 8 months to finish, for various reasons mentioned in the documentary. Hearts of Darkness: A Director’s Apocalypse released in 1991. We remember, for example, a typhoon which destroyed one of the emblematic sets of the film, helicopters requisitioned by the Philippine government, actors under the influence of drugs, but also the heart attack of Martin Sheen, which almost nipped the project in the bud. We don’t know if Clint Eastwood has a sixth sense, but what is certain is that he had a narrow escape!