Short Attention Span Review - Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse (1991)

Short Attention Span Review - Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse (1991)

If you love the cinema, you have probably seen Apocalypse Now and heard a little about the making of this visionary masterpiece.  Apocalypse Now is one of those rare feats in the industry, a stupendous achievement where tales surrounding the lengths that the artists went to create something are almost as intriguing as the work itself.  In 1991, Fax Bahr and George Hickenlooper put together this documentary that offers tremendous insight into that storied production.  Deftly combining interviews with most of the key players and raw footage captured on set, Bahr and Hickenlooper allow us to feel like the proverbial fly on the wall while an audacious undertaking threatens to unravel at every turn.  Not only that, but the cast and crew threaten to unravel as well, making this a gripping tale in and of itself.  Hearts of Darkness is about people testing their boundaries.  It's also a battle against the elements and a test of endurance.  It's about faith and conviction, and it is also about desperation, and perhaps even madness.  It's one thing to ponder a director who had taken the industry by storm dragging his cast and crew into the jungle to shoot a sprawling epic while in search of an appropriate conclusion.  It's yet another to see the various challenges unfold, to listen in as Francis Ford Coppola struggles to find himself as much as he struggled to find that ending that would make the journey worthwhile.  It is an inspiring peak behind the curtain that shows us an odyssey that could have yielded disastrous results, and it is both a tribute to passion and sheer lunacy that something so prolific was born of this fury and fire.  Luck may have played a role as well.  Regardless, Hearts of Darkness is a vivid documentary that is both enlightening and entertaining.  It is surely must-see viewing for those who recognize Apocalypse Now as one of the boldest and most riveting movies ever made, but even someone who had never heard of that grim saga would probably enjoy Hearts of Darkness.  

Final Grade: A

An unparalleled look at the making of a genuine classic, this documentary is a profound exploration of art on a grand scale.

Short Attention Span Review: Go Tell the Spartans (1978)

U.S. History captivates me.  I'm particularly drawn to tales of the old west and stories about our country's various military exploits.  As someone who grew up shortly after the Vietnam war had concluded, that conflict has always greatly intrigued me.  There have been many notable films about that tragic war and I count Go Tell the Spartans among them.   Yet many who have seen movies like Apocalyspe Now, Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, and We Were Soldiers haven't experienced this insightful look at the early stages of the conflict.  Burt Lancaster, one of the best leading men ever, stars as a cynical Major who has already fought in two wars before being sent to an undermanned outpost in South Vietnam.  There, he is charged with overseeing a group of South Viatnemese and does his best to fulfill his obligations though he never regards his assignment as much more than an exercise in futility.  Craig Wasson, Marc Singer, and Evan Kim offer up noteworthy performances and director Ted Post does a great job of bringing Daniel Ford's 1967 novel Incident at Muc Wa to the screen.  As the picture progresses, the movie's title becomes more and more pertinent.  Barker's understanding of the situation is mostly ignored by his superiors who aren't stationed in the combat zone and thus the odds of survival for our heroes rapidly diminish.  Go Tell the Spartans is a methodical anti-war film that lacks the star power, the exciting overtones, and the rock soundtrack of many better-known Vietnam sagas, but it is undeniably authentic and extremely well-acted.  It offers little in the way of hope, though a motion picture that seeks to probe the beginning of that difficult period in American history should emerge as a downer.  It wasn't a big-budget film and it isn't slick or exciting, but it is compelling.  Finally, Go Tel the Spartans is worth seeing for Burt Lancaster's somber performance alone, and anyone who enjoys this sort of fare should definitely seek it out. 

Final Grade: B


 


Trivia:
 Craig Wasson also starred in another of my favorite films about the Vietnam conflict that doesn't get the respect it deserves, The Boys in Company C.



 

The ill-fated Major Asa Barker's last words: "Oh shit."