Coppola's Monster Film

<p> In 1975 after his two <I>Godfather</I> epics Francis Ford Coppola went to the Philippines to film <I>Apocalypse Now</I>. He scrapped much of the original script a jingoistic narrative of U.S. Special Forces winning an unwinnable war. Harvey Keitel originally cast in the lead role was fired and replaced by Martin Sheen who had a heart attack. An overweight Marlon Brando paid a huge salary did more philosophizing than acting. It rained almost every day and a hurricane wiped out the set. The Philippine government promised the use of helicopters but diverted them at the last minute to fight communist and Muslim separatists.</p><p> Coppola filmed for four years with no ending in the script. The shoot threatened to be the biggest disaster in movie history. Providing a detailed snapshot of American cinema during the Vietnam War this book tells the story of how <I>Apocalypse Now</I> became one of the great films of all time.</p>