Breathtaking on our screens, but deeply troubling behind the scenes. ⚽️ We look at how the 2026 FIFA World Cup mirrors the chaotic, brilliant, and dark legacy of the film Apocalypse Now. Photo: AFP
The iconic war fliek Apocalypse Now was as much a production in the heart of darkness as it was an adaptation of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness.
First scheduled to take only four months to shoot, principal photography took more than double that to complete. In between, a typhoon wreaked havoc on the production in the Philippines, lead actor Martin Sheen suffered a heart attack at just 38 years old, and his co-stars Marlon Brando and Dennis Hopper famously refused to work with one another.
Brando also arrived on set heavily overweight — a far cry from the chiselled US Army colonel he had been employed to portray.
The crew was infected with hookworm, all manner of tropical malaise and exhaustion, with actor Sam Bottoms later revealing that a parasite contracted on set had "wrecked his liver". The film crew also had to contend with local crime and intense political controversies.
