Double Feature: "Lost Soul..." and "Hearts of Darkness"

These two films are unique, in that they both feature the horrors of filmmaking, the difficulty of actors, and the complete absurdity that is working with Marlon Brando. What binds them together are the stories from their sets, one of which became “Apocalypse Now,” one of the most iconic films to deal with the terrors of the Vietnam War, and the other became “Island of Dr. Moreau,” an adaptation that was panned by critics and ravaged by audiences. Each of these documentaries has been lauded for its in-depth look at the issues behind the scenes, as well as the depravity of trying to create art in an intense, focused environment.

Lost Soul (2014) dir. David Gregory

Stanley on set. Courtesy of "Lost Soul" dir. David Gregory.

I actually saw this film at a Cinefamily in LA, with the director David Gregory, and subject Richard Stanley. The information that they provided was instrumental in me understanding some of the craziness I saw onscreen. The film follows the work of Richard Stanley, a horror guru and visual artist who directed the underground films "Hardware" and "Dust Devil". He was slated to direct an adaptation of "Island of Dr. Moreau," but because of studio meddling, persistent bad weather, and difficult actors, he was booted from production and his career became nonexistent.

What followed was a production that was filled with weird, ridiculous, fraught interchanges between the new director, Frankenheimer, and the actors. What came of it was a horrible film that has been universally detested. The story of how the film was made was essentially the crux of the film, but Stanley's story is that much more interesting. He believes in the occult, he's highly intelligent, he has macabre tastes, and he's simply delightful and fun to listen to.  The entire film is an exercise in comedy. The interviews are always amazingly humorous, especially when people are talking about the antics of Marlon Brando. Brando seems to mess with the production at every chance, including painting his face white, changing his costume into a strange outfit with a hat that gets filled with water, and antagonizing co-star Val Kilmer. Gregory kind of bookends the film, starting with Stanley’s views on what he wanted the film to be, and ending on a hopeful note that his film career can soon begin again. Hopefully Stanley does make more films, because his brilliantly twisted mind needs to be in use.

Hearts of Darkness (1991) dir. George Hickenlooper, Eleanor Coppola, and Fax Bahr

The much more famous documentary of the two is “Hearts of Darkness,” which was released in 1991, and won several Emmy awards. Some have actually said that this film is better than its subject "Apocalypse Now," a sentiment that I definitely can understand but disagree with. If you see the aforementioned film, then you have to see this gem of a documentary. The footage is from director Francis Ford Coppola's wife, Eleanor Coppola, and the interviews, from years later, are conducted by Hickenlooper and Bahr.

What emerges onscreen is the story of a frustrated and self-hating director trying to make a masterpiece out of the Joseph Conrad novel "Heart of Darkness," that is centered on the conflict of the Vietnam War. The film is hypnotic, terrifying, and amazingly visceral in its feeling of transparent anarchy. The documentary captures all these emotions while showing their origins: the actors and the director. These people are broken by emotions that are deep and frightening, in an environment where they felt like they were trapped. Coppola was close to his rope's end, but emerged with a film that changed the world, or at least changed cinema. It was through all the craziness and resilience of the makers of this film that we have "Apocalypse Now," and I have to say I am almost grateful that the cast and crew went through all that, just to have it.