FRANCIS Ford Coppola's haunting contribution to the Vietnam war sub-genre, Apocalypse Now (Pearl, 9.30pm), was more than five years in the making and became a cause celebre before it opened.
As documented by numerous press accounts at the time - it came out in 1979 - and by the book Notes, a collection of journal entries written by Coppola's wife, Eleanor, filming in the Philippines was hellish, disaster-plagued and decadent.
The film began with a US$12 million budget and exceeded it by $31 million. Money from Coppola's own, obviously deep pockets, made up the difference.
Eleanor Coppola later used her journals, together with documentary footage shot during the production, as the basis for 1991's Hearts Of Darkness, a fascinating account of the making of the film.
Then there was the fat man, Brando. His character was intended to be a lean and mean Green Beret, but Brando showed up for filming weighing around 130 kg. He was so conscious of his ballooning waistline - muscle from his body-building days turned to fat - that he insisted on a clause being written into his contract that Coppola would not use any shots of his girth.
Martin Sheen, meanwhile, had a heart attack and could not work for seven weeks. A typhoon halted production for another seven weeks, and through all this Coppola could not think of an ending. A small matter, and one he did not resolve well. Critics saw Apocalypse Now as a flawed masterpiece, most citing the allegedly pretentious and confused finale.
What emerged was still the definitive Vietnam film, demonstrating Coppola's ability to combine serious art and popular entertainment.