Customer Reviews

Notes on the Making of Apocalypse Now

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3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

to balance the reviews i have to add that i really enjoyed the book. i loved the film, the follow up documentry was as impressive (oscar winning i think), and this is a very interesting addition. i must add that one needs to be 'in' with the film making history already (i.e its no introduction to the most infamous 'touch-and-go' film productions) before one could appreciate this. its a well told tale.

Perhaps a better title for this book would have been Meaningless Notes on the Making of Apocalypse Now. The author, who was charged with making a behind the scenes documentary of how the film was made, wastes the reader's time on disjointed anecdotes about her family life during the three plus years it took to complete this film. While the book jacket teases the reader with suggestions of her invaluable insights, the actual text is much more heavily devoted to Ms. Coppola's observations of her children, her husband's (in)fidelity, and what various dinner guests were served while visiting with the Coppola family. We learn much more about how four year old Sofia Coppola spent her days than how Martin Sheen's heart attack impacted the production. Why was Sheen hired to replace Harvey Keitel?...... What about those rumors of animosity between Marlon Brando and Dennis Hopper?...... Why did director Francis Ford Coppola choose to ignore weather experts and watch as the sets were des! troyed by a typhoon? Unfortunately you won't get any answers to those questions in this book. You will however learn in great detail how each of the Copppla clan spend their individual birthdays and how the Phillipines can't compare to California when it comes to health food shops and clothing boutiques. Duh!!! If you are truly interested in learning more about this historic film, I suggest you use your browser in a search of magazine and newspaper archives for appropriate material. Your time will be better spent surfing the net than waiting for Ms. Coppola to tell you why Robert Duvall's character was so hung up on having his Air Cav troopers surf "Charlie's Point."

Fairly interesting if you're a fan of Apocalypse Now but it merely provides background as opposed to insight. Eleanor Coppola is more interested in food, wealthy life styles, her husbands infidelity, decorating her houses, etc. No answers to some of the questions about some of the directors curious decisions, insights into the actors involved, local politics, you never have the sense of "you were there" that some authors can give you. Eleanor also makes some stunningly unconscious faux pas about her wealthy lifestyle which are quite grating. This is fluff, not serious stuff. Actually it fails on the fluff-o-meter, too. It's not even good fluff............

I found the book to be very compelling and insightful. It takes a look at what went on behind the scenes of "Apocalypse Now" from the point of view of someone not involved in filmmaking in a direct way.

I'm baffled by the one-star review of this book and sorry it has to be the first thing you see. This is not Eleanor Coppola's attempt at a slam-bang all-the-dirt-you-could-want documentary of the making of Apocalypse Now. It's an account of what it felt like to be there at the time, with all the ambiguity and uncertainty inherent in a project that nearly outran the managerial and creative talents of its creator.

The book is faithful to its mission. Whatever the original premise of her job on Apocalypse Now was, Eleanor Coppola is clear in this book that she's going to describe events as she experienced them. To do this, she remains front and center in the book much of the time, instead of moving her husband there, and I respect that. Much like the memoirs of Cynthia Lennon, this is not a book about what it was like to be the guy in the hot seat. It's about what it was like to be his companion. And what could be seen from that vantage point.

There are many brilliant observations here, which ring all the more true for this faithful and honest point of view. I highly recommend this book. It's a smart, interesting experience.