From Jungle to Megalopolis: Apocalyptic Director Francis Ford Coppola

Nicolas Cage : I begged uncle Francis Ford Coppola to cast me in Godfather 3. But it was not going to be happened.

Coppola was at the forefront of a group of filmmakers known as “New Hollywod” that emerged in the early 1970s, with ideas that challenged conventional filmmaking. The group included George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, Brain De Palma, Steven Spielberg, Terrence Malik, Woody Allen.

He was also pioneer the use of video editing techniques that are standart practice in the film industry today. He challenged to classical story in Hollywood. According to him, there wasn’t need to be studios. He was using surrealism as a dream factory. Symbolic storytelling through his films have allowed us to see the hidden reality about the War. Coppola has also developed penchant for long, lingeric optical overlaps three or more layers of images simultaneously on the screen that lend a curious asthetics grace to the horrors of moder-mechanised warfare.

As he said , the film was not a film or related with Vietnam. They lived the Vietnam with altogether in the jungle. Some scenes run to evoke a devastetad this bloody war. The jungle was a symbolic for entrance the chaos. All characters confront the primitive savage side behind their souls.

The production of the films was also plauged by numerous problems, including typhoons, nervous breakdown, Martin Sheen’s heart attack, and extras from the Phillippine military and half of the supplied helicopters leavimg in the middle of scenes to fight rebels. As we see, apocolyps now was a cornerstone in terms of everything in the hollywood industry. During all this time, Coppola took a risk in regards to epic scale and the jungle insanity.

Heart of Darkness

Film was inspired by Joseph Conrad’s the heart of darkness. It based on Condrad’s experience as steamboat captan in Africa. Belgian trading company that brutally exploits it’s narratives african workers. Coppola sufficientlly affected from this story. Marlon Brando read this book during the preparation of the cast. That is why he envisioned a clear statement as the nature of modern War. With this book , he adaptated this war to Vietnam War .

Heart of the darkness suggest that Europeans are not essentially more highly evolved or enlightened than the people whose territories they invade. Coppola envisioned clear statement as the nature of modern War. With this book , he adaptated this war to Vietnam War. It has been deep psychological effect on soldiers who confronted in vietnam.

On the other hand , the entry of scene in the film was the song of The Doors , the End. The reason of selecting this song was to display the epic decoratif scene. Jungle and human heads is a door of the horror. He designed brutal images that has unforgottable in the societal memory. Likewise, what we remember on this film is that “I love the smell of napalm in the morning.” This reflects the smell of the victory for a commander. No matter what is going on during the war , only goal for a soldier is that embracing this point.

Counterpart Movement

When Cold War started , people were living in bipolar world. On this case, two parts who share the world as ideologically were deterring eachother as part of cultural and media scope. For instance, Beat Generation was emerged in the USA. Thanks to fight the side effects of world War 2. This generation was powerful political movements. We can see them in every domain of life such as literature, academical area, media, film and art industry. In that time, Coppola and their ideas was initated the big transformation in the hollywood as well as.

Apocalyps now was about the horror of the war which have changed the perspective of american citizens who is not willing to engage in this war. Many young soldier died in this catastrophic war. In the end of the war, soldiers who came back to home was dealing with PTSD ( Post traumatic sendyrom disorder). At the same time , the effects of war reflected to american drug researches in psycological mean. When we look at the APA (American Pyschology Associaton ) explanation about trauma researches, they had collected data and the references from Vietnam War. On the other hand, tone of music has become stronger and protest. So many lyrics written about the war.

After world War 2 , this was cornerstone with this destructive war in terms of evaluating everything on society’s perception. Moreover ,we have been seen the reflections of this milestone in a music industry , comtemporary art , literature and academical world. In that time , psychedelic experinces in pursuit of state of mind in line with nirvana concept, all characters in the movie lived every feeling in the scenes. Coppola permitted Martin Sheens to drink alcohol and other drugs. They felt all things. When we look at him success, he has tendency to rewrite everything in him mind.

In Vino Veritas

In the private life, he is a owner and lover of wine. As well as he is filmmaker, he is also interested in wineyard and culture. Latin pharesmeaning ” İn vino veritas ” which means is ” the truth is hidden in wine . Wine drinker’s touge become loose and the sooner drinker can easily tell the truths he is hiding . Maybe Coppola’s imagination and ideas based on this reproduction. The truth of wine cultivated his dream factory in the cinema . About 300 rewrites, 40 years of preparation and one winery sale later, he made a him last movie ”Megalapolis”. He identified Megalapolis as dream script.

No matter how we perceive or what we think about american history, I believe that cultural and debatable history could have reframed thanks to mozaic structure of it’s society. The evaluation of the history on the basis of sociological and psychological , they have tremendous material on their hands. This vigorous every pattern provide us to produce new perpectives and historical perspective. Even if our historical memory damaged, we have still materails in order to reframe and rethink everything.