12.22.06
WTF: Hearts of Darkness on DVD…not. (!?!)
Even though I already own DVDs of both the original release cut of Apocalypse Now (1979) and Apocalypse Now Redux (2001 — which I had the enormous pleasure of seeing, as Technicolor dye-transfer [!!] film natch, at the Cinerama sitting 4th row center), I nevertheless shelled out for the new Apocalypse Now: The Complete Dossier double-DVD set. Why? Well sure, the new transfers are gorgeous (albeit not quite in the original aspect ratio), but the big sell for me was/were the extras, including director commentary and some very fine documentaries about the post-production process and other stuff (like the re-creation of the aforementioned and why-the-hell-ain’t-it-just-a-given dye transfer process).
(As an aside, 2006’s DVD releases of earlier Zoetrope films, including The Conversation, THX-1138 [definitely find the 2-disc set], and One From the Heart [better than reputed] — and the Dossier as well — are precious troves of extras that together paint a fascinating and well-worthwhile portrait of Coppola et al’s important pioneering efforts — including the invention of initially-derided but now-de rigeur video assist — and the history of American Zoetrope. Did you know that thanks to Apocalypse Now movies now have 5.1 stereo? Dude…I’m sayin’. Big deal, this Zoetrope trip.)
But…conspicuously absent from the “complete” Dossier edition is Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse (1991), the phenomenal documentary about the making of Apocalypse Now.
During the legendarily-protracted and difficult production period, Eleanor Coppola (Francis’ wife) served as on-set documentarian, shooting behind the scenes footage, tape-recording private conversations with her husband, and keeping a diary (later published in edited form as Notes On the Making of Apocalypse Now [NY: Limelight Books, 2001]).
A decade later, these materials were re-worked by Eleanor and co-directors George Hickenlooper and Fax Bahr into one of the very best (if not the best) documentaries about filmmaking ever made. Originally aired in 1991 on the Showtime cable network, Hearts of Darkness went on to win no less than five major awards.
And rightly so. Hearts of Darkness is thoroughly engrossing and stunningly personal, even including audio recordings of Francis confessing he was suicidal during some of the mostdire days of production. It pulls no punches and is anything but the all-too-typical glossy BS “behind the scenes” crap that passes for behind the scenes. It is a revelatory and ultimately triumphant (and inspiring) document of the creation of one of the most remarkable, controversial, and confrontational films of its era (and still today, if I may wax a little).
It is the naked portrait of a filmmaker struggling to realize and remain true to the vision of a project that confronted so many realities: the traumatically divisive and disastrous war in Vietnam, the utterly duplicitous and corrupting policies embodied by post-colonialsm, the Hollywood studio system, the very nature of how a film should be made, what it means to be an actor, or a director…or a citizen. It is also the naked portrait of an artist, no matter the medium. Our budgets may be drastically smaller (if extant at all), our collaborators may not suffer heart attacks while working with us, and our medium of choice may be different, but there is not one true artist in the world who cannot empathize completely with Francis’ struggles, trials, and utterly profound and deeply personal crises of the soul during — and complete commitment to — the quest of The Vision. As viewers we are left not only with the remarkable particulars, but with a deep respect for an artist who would permit their most difficult trial to be splayed before us so honestly.
Truly: Hearts of Darkness embodies the very pinnacle of “filmmaker documentaries”, every bit as good — if not more — as its closest competitor, The Battle Over Citizen Kane. And that, my friend, is rarified company.
After it’s initial run on Showtime, Hearts of Darkness was later released to the home market on laserdisc (in 1992) and VHS (in 1994). And that…stupidly…was that. VHS copies occasionally surface on eBay. Or if you’re lucky enough to have a still-functioning VHS player and live near a Scarecrow Video, Facets Multimedia, or a particularly on-the-ball Blockbuster or Hollywood Video rental joint that miraculously hasn’t yet pimped their VHS holdings, you might be able to partake of this remarkable work. Otherwise, you’re being deprived for no good reason.
To the great credit of those producing Apocalypse Now: The Complete Dossier DVD set, they very much wanted to include Hearts of Darkness. As Rebecca Wright wrote in a recent post to the online Blogcritics Magazine:
According to Kim Aubrey, The Complete Dossier’s extras producer: “I would have loved to put it in, but the copyright owner had issues with the film being out right now and we weren’t able to clear it for use.”
To which I can only say — for the umpteenth time — what the fuck is wrong with these intellectual property shit-bags, anyway? Whoever it is that owns the rights to Hearts of Darkness should spend every single day it is not available to the public in a modern format punching themselves in the face, non-stop, day and night. With brass knuckles.
Seriously. I don’t (necessarily) begrudge the desire or (alleged) need to make a profit from one’s property. But as the de facto custodian of important cultural artefacts, where the hell do you get off putting your egomania and greed ahead of all else? Who are you trying to impress? Are you struggling with a Daddy-Complex? Are you just a jerk? Do you have to sublimate your own creative impulses and resort to owning and withholding others’ masterpieces? Did someone just send you an email that pissed you off for some stupid reason? Did someone stiff you on a Hollywood lunch?
Frankly, me and about a gabillion other monied consumers really could care less. Get over your bad self. Our money talks. So what’s up with your bullshit?
Not to draw even a remote comparison between the works, but public pressure recently resulted in the reconstruction and DVD release of Richard Donner’s original (and vastly superior) version of Superman II. I mean, c’mon. Superman II is entertaining enough (and even Richard Lester’s version is the best of the series), but it’s not even on the same planet as Hearts of Darkness. (Even more insulting, Francis Copploa got his chops very publicly busted for “wasting” $30-plus million of his own money on Apocalypse Now even as the first Superman flick required as much or more.)
Is anyone else here game for browbeating the Grinch(es) keeping Hearts of Darkness from us into doing What Is Right? If there is an existing Internet Movement, inform me/us and let us all join it perforce. If there is not, let this be the beginning of one. I’m open to any and all (legal) suggestions.
Can I get an Amen?!
(For that matter: who the hell owns the thing, anyway? My Googling powers fail me here.)
Tom Harpel said,
December 23, 2006 at 10:09 am
Amen!
mike said,
December 23, 2006 at 10:51 am
Amen.
mike said,
December 23, 2006 at 2:20 pm
Whoops, looks like it’s Francis you may be calling wroth down upon:
From an IMDB forum:
“Hello fans of Hearts of Darkness. I, like everyone else, would like to see my documentary out on DVD. In fact, the Criterion Collection has offered to put it out which would be fantastic. I spoke to Francis about licensing it two years ago and was reluctant. He feels the film is not a flattering portrait of him when I assured him the picture makes him look heroic, which it does. If you want to see the film out on DVD, I would recommend that everyone write Francis a letter and tell him how great he comes across in the film. For the time being, he just doesn’t want to believe it. Sincerely, George Hickenlooper”
Hell's Donut House said,
December 25, 2006 at 2:11 pm
Dude, go out and rent Les Blank’s Burden of Dreams RIGHT NOW.
Spencer said,
December 26, 2006 at 1:55 am
Dude, I happen to own the Criterion edition of Burden of Dreams.
And well spoken. It is, indeed, also a masterpiece well worthy of this company. And verily, it and Hearts of Darkness doth crowd The Battle Over Citizen Kane right out of the room with their excellence.