: The shoot, originally planned for five months, lasted over a year, and the budget ballooned from $12 million to over $30 million . Coppola famously stated at the Cannes Film Festival , "My film is not about Vietnam. It is Vietnam". Thematic Exploration Apocalypse Now (1979) - IMDb

The film's production is legendary for its extreme difficulties, which are chronicled in the documentary Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse .

: Lead actor Martin Sheen suffered a near-fatal heart attack during production, while Marlon Brando arrived significantly overweight and unprepared for the script.