>Reference to THE PILLOW BOOK as an interesting approach to adaptation arrives
>at a time when I am trying to sort out my feelings about APOCALYPSE NOW after
>reviewing it in light of much recent study of Conrad's HEART OF DARKNESS.
> Coppola certainly exploits the strengths of film as a visual medium in
>APOCALYPSE.  Battle scenes and jungle atmosphere are beautifully rendered.
> But I was struck, upon viewing this time, with how much less I cared about
>Willard as a character, compared to Marlow (who is, after all, a good man
>caught up in impossible circumstances), and how shallow Brando's version of
>Kurtz seemed.  The Navy chief and the the photographer are very interesting
>adaptations of Conrad characters, but the principle characters didn't have
>much impact on me.  I'd love to hear some contrary views.  Dan.
 
In Heart of Darkness, Kurtz figure is mostly absense. He's shadow and fog,
and it's very hard to capture absense on film. In Appocalypse Now he turns
into the Godfather...
 
Some of the same goes for Willard/Marlow. It's harder to identify oneself
with a caracter who is visualised on the silver-screen, than making your
own images from a text. And Marlow is a kind of caracter that expects the
identification of the reader.
 
I wrote a paper on the adaptation a couple of years ago, and concluded that
the film is a masterpice, though a failed adaptation. I think Coppola fails
when he tries to copy passages directly from the book, instead of adapting
the situations to the film-medium, and the scene of the Vietnam-war.
 
 
 
Here's a couple of interesting articles:
"Heart of Darkness and the Process of Apocalypse Now", William M. Hagen
"Two visions of 'The Horror'", Robert LaBrasca
Both articles can be found in Norton's critical edition of "Heart of Darkness".
 
Ingvald
 
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Ingvald Bergsagel - Rostedsgate 9  - 0178 OSLO
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