Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now

Heart of Darkness

The film version of Conrad's famous novel Heart of Darkness by Francis Ford Coppola entitled Apocalypse Now has been acclaimed as an important and insightful film. The novel is based on the early colonial invasion of Africa, while the film version deals with the context and the reality of the Vietnam War.

However, the film follows the major themes and underlying meaning of the novel and in fact expands on the novel by bringing these themes into the modern context. Coppola's film is essentially successful in capturing the atmosphere of the book and in portraying the conflict between good and evil in the human heart -- especially with regards to the character of Kurtz.

It should be noted that Coppola saw the film as much more than just another movie about the Vietnam conflict and the horror and confusion of that...
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