Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now: a comparative analysis between novel and filmIn the opening scenes of the documentary film "Hearts of Darkness-A Filmmaker's Apocalypse", Eleanor Coppola describes her husband Francis' film, "Apocalypse Now," as "loosely based" on Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. In fact, “vaguely” is the word; the period, setting and circumstances of the film are totally different from those of the story. The question, then, is whether Conrad's classic tale of savagery and madness has survived in its cinematic reworking. This is the question I will attempt to address in this short monograph by examining more closely the various aspects of character, plot and theme in each respective work. The story of Heart of Darkness is narrated by its central character, the experienced sailor Marlowe. , a recurring figure in Conrad's work. “Apocalypse Now” features a corollary to Marlowe in Captain Willard, a U.S. Army Special Forces agent assigned to travel up the Nung River from Vietnam to Cambodia to “terminate the command” of a Colonel Walter Kurtz who, he is told, he went completely crazy. It is fitting that the character of Marlowe is renamed, as Willard differs from Marlowe in several significant ways: 1) He is not the captain of the boat that takes him and a group of others down the river; 2) He does not reflect the deep psychological and philosophical insights that are a defining feature of Marlowe's character, and 3) He is sent on a mission specifically to kill Kurtz, unlike Marlowe who is simply piloting the others as captain of a riverboat. steam . However, Willard communicates Marlowe's fascination (which effectively becomes an obsession) with Kurtz. Also significant is the fact that he holds the rank of captain, in line with Marlowe's occupation. Regarding the character of Kurtz, it is worth noting that, although significant discrepancies exist between Conrad and Coppola's depictions, the fundamental nature of the man remains quite similar. The idea of ​​a corporate man gone wild, a brilliant, successful team player, groomed by the "Company" for greater things, suddenly gone native, is perfectly realized in both the short story and the film. In the film Kurtz is played by Marlon Brando, the father of American method actors, who gives weight (both physically and dramatically) to the figure of the megalomaniac Kurtz. Brando's enormous girth is even more ironic to those familiar with Heart of Darkness and remember Conrad's description: "I could see the cage of his ribs all moving, the bones of his arms swaying.