Alternative to What: "Hearts of Darkness" (1991)

Left to right: Francis Ford Coppola and Dennis Hopper

Welcome to Alternative to What: a weekly column that tries to find a great alternative to driving to the multiplexes. Based on releases of that week, the selections will either be thematically related or feature recurring cast and crew. The goal is to help you better understand the diversity of cinema and hopefully find you some favorites while saving a few bucks. At worse, this column will save you money. Expect each installment to come out on Fridays, unless specified. 

THIS WEEK:

Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse (1991)

- Alternative To -

My Life Directed By Nicholas Winding Refn (2015)

While it isn't the highest profile film of the week, the making of documentary behind director Nicolas Winding Refn's maligned Only God Forgives is being released on VOD. For a film that has already a hostile reputation, it will be interesting to see what exactly makes that particular film worth getting an hour-long documentary format. To say the least, it is a film that was so deranged and disturbing that it caused several people to launch think pieces on if Refn was an auteur of ultraviolence. While this is a reputation that makes sense bestowed upon him, it still leaves a lot of evidence of why that film failed to capture the magic of his previous film Drive, which for all intents and purposes was a cult hit comparatively.

However, My Life Directed By Nicholas Winding Refn isn't the first documentary to focus on a presumably troubled production. In fact, there have been few that have sparked as much notoriety as that of the one behind Apocalypse Now, which many consider to be Francis Ford Coppola's masterpiece (or at very least, one of his many, many masterpieces). However, just as remembered as the film is the notorious production issues that put it in a camp alongside Heaven's Gate and Cleopatra as epics that were doomed from the start. It would be one thing to tell you everything that went wrong with the production. It's another to just suggest that you watch it.

For the sake of getting your interest, I would suggest watching the documentary either in a double bill or within close proximity to Apocalypse Now. For all of the chaos depicted on screen and the psychological turmoil, it works unfortunately because everything behind the scenes was predicated on the insanity. There's photos of Coppola losing his mind and potentially sabotaging a film. If one wasn't to know the depths of brilliance in Apocalypse Now, this would seem like a fool's errand. However, if you are at all familiar with the film, it won't only make you appreciate the film more, it may help you give Coppola a life pass for the nonsense that he had to put up with.

In a way, it is the ultimate making of film documentary because of the access to such unbelievable footage and interviews. It also features a filmmaker at his most passionate wanting to overcome the odds in order to make something that he believes in. Do you believe it's as great as he does? You probably will after watching Hearts of Darkness. It has all of the cliche problems thrown into one blender and forces you to acknowledge the small details of what you would take for granted. Sure, there were iconic actors in the film, but even some of the shots were done largely because of arguments and a lack of cooperation. The documentary is about passion and doing something unbelievable.

It is likely why Apocalypse Now has garnered so much love. It is an intense thrill ride that likely is because the people making it went through similar things. True, they didn't have to fight in the Vietnam War, but they had to deal with weather conditions, financing and themselves. While this is technically not a theatrical film, it should count in this circumstance just based on how important the actual film is and that the documentary not only manages to convey the film, it manages to stand alongside it as a piece of fascinating exploits that are both loving and terrifying. It is the story of production gone awry unlike any other. Just be grateful that Apocalypse Now paid off.

I am not entirely sure what warrants Only God Forgives with a making of documentary. For starters, its cultural impact isn't all that significant. It also doesn't have any notorious production issues. It could end up being a standard special that adds nothing to the actual enjoyment of the film. However, it is important to note that sometimes films are equally interesting when you pull the curtain back to unveil the magic. There's not necessarily any shot in Only God Forgives that compares to the scope of Apocalypse Now, but it will remain to be seen whether or not it would make any difference at all.