I'm honestly really disappointed that Lucas never did make those little indie movies he said he was gonna make. Part of me was rooting for him, despite all his recent failures, to come out of left field with something that would blow people's minds, not in terms of spectacle but in terms of creativity, weirdness, quality, etc.
The prequels are essentially a criticism of capitalist democracy, people never approach Star Wars with the art film mindset but when you do it’s really interesting
The prequels weren't remotely a failure, people just didn't understand them at all. They were far closer to that indie film ideal in execution than the original trilogy. The prequels are EXACTLY what you described: full of creativity, weirdness, quality AND spectacle.
@@ciggy_ Exactly that. Not to mention elements of family, the lack of good father figures fucking up men irreparably, the affects of war on a corrupt democracy, etc. If anything, the prequels were the Vietnam type story that George was talking about being an allegory in the OT, where the Empire was the US and the Rebels were the Vietcong. The prequels got across that moral complexity and grey nature that actually fits 'Nam, unlike the first three Star Wars films that just have some teddy bears being stand-ins for VC.
@@LordVader1094 exactly! I find it interesting how The last Jedi in a way tries to respond to the “Star Warsification” of real life by reframing the rebels as a religious fringe group that by the end of the movie have killed tens of thousand in a suicidebombing while waiting for their supposed allies that never comes. I mean people can say a lot of things about that movie but to me it’s clear that there was an original vision there that got hampered by committees and focus testing.
It’s because Lucas has continually shown himself to be a hack - a businessman not a director. When other people have creative input and an ability to say no, you get the original trilogy. If not, you get the prequels and fucking Red Planes. He’s also super lazy, which is highly evident when you watch behind the scenes footage of the prequels.
My favorite quote of that famous Cannes press conference is something like: "My movie is not about Vietnam. My movie is not about war. My movie is not a movie".
George quit the program, he got out of the boat, he wasn't prepared to go all the way. Francis got up before dawn and put his boots on. He pictured what could be so limitless and free. Then, with extreme prejudice, he went too far up the river in a desperate land, and said "You'll never follow me".
George Lucas's Apocalypse Now definitely would have been very interesting, and I love the majority of his work from his short films to Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and his producing works. That being said, I don't agree with the consensus in the comments that Star Wars "turned him to the Dark Side". If you read his biography, his choosing to make Star Wars over Apocalypse Now was a bit more complicated than was stated. Not only did he have the idea for Star Wars roughly around the time from when he was finishing up THX-1138 and starting American Graffiti (if not beforehand), but in addition to having trouble getting funding for Apocalypse Now, he received letters from people who said what a positive difference American Graffiti made for them, and he realized that people were not only getting tired of dark, depressing realistic movies at the time, but that he'd leave a greater impression on them if he expressed what he had to say in a more uplifting manner. Also, he realized that the current generation of kids was being pretty much denied the quality of upbeat and imaginative kind of stories that he grew up with: Swashbuckling sword-fights, gunslingers of the Old West, classic medieval heroes, the suspense and thrills of cliffhanging serials, epic space operas, the daring of old WWII movies, samurai films, good old-fashioned adventure. Getting the Star Wars trilogy made was a different story as he went through hell and back trying to get it made: rejection and interference from studios, malfunctioning props, skepticism from the crew, initially having what he thought was a heart attack, putting much of his own money in the projects, dropping out of the Director's Guild when they and Fox took issue with not having opening credits on Empire, the risk of total financial ruin if Empire wasn't a success. Why was he doing this? Because he essentially wanted to make American Zoetrope 2.0 with Skywalker Ranch, where he and his filmmaking buddies could work completely Hollywood free with all the tools they needed at their disposal. He ended up getting what he wanted, but he unintentionally alienated people along the way, including his wife. By the time Return of the Jedi came around, he was burned out and decided to end the Star Wars movies there for the time being, until he eventually came back to it again in the 90s. Long story short, he partially made Star Wars to try to change things for the better in Hollywood and partially so he could earn creative and financial independence from Hollywood, which he had been trying to do from the beginning.
@@hrmpug1092 No; he merely created the tools. It's what other filmmakers and the studio heads chose to do with them that led to Hollywood being messed up as it is
@@VegimorphtheMovieBoy no I mean his merchandising and franchising innovation was profit driven, just because he happened to be making okay stuff with it doesn’t mean that it’s eventual influence wouldn’t be blindingly obvious. I really do respect the guy, but Star Wars is probably the most influential film of all time for all the wrong reasons unfortunately.
@@hrmpug1092 Profit driven because he was trying to create a stronger and more financially stable version of American Zoetrope that would give filmmakers creative freedom away from the studios. Did that end up shooting him in the foot in several ways? Yeah, definitely, but again, it was studio heads and other filmmakers that took the wrong lessons from that. Maybe from the franchise and merchandising angle, like you said, yes, but how is it the most influential film of all time "for all the wrong reasons?"
@@VegimorphtheMovieBoy because it created the merchandise industry, and showed studios that genres like Sci Fi and Adventure generate such mass appeal that a single film can generate more revenue than several films, especially since they present massive merchandising opportunities. There’s a reason why almost everything Lucasfilm produced was a Sci fi, fantasy, or adventure film; Lucas learned the same lesson. By the time Lucas had made his bank, and tried to release something even SLIGHTLY less derivative (ie. the prequels) he was lambasted by man-children. He sold the company to Disney because he realised that he COULDN’T create artistic movies.
@@mundaneallaround states fairly clearly that the galactic civil war original trilogy was the vietnam parallel, I think lucas made clone wars era more inspired about the GW bush days.
Lucas wanted to make it as a comedy, I think along the same lines as 1941. If he had then it would've been a disaster and Lucas would now be running his family stationary business in Modesto, instead of sitting around in his isolated mansion surrounded by all of his adopted kids.
Great, informative job as always. One item that I’ll take slight issue with: Lucas’ original vision of APOCALYPSE NOW as depicting the struggle between primitive Davids armed with slingshots versus the technological Goliath of the American military has been more likened to the section of RETURN OF THE JEDI featuring the Ewoks than to the STAR WARS series in general. I have no idea how that would have worked with a much cheaper film shot on location documentary-style, but feel pretty confident in suspecting that Fate still deserves our thanks that Coppola eventually took on directing (and re-writing) the film himself.
I wish Lucas would give directing another shot. American Graffiti alone is a testament to the guy’s talent. I mean, what the hell else do is he going to do? He already sold Star Wars.
He has the money to make the movies he wants and show them to his friends, or not. He doesn't need to make a commercial release and get criticised. He sold SW to spend time with his family, and secure the future of LF employees. But I agree, wish we had more of his content. Arguably one of the few writer/director/producers who totally revolutionised cinema and media.
Your research is stellar. I thought I knew the whole story, but I hadn't even scratched the surface. I find myself rewatching your videos over and over, they're just crammed with information. What are your thoughts on Lucas and Coppola's "Commercial vs. Personal Films" mentality? In the case of Lucas, he seems to prefer filmmaking as abstract montage, in the editing room, alone (which is how he started out at USC--compare this to, say, Spielberg, who started out commanding the neighborhood kids as a general with a super 8mm camera, and grew to be a director who seems to most enjoy directing on the set, with collaborators--or to Coppola, who began in theater and adores actors). But Lucas never made those abstract "personal films," and seemed to try to adapt Star Wars into a personal film in method, if not content, by making the prequels in the edit room and doing as little actual writing/directing as possible. He has enough money to do whatever he wants, but he doesn't do what he claimed to want most. In the case of Coppola, he never had the money and seemed to always be taking director-for-hire gigs to pay the bills. Most of those weren't good, but his masterpieces (Godfather I/II, Apocalypse Now) tend to be in this camp, rather than personal films. His eventual, late personal films (Youth Without Youth, Tetro, Twixt) aren't very well regarded. It seems to me that the best work tends to be a commercial premise with an artistic touch, but I'd love to hear your thoughts. It's a fascinating, lifelong quandary these two directors share: wanting just to make these great personal films, but spending all their time making great commercial films.
To me one of the main things that makes this movie great is atmosphere..I dont know if you can make it, or buy it, but most of the greats have it..Star Wars has atmosphere.Other worldly atmosphere.The original Halloween has it in spades.Their sequels do not..The Shinning.The Wizard of Oz.The 1978 Superman..It's like magic..
In Bob Evans' autobiography "the kid stays in the picture", he describes the post-editing of Godfather. Evans, not Coppola, made Godfather into the long movie it is. His story of Coppola's first cut has Evan's telling Coppola "You shot a saga, and turned in a trailer." Evans' mantra became: "Just keep adding texture, Francis!" [The autobiography is also funny for how Evans never changed the social behavior he learned as a 13 year old boy.]
Some of the most absorbing parts were sequences with no plot point or dialogue happening. Just a boat passing by something seemingly otherworldy like dante exploring the rivers of hell...on acid. Which says something: the music, the cinematography. Scenes without acting..🤔 well the movies you mention have great classical scores interspersed with experimental music and innovated on visuals, yet i am not sure if acting wowed me except apocalypse. Star wars is ok. The shining is possibly bad acting, even nicholson, but yet would still be absorbed.
@@jorgepeterbarton On Nicholson’s possible crappy acting in the Shinning..Spielberg mention in interviews that at 1st he thought it bad.But later understood it was sorta like a form of Kabuki theater with the way he was SO over the top
"What is it that people could withstand the might of the U.S. ranged against them". In previous video I said my late father was a Vietnam Vet. He said you can remove an invading army BUT you cannot defeat an indigenous people. "
I've always been fascinated by the friendship between Francis Coppola, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and Brian De Palma, and how the five directors would always collaborate on each other's film projects. I don't think we've ever seen anything like it before, or since.
You do know that the first draft of what became John Milius' original script was a thousand-page epic called The Psychedelic Soldier, right? Please just make sure you put it in the next episode of Making Apocalypse Now.
I love your channel. Thank you for all your videos. In a way you are mentoring my daughter who calls herself a cinephile at 13 years old. Can I suggest a video. Because you have given so much context and perspective on the whole Coppola/Lucas/Milius relationship, I wanted to mention Star Wars. We just watched, 'Star Wars: Despecialized Edition'. THIS is what I saw in the cinema in 1977 (as a 15 year old) and seeing this original authentic theatrical release version was so emotional and uncanny because I was returning back through all those years and experiencing the exact same feelings I had when I watched it in Hoyts 1 cinema, in Melbourne, Australia then. Its like stripping away layers of paint from a masterpiece subsequently added by tone-deaf restorers, to reveal the power, energy and soaring grandeur of the original. Lucas didn't turn to the dark side, but you must see this version to understand that - Star Wars (minus the ' Ep 4 New Hope' guff). I told my daughter how at the end of the film the entire audience applauded. Now, in our living room in 2020 my daughter turned to me and said, "You were so lucky to have lived in the '70's". This version is the 'George Lucas heart and soul filmmaker version': with drive, conviction, tight editing, but most of all a momentum built on passion for filmmaking, meaningful resonant visceral imagery and thematic conviction. Sorry for my rant. I jus wanted to share my feelings about this restored version. Please if you want to do a video on Star Wars, only use this version. Thank you.
What an awesome video! I've been a big fan of cinema and fascinated by Apocalypse Now since I first saw it in 70mm many years ago. The connection with Lucas is pretty wild, what if George Lucas did Apocalypse Now...that is just a mind-blowing concept...and, it has happened, in a way... There is a Star Wars novel called Shatterpoint by Matthew Woodring Stover. Its main character is Mace Windu, played in the movies by Samuel L. Jackson. He is sent to a Jungle planet with two missions, one to bring back, dead or alive, his former Padawan, now Master Depa Billaba who had been sent to the planet to train the rebel fighters there, which is now the official reason why Windu is going there, but is the cover mission for the extraction of Billaba. Yes, it is Heart of Darkness/Apocalypse Now in the Star Wars universe. It's a fun read when you know the background that it is based upon...and hearing that Lucas nearly directed Apocalypse Now is really just too much synchronicity for my liking! Thank you for making this!
I always found it interesting how Lucas as a young filmmaker hated the establishment & revelled against it then after becoming a billionaire he became the establishment. The guy truly was a visionary. Before star wars movies did not have merchandising. It was so smart of him to hang on not give the merchandising & a piece of the movie to the studio when he was literally running out of money. He instead had serious balls taking out a bank loan rather than take anymore money from the studio. What makes a person a genius is to have a true vision about something that was never done before. I often wonder what happened to Lucas. He made this brilliant space opera that blew everybody away. It also was great foresight to see that people were ready for something exciting & trie fin escapism. The 70s goes down as a really depressing decade with the Vietnam war & many films were being made about the war or just dark films. He put something on screen that nobody imagined was possible. The special effects were also revolutionary. So it's so strange that lucas really flamed out after the trilogy. He really did not do much I mean Howard the duck ? He was on pace to be the greatest director & filmmaker. He killed his own legend in making the prequels. Yes kids of that era loved them but I think it's pretty objective to know the og trilogy is far superior to the prequels. Instead of making more movies he seemed to lose it creatively. The guy could do no wrong in the late 70s & early 80s I mean he created raiders of the lost ark. Then u see the 4th film which was awful. How does someone go from brilliance to horrible the way Lucas did ruining his own legend on both the star wars & indiana Jones franchises.
Excellent as always . I first saw AN when I was 12 (1982) and it really struck me - I felt that there was some deep shit going on albeit I couldn't articulate it. The Do Lung Bridge spooked me no end.
Realy awesome episode. Watched the Final Cut. Running around 2 hours and a bit. French scene included. THAT cut makes the whole thing make sense. You keep doing what you do. Love your posts :) x
Oh, I just love it! I bought the PDF as well. Please, keep them coming. :-D I loved what you did with 2001 (Warners should have contacted you and put your documentaries about the film on a speacial features dics for the 4K release!) , and if this reaches the same level of depth and detail, it promises be also to be very special indeed!
Another great video, props to you. I'm excited to see the information you unravel about Marlon Brando's involvement on the film. The thing I find so interesting about Apocalypse now is how all of these mad people came together, lending their characteristics to make such an epic film.
Fantastic video as always - I long for the day where George Lucas creates another art house feature - I’m sure it’ll be worth the wait and quite something...
I think it was more the concept that intrigued him: the might of America being beaten by so few people with little resources. To be fair, years later, he could have attributed the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan with a similar outcome. That aside, it's fairly clear The Empire are like the Nazi's and the Rebels are like The Resistance. But, I'd also say, given hatred for America being in Vietnam by the Counter-Culture at the time, inc the Hippies Coppola and Lucas were hanging with, it's easy to see how they would see America as The Empire.
Really wish Lucas went on to make more films like American Graffiti and THX after the first Star Wars, can't help but wonder what kind of great films we never got because of the prequels.
It's interesting that Lucas realized his vision for shooting Apocalypse Now, on grainy 16mm, 4x3 aspect ratio, ALMOST in black-and-white, in More American Graffiti. The sequences of Toad (Charles Martin Smith) in Vietnam were shot exactly that way.
I’ve seen AN! over 100 times. I had two concurrent classes in college, Film & Literature of the Vietnam War and Documentary Filmmaking. I did a a dual project that involved writing a paper on Apocalypse Now! and creating a collage with clips from the movie and found footage (the film prof was an experimental filmmaker, and gave wide latitude to the definition of documentary). I got an A in both classes, but my grades suffered in my other classes. Another good combination of (Film/Making of the Film documentary) is Werner Herzog’s Fitzcarraldo and Burden of Dreams by Les Blanc. Y’all check ‘em out.
Hey Tyler! Great video, as usual! I've been studying "2001: A Space Odyssey" for over 40 years now. When I was in high school, I saved up my pennies to buy a copy of Jerome Agel's "The Making of Kubrick's 2001". I would go to the library and dig through old copies of the "Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature" - which was like an internet search engine before there was an internet or search engines - to find every magazine article I could about the making of "2001". I was very pleasantly surprised that your series on "2001" contained so much information that was actually new to me, in addition to the insights you gained from that information. So, you'll definitely be getting the next extra dollar I have!
Thanks so much! There is so much fascinating information on movies hidden away in obscure books/magazines/etc. I love finding/organizing this info into videos that can help me better understand how great movies are made!
There's a Vietnam War documentary styled movie released in the 80's named 84 Charlie Mopic, title meaning the military occupational specialty for motion picture cameraman, in this instance a attached to a Long Range Recon Platoon. It's worth looking for.
Most actors and directors are good until their successful. There’s something to be said when nobody believes in you but you. Now you’ve got nothing t9 loose but when everybody’s giving you praise you don’t wanna let the: down and when that mind set you end up letting them down.
It would be interesting to see Lucas 16mm version. Quentin Tarantino planned on a 16mm version of Reservoir Dogs as well if the financing for that never happened as it did. That would be interesting to watch too.
Lucas doesn't realize this, but "the Force" was with him when he lost or dropped the chance to do "Apocalypse Now". And by the way, the Prequel Trilogy was Lucas' true "Heart of Darkness". And I didn't state that to criticize the three films.
Now I want to see a 16mm B&W "Battle of Algiers"-style version of Apocalypse Now... with the Rebel Alliance as the Vietnamese and the Empire as the USA. Disney, make it happen!
Remember, the "Vietnamese" was then two groups: communists in the north and our more democratic allies in the south. If Luke Skywalker is a stand in for a Vietcong fighter, that needs to be made explicit by George Lucas so fans can react accordingly. (It won't be pretty!)
the Star Wars bs didn't just rob us of one New Hollywood's greatest directors, for a second rate Dune substitute, that by most fans' own admission, Lucas couldn't actual direct compared to those after him, we also lost New Hollywood as a whole. Star Wars showed the studios that they could be successful and make million with a film just by throwing money at it till something stuck.
so fascinating. great timing that I just thought of this film again today and stumbled upon this and part 2 was uploaded today lol. Keep up the great work!
Not sure how this works, but your work resonates with me. You offer a great blend of technical and story telling ability. You have taken a mountain of info and made a fine video. By the way, I particularly appreciate your decision to avoid dwelling on the Lucas-Coppola feud. That is probably a short video in itself, and hardly worth the TMZ Hello magazine coverage. These guys have their jealousies, ambitions, etc. I expect no less. However, film making is the story, not petty comments.
the story of george lucas as a filmmaker is almost a cautionary tale about getting the money first then do what you want to do. He has no longer strong incentives to release a movie so he never does.
I'm planning once of course I become a film maker to adapt Heart of Darkness I want to tackle colonialism head on I want cover contversial and topical subject matter just like the book did it's probably going to be a indie film because I want it not to be tampered by a studio Fun fact John Milus served in Vietnam
I have to wonder if George would have been able to work with Brando. I get the impression that Coppola was better at getting around difficult people and I wonder if Brando wouldn't have just got into a miff with George and taken his toys home.
Let’s not forget Michael Herr’s contribution which were direct excerpts from “Dispatches”. Imagine Apocalypse being shot in rice fields around Stockton?
I have nothing against George Lucas, but in my opinion, Apocalypse Now wouldn't be what it was without Coppola. It was a perfect storm that created two of the greatest films of all time from two of the greatest film visionaries of all time. Maybe this falling out between them needed to happen for the sake of the art and for the sake of our culture (as self indulgent and pretentious as that may sound).
Would have been awesome to see George Lucas’s Apocalypse Now. Obviously it’s hard to see any other version of the film that’s not directed by Coppola, but with Coppola producing and George working on shaping the script with John Millius and George directing a 16mm black & white faux documentary with black comedy reminiscent of Dr. Strangelove thrown into a Vietnam film would have been truly unique. I also have to say whenever Millius has said that American Graffiti got George Lucas rich and no longer wanted to make Apocalypse Now isn’t correct. American Graffiti didn’t make George Lucas rich, but it did make him fairly comfortable financially. It was Star Wars and owning all the merchandising rights along with the rights to do anything with sequels and prequels to the Original Star Wars that made him rich. It seems like George wanted to make the film, but when he got the idea for Star Wars and got the opportunity to actually make the film, he took it. Coppola wasn’t happy that Apocalypse Now would be on the back burner if they were going to have George Lucas make it and so he decided to do it himself and the rest is history. Though, you can say everything happened for the best. Coppola made Apocalypse Now and did some smaller and personal films in the 80s, then doing bigger things again in the 90s with The Godfather: Part III and Bram Stoker’s Dracula, while George did the Star Wars films, created Indiana Jones as well as wrote and produced many other films in addition to pushing the boundaries of what film could do and eventually pioneered digital filmmaking, which had been discussed for quite sometime before George was able to successfully achieve shooting a film on digital. Also, when it comes to the Rebels and the Empire of Star Wars, it’s mostly inspired by WWII and the Nazis are the Empire and the Rebels are the Allied Forces, like America, Britain,France, etc. with Return of the Jedi, it’s sort of odd. George says it’s America (Empire) against the Vietnamese (Rebels), but really it’s 1 big side (the Empire/North Vietnam) against 2 sides (the Rebels and Ewoks/America and South Vietnam) as America was on South Vietnam’s side and on the military front those two sides won the war, but when it comes to the government side of things, that’s where America lost.
I know that George lucas is insanely rich and his descendants doesn't need to work for generations to come. But I never understand how and why he as a director never had the urge of directing more movies.
I like movies and music and games about the Vietnam war, So I'm a bit sad George didn't make the film instead of star wars and merchandise the $hit out of a Vietnam war movie with a vision like no man has done before him (with star wars irl).
This is an awesome series, which I think is going to be the definitive history of Apocalypse Now. You mentioned that you’d take note of the comments to cover things in later episodes. One thing I don’t think that’s been fully clarified (and I’ve done plenty of reading about this, my all time favourite movie) is why there are two endings, which leave the viewer with greatly different interpretations of the meaning or intent of the movie. The black void with strange aural tonalities over titles and credits, and the destruction of Kurtz’s compound with impressionistic visuals and music. I’ve heard that one is the original 70mm release and the other is 35mm, but that makes no sense. Why alter the message of the film based on such an arbitrary rationale? The difference is, PBR Streetgang calling in the air strike and the killing of all Kurtz’s followers, versus Willard leaving the camp with the Kurtz legacy intact. Maybe it’s a quirk or oddity, but I find it hard to think that Coppola would be silent on such a strange choice. Can you tell us, please CT?
This is a common misconception. Both the 70mm and 35mm releases were intended to have the same ending. Willard (with Lance) returns to the boat. He turns off the radio. He does not call in the air strike. The End. The confusion comes from Coppola using left over footage of Kurtz's compound being blown up over the end credits in the 70mm version. The Philippine government required the sets be removed so Coppola filmed them being blown up.
Know what i like about your channel? You have a successful operation that consistently puts out great content without shitting on someone/somebody. You create content about stuff you love. OMG, a lot of content creators that deal with entertainment have caught on to the traditional formula that negativity sells. Want clicks? "Cancel" something. I cringe when I open my browser and look on the RUclips homepage. But you have consistently shown that you don't need to do that.
the story of why Lucas didn't end up directing Apocalypse Now left out a big detail. American Zoetrope had a 7 picture deal with the studio, when THX bombed hard, the studio pulled out of that contract. The lack of funds caused more delays in getting Apocalypse Now off the ground. Lucas in the meantime went on to other projects ... if THX didn't bomb, Lucas would have directed AN.
Imagine this line "I don't like jungle. It's woody and rainy and irritating, it gets everywhere". Pure Oscar.
Only a Communist agitator deals in absolutes.
Or "I don't like napalm, it's orange, and hot and gets everywhere."
The scene where Willard finally catchers up to Kurtz only to realise Kurtz is his father..
I'm honestly really disappointed that Lucas never did make those little indie movies he said he was gonna make. Part of me was rooting for him, despite all his recent failures, to come out of left field with something that would blow people's minds, not in terms of spectacle but in terms of creativity, weirdness, quality, etc.
The prequels are essentially a criticism of capitalist democracy, people never approach Star Wars with the art film mindset but when you do it’s really interesting
The prequels weren't remotely a failure, people just didn't understand them at all. They were far closer to that indie film ideal in execution than the original trilogy. The prequels are EXACTLY what you described: full of creativity, weirdness, quality AND spectacle.
@@ciggy_ Exactly that. Not to mention elements of family, the lack of good father figures fucking up men irreparably, the affects of war on a corrupt democracy, etc.
If anything, the prequels were the Vietnam type story that George was talking about being an allegory in the OT, where the Empire was the US and the Rebels were the Vietcong. The prequels got across that moral complexity and grey nature that actually fits 'Nam, unlike the first three Star Wars films that just have some teddy bears being stand-ins for VC.
@@LordVader1094 exactly! I find it interesting how The last Jedi in a way tries to respond to the “Star Warsification” of real life by reframing the rebels as a religious fringe group that by the end of the movie have killed tens of thousand in a suicidebombing while waiting for their supposed allies that never comes.
I mean people can say a lot of things about that movie but to me it’s clear that there was an original vision there that got hampered by committees and focus testing.
It’s because Lucas has continually shown himself to be a hack - a businessman not a director. When other people have creative input and an ability to say no, you get the original trilogy. If not, you get the prequels and fucking Red Planes. He’s also super lazy, which is highly evident when you watch behind the scenes footage of the prequels.
My favorite quote of that famous Cannes press conference is something like: "My movie is not about Vietnam. My movie is not about war. My movie is not a movie".
Lmao! Classic Coppola
No, you have it wrong. He said something more like "My movie isn't about Vietnam. It IS Vietnam."
@@OroborusFMA that is correct!
@@OroborusFMA Its a pretentious comment that makes no sense either way
"It's more like the surprisingly good slideshow you bring back and show your friends and family after a terrible vacation..."
By "hand-to-hand combat" with planes, he may have meant aerial dogfights, which are sometimes said to resemble hand-to-hand combat.
@Nature and Physics and The Dam Busters
Made me smile. Visions of a soldier slowly losing limbs every pass of the plane, a bit like the black night in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
Red Tails!
@@ludgatecircus15"You've got a hole in your left wing!"
"'Tis but a scratch"
George quit the program, he got out of the boat, he wasn't prepared to go all the way.
Francis got up before dawn and put his boots on. He pictured what could be so limitless and free. Then, with extreme prejudice, he went too far up the river in a desperate land, and said
"You'll never follow me".
Kurzula5150 You win the Internets for the day, Colonel.
@Bro Vado Harmy's De-Specialized editions terminate CGI with extreme prejudice.
.. and then madeth he "Captain EO" and "Twixt"!
what matter is project is finish... not bitching about it...
Well that's deep shit.
George Lucas's Apocalypse Now definitely would have been very interesting, and I love the majority of his work from his short films to Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and his producing works. That being said, I don't agree with the consensus in the comments that Star Wars "turned him to the Dark Side". If you read his biography, his choosing to make Star Wars over Apocalypse Now was a bit more complicated than was stated.
Not only did he have the idea for Star Wars roughly around the time from when he was finishing up THX-1138 and starting American Graffiti (if not beforehand), but in addition to having trouble getting funding for Apocalypse Now, he received letters from people who said what a positive difference American Graffiti made for them, and he realized that people were not only getting tired of dark, depressing realistic movies at the time, but that he'd leave a greater impression on them if he expressed what he had to say in a more uplifting manner. Also, he realized that the current generation of kids was being pretty much denied the quality of upbeat and imaginative kind of stories that he grew up with: Swashbuckling sword-fights, gunslingers of the Old West, classic medieval heroes, the suspense and thrills of cliffhanging serials, epic space operas, the daring of old WWII movies, samurai films, good old-fashioned adventure.
Getting the Star Wars trilogy made was a different story as he went through hell and back trying to get it made: rejection and interference from studios, malfunctioning props, skepticism from the crew, initially having what he thought was a heart attack, putting much of his own money in the projects, dropping out of the Director's Guild when they and Fox took issue with not having opening credits on Empire, the risk of total financial ruin if Empire wasn't a success. Why was he doing this? Because he essentially wanted to make American Zoetrope 2.0 with Skywalker Ranch, where he and his filmmaking buddies could work completely Hollywood free with all the tools they needed at their disposal.
He ended up getting what he wanted, but he unintentionally alienated people along the way, including his wife. By the time Return of the Jedi came around, he was burned out and decided to end the Star Wars movies there for the time being, until he eventually came back to it again in the 90s.
Long story short, he partially made Star Wars to try to change things for the better in Hollywood and partially so he could earn creative and financial independence from Hollywood, which he had been trying to do from the beginning.
And ironically enough, made Hollywood into a creature worse than possibly imaginable…
@@hrmpug1092 No; he merely created the tools. It's what other filmmakers and the studio heads chose to do with them that led to Hollywood being messed up as it is
@@VegimorphtheMovieBoy no I mean his merchandising and franchising innovation was profit driven, just because he happened to be making okay stuff with it doesn’t mean that it’s eventual influence wouldn’t be blindingly obvious.
I really do respect the guy, but Star Wars is probably the most influential film of all time for all the wrong reasons unfortunately.
@@hrmpug1092 Profit driven because he was trying to create a stronger and more financially stable version of American Zoetrope that would give filmmakers creative freedom away from the studios. Did that end up shooting him in the foot in several ways? Yeah, definitely, but again, it was studio heads and other filmmakers that took the wrong lessons from that.
Maybe from the franchise and merchandising angle, like you said, yes, but how is it the most influential film of all time "for all the wrong reasons?"
@@VegimorphtheMovieBoy because it created the merchandise industry, and showed studios that genres like Sci Fi and Adventure generate such mass appeal that a single film can generate more revenue than several films, especially since they present massive merchandising opportunities. There’s a reason why almost everything Lucasfilm produced was a Sci fi, fantasy, or adventure film; Lucas learned the same lesson. By the time Lucas had made his bank, and tried to release something even SLIGHTLY less derivative (ie. the prequels) he was lambasted by man-children. He sold the company to Disney because he realised that he COULDN’T create artistic movies.
One of the greatest films ever made. The score for the film was way ahead of its time.
Orange Light baby
It’s amazing...👍
Its on my all time fav list
Oh, you like Col. Kurtz?
Well, in the prequels you get to see him as a little kid.
In the Ohio River Valley with those butterflies he told Willard about
"And one must make a friend, of Midichlorians!" @_@
Brilliant comment on a fantastic video.
'" he will bring balance to the force".
The clone wars were essentially a Vietnam parallel.
@@mundaneallaround states fairly clearly that the galactic civil war original trilogy was the vietnam parallel, I think lucas made clone wars era more inspired about the GW bush days.
I'm glad Apocalypse turned out the way it did. Great research Tyler, very informative.
It would be fascinating to visit the alternative universe where George made Apocalypse Now, and didn't make Star Wars.
Maybe to visit. I don't know if I'd want to live there though!
It's in More American Graffiti, the sequences of Toad in Vietnam!
Lucas wanted to make it as a comedy, I think along the same lines as 1941. If he had then it would've been a disaster and Lucas would now be running his family stationary business in Modesto, instead of sitting around in his isolated mansion surrounded by all of his adopted kids.
No
Great, informative job as always. One item that I’ll take slight issue with: Lucas’ original vision of APOCALYPSE NOW as depicting the struggle between primitive Davids armed with slingshots versus the technological Goliath of the American military has been more likened to the section of RETURN OF THE JEDI featuring the Ewoks than to the STAR WARS series in general. I have no idea how that would have worked with a much cheaper film shot on location documentary-style, but feel pretty confident in suspecting that Fate still deserves our thanks that Coppola eventually took on directing (and re-writing) the film himself.
So...ewoks are the viet cong? Id take issue with that, yeh.
I wish Lucas would give directing another shot. American Graffiti alone is a testament to the guy’s talent. I mean, what the hell else do is he going to do? He already sold Star Wars.
He has the money to make the movies he wants and show them to his friends, or not. He doesn't need to make a commercial release and get criticised. He sold SW to spend time with his family, and secure the future of LF employees. But I agree, wish we had more of his content. Arguably one of the few writer/director/producers who totally revolutionised cinema and media.
Your research is stellar. I thought I knew the whole story, but I hadn't even scratched the surface. I find myself rewatching your videos over and over, they're just crammed with information. What are your thoughts on Lucas and Coppola's "Commercial vs. Personal Films" mentality?
In the case of Lucas, he seems to prefer filmmaking as abstract montage, in the editing room, alone (which is how he started out at USC--compare this to, say, Spielberg, who started out commanding the neighborhood kids as a general with a super 8mm camera, and grew to be a director who seems to most enjoy directing on the set, with collaborators--or to Coppola, who began in theater and adores actors). But Lucas never made those abstract "personal films," and seemed to try to adapt Star Wars into a personal film in method, if not content, by making the prequels in the edit room and doing as little actual writing/directing as possible. He has enough money to do whatever he wants, but he doesn't do what he claimed to want most.
In the case of Coppola, he never had the money and seemed to always be taking director-for-hire gigs to pay the bills. Most of those weren't good, but his masterpieces (Godfather I/II, Apocalypse Now) tend to be in this camp, rather than personal films. His eventual, late personal films (Youth Without Youth, Tetro, Twixt) aren't very well regarded.
It seems to me that the best work tends to be a commercial premise with an artistic touch, but I'd love to hear your thoughts. It's a fascinating, lifelong quandary these two directors share: wanting just to make these great personal films, but spending all their time making great commercial films.
Ditto Jack,
I also thought I was knew most of the back story.
Turns out I knew nothing.
I agree with your Comments.
Stam Brokers Draluca
And let's not forget about Bram Drokers Stalacula
anyone who is a real fan of star wars, and has books about Lucas, knows this stuff already...
"Endor, shit, I'm still only in Endor. Every time I think I'm gonna wake up back in the forest."
bro, i know it's been a couple years since you uploaded this series, but this was a heroic series you made about apocalypse. kudos!
To me one of the main things that makes this movie great is atmosphere..I dont know if you can make it, or buy it, but most of the greats have it..Star Wars has atmosphere.Other worldly atmosphere.The original Halloween has it in spades.Their sequels do not..The Shinning.The Wizard of Oz.The 1978 Superman..It's like magic..
In Bob Evans' autobiography "the kid stays in the picture", he describes the post-editing of Godfather. Evans, not Coppola, made Godfather into the long movie it is. His story of Coppola's first cut has Evan's telling Coppola "You shot a saga, and turned in a trailer." Evans' mantra became: "Just keep adding texture, Francis!"
[The autobiography is also funny for how Evans never changed the social behavior he learned as a 13 year old boy.]
Some of the most absorbing parts were sequences with no plot point or dialogue happening. Just a boat passing by something seemingly otherworldy like dante exploring the rivers of hell...on acid.
Which says something: the music, the cinematography. Scenes without acting..🤔 well the movies you mention have great classical scores interspersed with experimental music and innovated on visuals, yet i am not sure if acting wowed me except apocalypse. Star wars is ok. The shining is possibly bad acting, even nicholson, but yet would still be absorbed.
@@jorgepeterbarton On Nicholson’s possible crappy acting in the Shinning..Spielberg mention in interviews that at 1st he thought it bad.But later understood it was sorta like a form of Kabuki theater with the way he was SO over the top
"What is it that people could withstand the might of the U.S. ranged against them". In previous video I said my late father was a Vietnam Vet. He said you can remove an invading army BUT you cannot defeat an indigenous people. "
I've always been fascinated by the friendship between Francis Coppola, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and Brian De Palma, and how the five directors would always collaborate on each other's film projects. I don't think we've ever seen anything like it before, or since.
Thanks for these in depth talks abut the various movies and directors.. The apocalypse now series is terrific.
Willard : They told me that you had gone totally insane, and that your methods were unsound Colonel Binks.
Col. Binks : Dis is nutsen.
Willard : Sir?
You do know that the first draft of what became John Milius' original script was a thousand-page epic called The Psychedelic Soldier, right? Please just make sure you put it in the next episode of Making Apocalypse Now.
I love your channel. Thank you for all your videos. In a way you are mentoring my daughter who calls herself a cinephile at 13 years old. Can I suggest a video. Because you have given so much context and perspective on the whole Coppola/Lucas/Milius relationship, I wanted to mention Star Wars. We just watched, 'Star Wars: Despecialized Edition'. THIS is what I saw in the cinema in 1977 (as a 15 year old) and seeing this original authentic theatrical release version was so emotional and uncanny because I was returning back through all those years and experiencing the exact same feelings I had when I watched it in Hoyts 1 cinema, in Melbourne, Australia then. Its like stripping away layers of paint from a masterpiece subsequently added by tone-deaf restorers, to reveal the power, energy and soaring grandeur of the original. Lucas didn't turn to the dark side, but you must see this version to understand that - Star Wars (minus the ' Ep 4 New Hope' guff). I told my daughter how at the end of the film the entire audience applauded. Now, in our living room in 2020 my daughter turned to me and said, "You were so lucky to have lived in the '70's". This version is the 'George Lucas heart and soul filmmaker version': with drive, conviction, tight editing, but most of all a momentum built on passion for filmmaking, meaningful resonant visceral imagery and thematic conviction. Sorry for my rant. I jus wanted to share my feelings about this restored version. Please if you want to do a video on Star Wars, only use this version. Thank you.
Keep 'em coming Tyler,sending these on to ModellBleu in Thailand!He carries priority papers ComSec Intelligence:)(
What an awesome video! I've been a big fan of cinema and fascinated by Apocalypse Now since I first saw it in 70mm many years ago. The connection with Lucas is pretty wild, what if George Lucas did Apocalypse Now...that is just a mind-blowing concept...and, it has happened, in a way...
There is a Star Wars novel called Shatterpoint by Matthew Woodring Stover. Its main character is Mace Windu, played in the movies by Samuel L. Jackson. He is sent to a Jungle planet with two missions, one to bring back, dead or alive, his former Padawan, now Master Depa Billaba who had been sent to the planet to train the rebel fighters there, which is now the official reason why Windu is going there, but is the cover mission for the extraction of Billaba. Yes, it is Heart of Darkness/Apocalypse Now in the Star Wars universe.
It's a fun read when you know the background that it is based upon...and hearing that Lucas nearly directed Apocalypse Now is really just too much synchronicity for my liking!
Thank you for making this!
Thanks for sharing that. I'm definitely gonna get that book. I just read the blurb on it, yeah. Totally an Apo Now homage.
I always found it interesting how Lucas as a young filmmaker hated the establishment & revelled against it then after becoming a billionaire he became the establishment. The guy truly was a visionary. Before star wars movies did not have merchandising. It was so smart of him to hang on not give the merchandising & a piece of the movie to the studio when he was literally running out of money. He instead had serious balls taking out a bank loan rather than take anymore money from the studio. What makes a person a genius is to have a true vision about something that was never done before. I often wonder what happened to Lucas. He made this brilliant space opera that blew everybody away. It also was great foresight to see that people were ready for something exciting & trie fin escapism. The 70s goes down as a really depressing decade with the Vietnam war & many films were being made about the war or just dark films. He put something on screen that nobody imagined was possible. The special effects were also revolutionary. So it's so strange that lucas really flamed out after the trilogy. He really did not do much I mean Howard the duck ? He was on pace to be the greatest director & filmmaker. He killed his own legend in making the prequels. Yes kids of that era loved them but I think it's pretty objective to know the og trilogy is far superior to the prequels. Instead of making more movies he seemed to lose it creatively. The guy could do no wrong in the late 70s & early 80s I mean he created raiders of the lost ark. Then u see the 4th film which was awful. How does someone go from brilliance to horrible the way Lucas did ruining his own legend on both the star wars & indiana Jones franchises.
Interesting back story and a compliment to Eleanor Coppola's doc. Kudos.
Excellent as always . I first saw AN when I was 12 (1982) and it really struck me - I felt that there was some deep shit going on albeit I couldn't articulate it. The Do Lung Bridge spooked me no end.
Realy awesome episode. Watched the Final Cut. Running around 2 hours and a bit. French scene included. THAT cut makes the whole thing make sense. You keep doing what you do. Love your posts :) x
Thanks!
Oh, I just love it! I bought the PDF as well. Please, keep them coming. :-D
I loved what you did with 2001 (Warners should have contacted you and put your documentaries about the film on a speacial features dics for the 4K release!) , and if this reaches the same level of depth and detail, it promises be also to be very special indeed!
Another great video, props to you.
I'm excited to see the information you unravel about Marlon Brando's involvement on the film. The thing I find so interesting about Apocalypse now is how all of these mad people came together, lending their characteristics to make such an epic film.
Thank you for sharing your passion for the subjects you do videos about.
Thanks for watching!
Easy Riders, Raging Bulls by Peter Biskind great book, has a good chapter about this
George Lucas: Coppola! You are a sell-out!
Also Lucas: I'm gonna go make Star Wars!
Also Lucas: Sells Star Wars to Disney
Nature and Physics they did George trusted them and they massacred it
Copolla: let's turn Dracula into a romantic hero.
Fantastic video as always - I long for the day where George Lucas creates another art house feature - I’m sure it’ll be worth the wait and quite something...
As a son of a Vietnam vet, saying the Empire in star wars was analagous to America troops in Vietnam is pretty damn offensive.
Yeah that’s a bad take from Lucas
I think it was more the concept that intrigued him: the might of America being beaten by so few people with little resources. To be fair, years later, he could have attributed the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan with a similar outcome.
That aside, it's fairly clear The Empire are like the Nazi's and the Rebels are like The Resistance.
But, I'd also say, given hatred for America being in Vietnam by the Counter-Culture at the time, inc the Hippies Coppola and Lucas were hanging with, it's easy to see how they would see America as The Empire.
these overviews along with your insights are very interesting and inspirational.... a lot of work (I know)... thank you!!!
Really wish Lucas went on to make more films like American Graffiti and THX after the first Star Wars, can't help but wonder what kind of great films we never got because of the prequels.
True, but by pushing on with SW and the PT he revolutionised special effects
It's interesting that Lucas realized his vision for shooting Apocalypse Now, on grainy 16mm, 4x3 aspect ratio, ALMOST in black-and-white, in More American Graffiti. The sequences of Toad (Charles Martin Smith) in Vietnam were shot exactly that way.
Easily one of the greatest films ever made & a masterpiece by all means.
I love this series! I'm totally going to buy the companion pdf, keep them coming!
Thanks! Hope you like it!
"Go to Canada or get married, something really rash like that", LOL.
I’ve seen AN! over 100 times. I had two concurrent classes in college, Film & Literature of the Vietnam War and Documentary Filmmaking. I did a a dual project that involved writing a paper on Apocalypse Now! and creating a collage with clips from the movie and found footage (the film prof was an experimental filmmaker, and gave wide latitude to the definition of documentary). I got an A in both classes, but my grades suffered in my other classes.
Another good combination of (Film/Making of the Film documentary) is Werner Herzog’s Fitzcarraldo and Burden of Dreams by Les Blanc. Y’all check ‘em out.
Hey Tyler! Great video, as usual! I've been studying "2001: A Space Odyssey" for over 40 years now. When I was in high school, I saved up my pennies to buy a copy of Jerome Agel's "The Making of Kubrick's 2001". I would go to the library and dig through old copies of the "Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature" - which was like an internet search engine before there was an internet or search engines - to find every magazine article I could about the making of "2001". I was very pleasantly surprised that your series on "2001" contained so much information that was actually new to me, in addition to the insights you gained from that information. So, you'll definitely be getting the next extra dollar I have!
Thanks so much! There is so much fascinating information on movies hidden away in obscure books/magazines/etc. I love finding/organizing this info into videos that can help me better understand how great movies are made!
Jar Jar Binks as Colonel Kurtz
Meesa think you an assassin!
Marlon Brando as Anakin Skywalker
There's a Vietnam War documentary styled movie released in the 80's named 84 Charlie Mopic, title meaning the military occupational specialty for motion picture cameraman, in this instance a attached to a Long Range Recon Platoon. It's worth looking for.
I was thrown off guard with that Lucas letter directing Star Wars. lol
Thanks CinemaTyler
I'm enjoying this Apocalypse Now docu-series immensely - great job putting this together! 🔥🔥🔥
😂😂😂😂 Love Sheen opening that letter on the PBR
then: Apocalypse Now
today: Now Apocalypse Star Wars
Yeah, so glad Millius seems to have recovered quite well from the stroke he suffered. Great ! Thanx for sharing this info. Good vid !
What a magnificent job! I'm eager to watch all the episodes!
You make good content. Glad I found your channel.
I'm glad you did too!
Many tidbits and minutiae presented here I was totally unaware of; great work and research on an iconic true work of art.
Most actors and directors are good until their successful. There’s something to be said when nobody believes in you but you. Now you’ve got nothing t9 loose but when everybody’s giving you praise you don’t wanna let the: down and when that mind set you end up letting them down.
It would be interesting to see Lucas 16mm version. Quentin Tarantino planned on a 16mm version of Reservoir Dogs as well if the financing for that never happened as it did. That would be interesting to watch too.
CinemaTyler, really enjoying this series. Very, very well done. Totally pro quality work.
Loving this series, bought the companion, keep them coming ;)
Thanks!
@@CinemaTyler When is the next episode coming?
Lucas doesn't realize this, but "the Force" was with him when he lost or dropped the chance to do "Apocalypse Now". And by the way, the Prequel Trilogy was Lucas' true "Heart of Darkness". And I didn't state that to criticize the three films.
Now I want to see a 16mm B&W "Battle of Algiers"-style version of Apocalypse Now... with the Rebel Alliance as the Vietnamese and the Empire as the USA.
Disney, make it happen!
Remember, the "Vietnamese" was then two groups: communists in the north and our more democratic allies in the south.
If Luke Skywalker is a stand in for a Vietcong fighter, that needs to be made explicit by George Lucas so fans can react accordingly. (It won't be pretty!)
You're really good at this, Tyler.
the Star Wars bs didn't just rob us of one New Hollywood's greatest directors, for a second rate Dune substitute, that by most fans' own admission, Lucas couldn't actual direct compared to those after him, we also lost New Hollywood as a whole. Star Wars showed the studios that they could be successful and make million with a film just by throwing money at it till something stuck.
so fascinating. great timing that I just thought of this film again today and stumbled upon this and part 2 was uploaded today lol. Keep up the great work!
Not sure how this works, but your work resonates with me. You offer a great blend of technical and story telling ability. You have taken a mountain of info and made a fine video. By the way, I particularly appreciate your decision to avoid dwelling on the Lucas-Coppola feud. That is probably a short video in itself, and hardly worth the TMZ Hello magazine coverage. These guys have their jealousies, ambitions, etc. I expect no less. However, film making is the story, not petty comments.
the story of george lucas as a filmmaker is almost a cautionary tale about getting the money first then do what you want to do. He has no longer strong incentives to release a movie so he never does.
Kubrick, Lucas, Coppola... These guys were the beatniks of the film world.
Id love to know what makes that wine as exciting as the film. Did they add peyote to it or something?
These are FANTASTIC. Awesomeness Now!
I wish ,i can travel to alternate universe to see apocalypse now made by Lucas.
Awesome. Love the companion piece
Thanks!
This is amazing thank you! Appreciate your journalism
I'm planning once of course I become a film maker to adapt Heart of Darkness
I want to tackle colonialism head on
I want cover contversial and topical subject matter just like the book did it's probably going to be a indie film because I want it not to be tampered by a studio
Fun fact John Milus served in Vietnam
How’s that going ?
I have to wonder if George would have been able to work with Brando. I get the impression that Coppola was better at getting around difficult people and I wonder if Brando wouldn't have just got into a miff with George and taken his toys home.
It's so dense, there's so much going on in every single shot.
My favorite war movie. Great job!!!
Let’s not forget Michael Herr’s contribution which were direct excerpts from “Dispatches”. Imagine Apocalypse being shot in rice fields around Stockton?
Im 100% that Chef said I gotta baaad feeling bout this!
Amazing story. Thanks
Your content is pure class. Subscribed.
Always wanted to see the deleted part with Captain Richard Colby with Scott Glenn its like 15 minutes.
Me too! I want to know more about his character.....😁
I watched Black Stallion as a kid and later with my kids and it is so good. Later I saw that Coppola was the producer
YAY Martin!!! "Marvel movies are not cinema" Right ON!!!!!!!
I’m so glad this fell through.
I have nothing against George Lucas, but in my opinion, Apocalypse Now wouldn't be what it was without Coppola. It was a perfect storm that created two of the greatest films of all time from two of the greatest film visionaries of all time. Maybe this falling out between them needed to happen for the sake of the art and for the sake of our culture (as self indulgent and pretentious as that may sound).
Would have been awesome to see George Lucas’s Apocalypse Now. Obviously it’s hard to see any other version of the film that’s not directed by Coppola, but with Coppola producing and George working on shaping the script with John Millius and George directing a 16mm black & white faux documentary with black comedy reminiscent of Dr. Strangelove thrown into a Vietnam film would have been truly unique. I also have to say whenever Millius has said that American Graffiti got George Lucas rich and no longer wanted to make Apocalypse Now isn’t correct. American Graffiti didn’t make George Lucas rich, but it did make him fairly comfortable financially. It was Star Wars and owning all the merchandising rights along with the rights to do anything with sequels and prequels to the Original Star Wars that made him rich. It seems like George wanted to make the film, but when he got the idea for Star Wars and got the opportunity to actually make the film, he took it. Coppola wasn’t happy that Apocalypse Now would be on the back burner if they were going to have George Lucas make it and so he decided to do it himself and the rest is history. Though, you can say everything happened for the best. Coppola made Apocalypse Now and did some smaller and personal films in the 80s, then doing bigger things again in the 90s with The Godfather: Part III and Bram Stoker’s Dracula, while George did the Star Wars films, created Indiana Jones as well as wrote and produced many other films in addition to pushing the boundaries of what film could do and eventually pioneered digital filmmaking, which had been discussed for quite sometime before George was able to successfully achieve shooting a film on digital. Also, when it comes to the Rebels and the Empire of Star Wars, it’s mostly inspired by WWII and the Nazis are the Empire and the Rebels are the Allied Forces, like America, Britain,France, etc. with Return of the Jedi, it’s sort of odd. George says it’s America (Empire) against the Vietnamese (Rebels), but really it’s 1 big side (the Empire/North Vietnam) against 2 sides (the Rebels and Ewoks/America and South Vietnam) as America was on South Vietnam’s side and on the military front those two sides won the war, but when it comes to the government side of things, that’s where America lost.
Amazing content, keep going
You are awesome! These videos are inspiring!
Sorry! I stand corrected! Keep 'em coming.
I know that George lucas is insanely rich and his descendants doesn't need to work for generations to come. But I never understand how and why he as a director never had the urge of directing more movies.
I like the smell of wine in the morning, it smells like……………….Coppola!😂😂😂😂😂😂
The movie was known as THX eleven thirty eight......not THX one one three eight.
what amazing channel!
Another cracking vid.
I like movies and music and games about the Vietnam war, So I'm a bit sad George didn't make the film instead of star wars and merchandise the $hit out of a Vietnam war movie with a vision like no man has done before him (with star wars irl).
Thanks! Didn’t know the origin.
This is an awesome series, which I think is going to be the definitive history of Apocalypse Now. You mentioned that you’d take note of the comments to cover things in later episodes. One thing I don’t think that’s been fully clarified (and I’ve done plenty of reading about this, my all time favourite movie) is why there are two endings, which leave the viewer with greatly different interpretations of the meaning or intent of the movie. The black void with strange aural tonalities over titles and credits, and the destruction of Kurtz’s compound with impressionistic visuals and music. I’ve heard that one is the original 70mm release and the other is 35mm, but that makes no sense. Why alter the message of the film based on such an arbitrary rationale? The difference is, PBR Streetgang calling in the air strike and the killing of all Kurtz’s followers, versus Willard leaving the camp with the Kurtz legacy intact. Maybe it’s a quirk or oddity, but I find it hard to think that Coppola would be silent on such a strange choice. Can you tell us, please CT?
This is a common misconception. Both the 70mm and 35mm releases were intended to have the same ending. Willard (with Lance) returns to the boat. He turns off the radio. He does not call in the air strike. The End.
The confusion comes from Coppola using left over footage of Kurtz's compound being blown up over the end credits in the 70mm version.
The Philippine government required the sets be removed so Coppola filmed them being blown up.
All set to fork over a buck but my phone doesn't javascript. Got an alternative link?
gumroad.com/l/muuMM
If Lucas had directed Apocalypse Now, Kurtz would have been playing by a muppet.
Bahahahaha that's great 😂
Know what i like about your channel? You have a successful operation that consistently puts out great content without shitting on someone/somebody. You create content about stuff you love. OMG, a lot of content creators that deal with entertainment have caught on to the traditional formula that negativity sells. Want clicks? "Cancel" something. I cringe when I open my browser and look on the RUclips homepage. But you have consistently shown that you don't need to do that.
Thanks!
the story of why Lucas didn't end up directing Apocalypse Now left out a big detail. American Zoetrope had a 7 picture deal with the studio, when THX bombed hard, the studio pulled out of that contract. The lack of funds caused more delays in getting Apocalypse Now off the ground. Lucas in the meantime went on to other projects ... if THX didn't bomb, Lucas would have directed AN.