The 1979 film by Francis Ford Coppola is "a monumental film that succeeds on many levels," Kinn and Piazza write. "From the massive, genocidal, Wagernian helicopter assault to the decadent Playboy pageant in the jungle, Coppola has imagined countless indelible moments and images on an awe-inspiring, epic scale."
The production was so troubled that it inspired a documentary, titled "Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse," that detailed the many, many problems. According to the , star Martin Sheen had a heart attack, star Marlon Brando showed up late without having read the script and would only agree to improvise his dialogue, and many of the helicopters for the production were taken by the then-president of the Philippines to use in his real war.
