Day 9: Best Documentary Film

Marlon Brando and Francis Ford Coppola on the set of Apocalypse Now.

Day 9 of the 31 Day Film Challenge: The best documentary film.

I don't know if it's the best but one of my all-time favourite documentaries is Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse (1991). Using behind-the-scenes footage shot by Eleanor Coppola along with new interviews, Fax Bahr and George Hickenlooper chronicle the incredible odds faced by director Francis Ford Coppola during the making of Apocalypse Now. Just a few of his challenges included an actor who would wander off into a war zone in search of drugs, a lead who almost died from a heart attack, and a certain star who didn’t know his lines (you can guess who that was). Add in a monsoon and major budget issues, and it’s a surprise that the film ever got made (and that Coppola didn't completely lose his mind). There's also Marlon Brando saying, “I swallowed a bug." Classic.

To find out more about the 31 Day Film Challenge, visit here.