Playboy Sequence: The WILD Story Behind Filming This Scene | Ep14 | Making Apocalypse Now

Summary

The video script delves into the making of a surreal and chaotic scene from 'Apocalypse Now,' featuring a Playboy bunny show amidst the Vietnam War. It discusses the scene's inspiration, meticulous period-accuracy, and the challenges of filming, including a typhoon that destroyed the original set. The script also touches on the cultural impact of the scene, the use of real Playboy models, and the cameo by Bill Graham, highlighting the blend of reality and absurdity in the film.

Takeaways

• 🎥 The script describes a scene from 'Apocalypse Now' where a patrol boat encounters a brightly lit stage, reminiscent of a USO show, set in a coastal town called Iba.
• 📅 The production for this scene took place on May 21st, 1976, and was inspired by the real-life visit of Playmate of the Year Jo Collins to Vietnam to entertain troops.
• 📦 In the script, Coppola emphasizes the overwhelming supplies available to the soldiers, highlighting the contrast between their needs and the excess of material support.
• 🎭 The original setting of the scene was to be inland during the day, but after a typhoon destroyed the set, it was rebuilt on a barge on Lake Caliraya to take place at night over water.
• 🌆 Cinematographer Vittorio Storaro used the scene to represent the theme of cultural imposition, using artificial light to contrast with the natural darkness of the jungle.
• 🎬 The filming was a logistical challenge, requiring many extras and a night shoot that lasted sixteen hours, with Coppola and crew members participating as extras.
• 🚁 The scene involved a helicopter with the Playboy logo, and real Playboy models participated in the shoot, thanks to Coppola's reputation and negotiation.
• 💰 The budget for the film included payments to various cast members, with Bill Graham, a concert organizer, being paid a notable sum for his cameo.
• 🔞 There was concern over the portrayal of the USO in the film, but assurances were given that the USO would not be negatively depicted.
• 🎭 The script also contains references to historical and cultural elements, such as the allusion to the sirens from Homer's 'The Odyssey' and the impact of the Playboy Bunnies on the soldiers.
• 🎉 The scene ends with a surreal departure, using colored smoke to signal a transition into the absurd, a motif that runs through the film.

Q & A

What was the significance of the brightly lit stage encountered by the patrol boat in the script?

The brightly lit stage was a surreal sight that symbolized the absurdity of bringing a piece of Americana, a USO show, into the heart of the Vietnam War. It was meant to entertain the troops but also served as a stark contrast to the dark and dangerous environment of the war zone.

Where was the scene with the USO show actually filmed?

The scene was filmed in a coastal town called Iba, not in Hau Phat as depicted in the script.

What was the original inspiration for the USO show scene?

The inspiration came from Playmate of the Year Jo Collins' visit to Vietnam to entertain troops at Black Virgin Mountain, which was arranged after soldiers pooled their money for a lifetime subscription to Playboy magazine.

How did the production ensure period accuracy in the USO show scene?

Production designer Dean Tavoularis shipped items like Zippo lighters and cigarette cartons from the States, along with specific types of chewing gum, all wrapped in their original 1968 packaging to maintain authenticity.

Why was the scene initially set inland during the day and later changed?

Director Francis Ford Coppola decided to change the setting to nighttime on the water after realizing that the original set did not have the dramatic impact he envisioned when viewed from the river.

What role did Bill Graham play in the USO show scene, and was it a cameo?

Bill Graham played the manager of the Playboy Bunnies in the scene, and yes, it was a cameo. He was a real-life concert organizer and promoter known for making the Fillmore famous.

What challenges did the production face in filming the USO show scene?

The production faced challenges such as a typhoon that destroyed the original set, requiring a rebuild on a barge. Additionally, they had to manage a large number of extras, sporadic rain, and the logistics of a night shoot.

How did the use of artificial light in the scene contribute to the overall theme?

Cinematographer Vittorio Storaro used artificial light to represent the over-imposition of one culture on another, creating a contrast between natural and artificial energy, and enhancing the darkness of the jungle.

What was the significance of the helicopter with the Playboy logo in the scene?

The helicopter symbolized the intrusion of American culture and values into the war zone. It was also a logistical achievement, as Playboy was initially protective of its models and their appearance in films.

How did the script evolve over time, particularly regarding the character of Willard?

Willard's speeches were initially more prominent but were later replaced with voice-over written by Michael Herr. The script also evolved to include more of Willard's internal thoughts and reactions to the surreal events around him.

What was the impact of the Playboy scene on the image of the USO, and how did the USO respond?

There were concerns that the scene might tarnish the image of the USO. However, the USO was assured that it would not be referenced in the movie, and no harm would come to its image. The director of USO shows requested a script review, which was declined.

Outlines

00:00

🎭 The Playmate Visit: A Blend of Reality and Fiction

This paragraph delves into the filming of a scene inspired by the real-life visit of Playmate of the Year Jo Collins to Vietnam, contrasting it with the fictional portrayal in the movie. It discusses the meticulous period accuracy achieved by the production team, the challenges faced during the shoot, and the significance of the scene in the narrative. Key details include the use of historical props, the initial setting changes from inland to on-water at night, and the impact of a typhoon that destroyed the original set, leading to a new set built on a barge. The paragraph also touches on the cinematographer's artistic intentions to represent cultural imposition and the cameo of real Playboy models.

05:02

🎬 Behind the Scenes: The Playboy Scene Shoot

This paragraph provides an in-depth look at the filming of the Playboy scene, highlighting the logistical challenges and creative decisions. It mentions the use of artificial light to create an intrusive effect in the jungle, the difficulties posed by weather conditions, and the involvement of director Francis Ford Coppola and the crew in the scene. The paragraph also notes the presence of Coppola's and Sheen's children, the large number of extras, and a continuity error suggesting a different scene structure. Additionally, it discusses the rewrites in the script, the portrayal of the Playboy Bunnies, and the special permission granted by Playboy for their models to appear in the film.

10:03

🎤 Bill Graham's Cameo and Coppola's Oscars Antics

This paragraph focuses on the cameo of Bill Graham, a real-life concert organizer, in the film and the subsequent friendship between him and Coppola. It recounts the story of Graham's invitation to the Oscars, the humorous incident with marijuana-laced cookies, and Coppola's impromptu and visionary speech about the future of cinema. The paragraph also touches on the potential implications of the film's portrayal of USO shows and the research conducted by Deborah Fine, including a provocative quote from Raquel Welch.

15:05

🚤 The Patrol Boat's Journey and Kurtz's Impact

This paragraph follows the patrol boat's journey up the river towards Kurtz, detailing the production challenges, such as finding suitable boats and the mechanical failure that delayed filming. It also discusses the crew's adaptation to the environment and Willard's discovery of Kurtz's dossier, revealing his unconventional but effective methods in the war. The paragraph ends with a teaser for the next episode, which will cover a typhoon-affected medivac area sequence exclusive to the Redux version of the film.

Keywords

💡USO show

USO, or United Service Organizations, is a nonprofit organization that provides live entertainment, such as shows, to military personnel. In the video, a USO show is depicted as a surreal and contrasting element within the war setting, symbolizing a piece of home amidst the chaos of war. The script mentions a 'brightly lit stage' and 'Playboy Bunnies' as part of the USO show, highlighting the absurdity and the attempt to bring a semblance of normalcy to the soldiers.

💡Playboy Bunnies

The term 'Playboy Bunnies' refers to the models associated with Playboy magazine, known for their iconic bunny costumes. In the video, they are featured as part of the USO show, serving as a symbol of Americana and the attempt to lift the morale of the soldiers. The script describes their arrival via helicopter and their role in the scene as a spectacle of American culture being imposed on the war-torn landscape.

💡Heart of Darkness

Heart of Darkness is a novel by Joseph Conrad that explores themes of colonialism and the darkness within human nature. The video script mentions the cinematographer Vittorio Storaro using the scene to represent a theme from Conrad's work, specifically the 'over-imposition of one culture on another culture,' drawing a parallel between the artificial light of the USO show and the encroachment of Western culture on the Vietnamese environment.

💡Kurtz

Kurtz is a character from the novel 'Heart of Darkness' and is also a significant figure in the video's narrative. He represents a figure who has gone rogue, operating outside the bounds of traditional military command. The script mentions Willard's journey to find Kurtz, indicating a deeper exploration of the human condition and the consequences of unchecked power and influence, which is central to the video's theme.

💡Absurdity

Absurdity in the video refers to the incongruity and irrationality of the situation, particularly the juxtaposition of a glamorous USO show in the midst of war. The script notes Coppola's intention to 'find the balance between reality and absurdity,' suggesting that the video aims to explore the bizarre and often irrational aspects of human behavior and societal constructs within extreme circumstances.

💡Coppola

Francis Ford Coppola is the director of the film being discussed in the video. He is mentioned in the script for his creative decisions and his influence on the production, such as changing the setting of the USO scene to enhance its dramatic impact. His name is synonymous with the creative vision and the final product of the video.

💡Period-accuracy

Period-accuracy refers to the attention to detail in recreating the time period in which the film is set. The script mentions the efforts made by the production designer to source items from the 1960s, such as Zippo lighters and specific brands of chewing gum, to ensure the film's authenticity. This attention to period-accuracy is crucial for immersing the audience in the narrative and maintaining the video's credibility.

💡Bill Graham

Bill Graham was a real-life concert promoter known for making the Fillmore famous. In the video, he plays a character in the USO show, adding a layer of authenticity and connection to the cultural context of the time. His presence in the script illustrates the blending of reality and fiction to enhance the narrative's depth and realism.

💡Redux

The term 'Redux' in the context of the video refers to a re-edited or extended version of a film. The script mentions the 'Redux version' to differentiate scenes that are unique to this version, such as the medivac area sequence, which provides additional content and a broader perspective on the narrative.

💡Surreal

Surreal describes the dreamlike or bizarre quality of certain scenes in the video. The script uses the term to characterize the USO show and its impact on the soldiers, as well as other moments that defy the normal expectations of reality within the context of war. The use of colored smoke as a motif in the script is an example of this surreal element, signaling a shift into a more fantastical or disorienting experience.

💡Willard

Willard is a character in the video who is on a mission to find Kurtz. His journey and experiences are central to the narrative. The script mentions Willard's voice-over and his actions, such as hiding his drinking and revealing their true destination to Chief, which contribute to the development of his character and the unfolding of the story.

Highlights

The patrol boat encounters a brightly lit stage resembling a USO show in Hau Phat, filmed in Iba.

Production traveled to Iba on May 21st, 1976, for a six-week shoot.

US soldiers are depicted giving out and selling supplies at a dock.

Coppola and Milius discussed the balance between reality and absurdity in the scene's depiction.

Playmate of the Year Jo Collins' visit to Vietnam inspired the scene.

Playboy's involvement in the scene was secured due to Coppola's reputation.

The scene was filmed in one night with a sixteen-hour shooting schedule.

Coppola's children and Sheen's children appear in the scene as extras.

Bill Graham, a famous concert organizer, plays the manager of the Playboy Bunnies.

Cyndi Wood, a 1974 Playmate of the Year, was involved with the production for four years.

Lynda Carter was originally cast but had to be replaced due to her commitment to 'Wonder Woman'.

Coppola's 1976 script rewrite included Willard's commentary on the counter-culture presence in Vietnam.

The scene's lighting was designed to contrast the artificial with the natural, symbolizing cultural imposition.

A typhoon destroyed the original set, leading to its reconstruction on a barge on Lake Caliraya.

The patrol boat's journey up the river to Kurtz is mapped in detail by the production designer.

Willard's mission to find Kurtz is revealed, including their unauthorized entry into Cambodia.

Transcripts

This showin’ up is a bizarre  sight in the middle of this–

The patrol boat comes across a brightly lit  stage–sticking out like a beacon in the night.

It’s something similar to a USO show in  a place called Hau Phat. This scene was  

actually shot in a coastal town called  Iba for six weeks (Travers 110). The  

production traveled to the location  on May 21st of 1976 (Travers 110).

The boat comes upon a dock where US soldiers  are giving out and selling supplies. In the  

margins of John Milius’ script, Coppola  writes, “Overwhelming SUPPLIES. Cases  

and cases of rivets, something that they  will need when they're stuck at the rubber  

plantation … GIGANTIC!” (Cowie 41). Milius had  written that the stage is [quote] “surrounded  

by a deep moat filled with punji stakes  and garnished with concertina wire” and  

surrounded by men with shotguns, teargas,  German Shepherds and “assorted psychological  

warfare aids” (Screenplay). Coppola writes  that they need to [quote] “find the balance  

between reality and absurdity” and asks “Are we to  believe they’d shoot their own men?” (Cowie 41).

Eleven years before filming this sequence,  

the inspiration for this scene–Playmate of  the Year Jo Collins–traveled to Vietnam to  

entertain the troops at a place called  Black Virgin Mountain (Travers 110).

Collins visited the troops in Vietnam after  a letter was sent to publisher Hugh Hefner  

saying that a hundred eighty soldiers and  officers of Company B Second Battalion  

put their money together for a lifetime  subscription to Playboy magazine where,  

in the US, the first issue would be delivered  to you personally by a Playboy model in any  

city with a Playboy Club (Playboy).  They asked for Jo Collins and despite  

Vietnam not having any Playboy Clubs,  Collins obliged (Playboy). By the way,  

at that time, a lifetime subscription  was a hundred fifty dollars (Playboy).

Of course, Playboy wants to stress that  Jo Collins just visited the troops–they  

never had any of the Playmates put on any shows  like the one depicted in the scene (Palopoli).

Near the end of the war, Hugh Hefner’s private  jet was used to transport forty-one orphaned  

Vietnamese children from a processing  facility in San Francisco to new homes  

in New York (Cracked). But I have to say  that story gets a little complicated…

This sequence would serve as the first  stop on the river to Kurtz and would  

prove to be another hectic shoot that  required tons of extras and contained  

a great cameo by real Playboy models and  a legend of the San Francisco Bay Area.

How’re you doing out there? …I  said how’re you doing out there!

Terminate? With extreme prejudice. 

Are you an assassin? I’m a soldier.

This episode is sponsored by Mubi, where  you can stream exceptional films from  

around the globe. Get 30-days free by  clicking the link in the description.

Carrying over from the earlier episodes where we  talked about Milius writing aspects of Homer’s  

‘The Odyssey’ into the movie, Kilgore had been  the Cyclops and now the Bunnies are the Sirens  

(Milius Interview). The sirens, who look like  beautiful women, would sing with alluring voices,  

causing the sailors who heard them to crash their  boats into the rocks and die trying to get them.

It’s hard to tell now, but despite being filmed  less than a decade after the events being  

depicted, a lot of work went into making sure  that everything was period-accurate. Production  

designer Dean Tavoularis had Zippo lighters and  cigarette cartons shipped from the States along  

with [quote] “fifteen boxes each of Wrigley’s  Spearmint, Doublemint and Juicy Fruit chewing gum,  

'wrapped in the same wrappers and boxes  that were used in 1968’” (Cowie 31).

We see this brightly lit slice of Americana  surrounded by the darkness of the jungle.  

Just another way of America bringing  its home to the battlefield. By the way,  

Coppola got this shot because he  was interested in how the real  

locals would witness such a spectacle,  likely from behind a fence (Commentary).

But originally, the scene wasn’t going  to be like this. It was initially set  

inland during the day. It wasn’t until  the set was already built that Coppola  

thought that it should take place  on the water at night (Commentary).

Coppola said, “I remember looking at the USO set  with the head of the art department and saying,  

“I made a big mistake. As they  approach from the river, they  

ought to see a glimpse of this place.” We  had built the set really far off the river,  

and you had to drive for a while. From a  dramatic standpoint it would have been better if,  

when they’re in the boat, they look and  say, “What the hell is that?” He said,  

“Well, we put it in the wrong place.” I said,  “Yeah, but we’ll make it work” (Palopoli).

Luckily, I guess, a Typhoon came  and destroyed the original set,  

so they built a new one the way Coppola wanted–of  course, the insurance money didn’t really cover  

the new cost (Commentary). The new set was  built on a barge on Lake Caliraya (Cowie 90).

For cinematographer Vittorio Storaro’s part,  

he wanted to use this scene to represent a greater  theme from Joseph Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness.’

Vittorio Storaro: “As soon as I read the book  from Conrad, I understood the main idea was  

an over-imposition of one culture on another  culture. Right away, I laid that kind of idea,  

between two different energies–the  natural energy and artificial energy.”

Storaro asked production designer Dean Tavoularis  if they could set up some artificial light to  

look like they are floating on the water (Cowie  90). Storaro said, “To light that huge Playboy  

sequence from beyond the stage area was basically  impossible, so instead I came up with the idea  

of using lights set up within the stage area. I  asked the production designer, Dean Tavoularis,  

to design a set that would incorporate a number  of Photofloods. However, the second reason for  

doing the scene that way was that I wanted to  create this intrusion of artificial light in the  

jungle - the incredible force of the light would  serve to enhance the blackness of the jungle”  

(American Cinematographer 98). So they set up  lights and floated them out on rafts (Commentary).

This scene was apparently one of the most  exhausting shooting nights they’d had with  

sporadic rain causing them to pause shooting every  so often and Coppola and many of the crewmembers  

having to be dressed in uniforms and participating  in the scene to fill out the crowd (Cowie 90).  

Coppola’s kids, and Sheen’s kids–Charlie and  Emilio–are also somewhere in the scene (Casting).

I’m pretty sure this is producer Fred Roos,  

here, and this guy looks very  familiar, but I can’t place him.

If you recognize anyone from the  crew, let me know in the comments.

All-in-all there were fifteen hundred English  and American extras including “students,  

businessmen, [and] even tourists” (Cowie 88).

And a side note: there is an interesting little  continuity error where you can see Bill Graham  

in the background of this shot, as he is out  front introducing the Bunnies. It seems to  

show a potential different structure to  the scene that was changed in the edit.

The whole scene was filmed in  one night. They rehearsed and  

shot for sixteen hours–from two in  the afternoon to six in the morning,  

going through the scene and then doing it again  from a different angle over and over (Palopoli).

Coppola said, “Supplying the people, and  their safety, food and bathroom facilities,  

was in itself a major operation.  Once we had it all together,  

we just shot through the night” (Palopoli).

In Coppola’s 1976 rewrite of the script,  a drunk Willard complains to Clean about  

the hippy-ish nature of the celebration  saying that he volunteered for another  

tour because there were too many hippies  and now they’re here (Cowie 45). A lot of  

Willard’s speeches would later be replaced with  voice-over written by Michael Herr (Cowie 45).

Coppola writes in this draft [quote] “It's  not only the idea of a sexy girl but it's  

all the Playboy values. It's their cars at home,  

and home towns they are from. The idea that  the Play-girls were never really meant to be  

sexy. They were always meant to represent home.  Miss America with her clothes off” (Cowie 42).

A helicopter with the Playboy logo descends  from the night sky. At the time, Playboy was  

very protective of its models and it was difficult  to get permission to have them appear in movies,  

but because it was Coppola, they let him do  whatever he wanted, which was probably the  

best experience Coppola had with an outside  organization on the entire movie (Palopoli).

First out of the helicopter is Bill Graham,  whose name you might recognize if you are  

like me and from the San Francisco Bay Area. He  was a real concert organizer and promoter who  

made the Fillmore famous and is the namesake  of the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San  

Francisco (Bill Graham wiki). And the Playboy  Bunnies were played by model Linda Carpenter,  

actress Colleen Camp, and 1974’s playmate  of the year Cyndi Wood (Cowie 88).

Cyndi Wood was just offered the part  and was officially involved with the  

production for four years (Palopoli).  A friend of Cyndi Wood, Colleen Camp,  

was an actress and met producer Fred Roos while  she was filming a movie called Smile in the Bay  

Area (Palopoli). At first, she didn’t want to  do any nudity but was ultimately convinced by  

Cyndi Wood and she ended up posing for a  fake centerfold poster that Chef pins up…

Look at these beautiful fuckin’ jugs, man!

…and appears nude in a scene that was cut from  

the theatrical version–a scene that is  actually our next episode (Palopoli).

One of the playmates who was originally  cast before the typhoon was Lynda Carter,  

who wasn’t able to come back once the set was  rebuilt because she had been cast as Wonder Woman.  

She was replaced by Colleen Camp and had already  shot a fake centerfold for the movie (Palopoli).

On May 23rd, 1976, Eleanor Coppola wrote,  “Bill Graham is here to play the part of  

the Playboy bunnies’ manager…He asked me why  Francis had wanted him for a part. He said he  

was so intrigued by Francis asking him that he  fit it into his heavy schedule. He had to have  

a whole convention rescheduled where he was  the keynote speaker” (Coppola 72). Graham was  

paid a thousand dollars a week and another five  hundred dollars a week in expenses (Cowie 20).

To put this in perspective, Freddy Forrest was  also paid a thousand dollars a week and Albert  

Hall and Sam Bottoms were each paid five hundred  dollars a week for the first year (Cowie 20).

Graham and Coppola became friends and, in  1979, when Apocalypse Now was finally released,  

Coppola was invited to present  the Best Director Award at the  

Oscars that year (Francis Coppola). Graham  had always wanted to go to the Oscars,  

so Coppola invited him to come along as his  guest (Francis Coppola). Graham had brought a  

bag of cookies that he was “munching on” during  the show and Coppola reached over and grabbed  

a cookie out of the bag and ate it (Francis  Coppola). Graham’s face got pale and he said,  

“No, not those.” Later, an assistant of the  Academy came and took Coppola backstage to get  

ready for his cue (Francis Coppola). As you can  probably tell by now, the cookies had marijuana  

in them (Francis Coppola). Coppola was feeling  the effects by the time he walked out on stage  

with his old nemesis Robert Evans’ ex-wife  Ali McGraw, who you’ll remember was currently  

married to the original favorite to play Willard,  Steve McQueen. Coppola was very interested in the  

concept of live cinema and when the time came for  him to speak, he went off-script and said this:

Francis Ford Coppola: “You know, I’d like to say  that I think that we’re on the eve of something  

that’s going to make the industrial revolution  look like a small town tryout out of town. And  

I’m talking about the communications revolution, I  think it’s coming very quickly and that the movies  

of the eighties are going to be amazing beyond  what any of you can dream. Just a couple years  

away from now. And I can–I see a communications  revolution that is about movies and art,  

and music, and digital electronics and computers,  and satellites, and above all human talent.  

And it’s going to make things that the  masters of the cinema, from whom we’ve  

inherited this business, wouldn’t believe  the things that are going to be possible.”

And Saturday Night Live would  spoof this not too long after.

...The film industry, what we call film, is  going to go through such great changes in the  

eighties that it’s going to make the industrial  revolution look like last night’s tortoni. I mean  

we’re talking about satellites and video disks,  laser stereos, huge, huge extension cords…”

As I listened to his rambling,  

incoherent speech it all became clear.  Coppola was quite completely insane.

It’s funny, given the circumstances, but  I have to say that Coppola’s excitement  

for cinema is unmatched and completely  infectious. I believe we should look to  

the future of cinema as something intriguing and  new instead of refinement and more of the same.

During the filming of the Playboy scene,  

Daily Variety put out a story hinting  that the movie might be filming things  

that would tarnish the image of the United  Service Organizations, or USO (Cowie 88).

People most often associate USO with comedian Bob  

Hope who made fifty-seven tours for USO  between 1941 and 1991 (Bob Hope wiki).

Now, I have real good news for you. I want to tell  you guys the country’s behind you fifty percent.

Russell Bice, the director of USO shows, asked  for a copy of the Apocalypse Now script to review,  

but was politely declined with an assurance  that the USO would not be referenced anywhere  

in the movie and that nothing would be  done to harm the image of USO (Cowie 90).

There is some more background about the USO  in this episode’s companion PDF. You can buy  

it right now for just one dollar and it  also contains some interesting comments  

from the previous episode. Or you can  support CinemaTyler on Patreon at the  

five-dollar level and get access to all of  the Companion PDFs I’ve made for this series.

John Milius: “Well that was just logical. I mean  when you saw the whole idea of these shows where  

these incredibly sexy girls are brought  there, and displayed to thousands of men  

who may die the next day, what’s going  to stop them from taking those girls?”

Coppola asked Milius if he had ever  heard of anything like that happening,  

and Milius said no and that most of  the guys he talked to said they were  

just happy to see a girl from  back home (Milius Interview).

Deborah Fine, the person who did  all the research for the dossier,  

also researched USO shows. During that research,  she found a quote from Raquel Welch that she  

said after returning from a tour with Bob Hope  [quote], “Sending girls like me to Vietnam to  

entertain the troops is like teasing a caged  lion with a piece of raw meat” (Cowie 21).

By the way, this weird part here where  Lance yells at the bunny teasing him…

You fucking bitch!

…is likely a reference to his hidden backstory.  He enlisted after a classmate rejected him.

Some of the men can’t take it anymore  and jump across the moat to the stage.

Cyndi Wood says that she didn’t remember  Coppola saying anything to her about  

the men rushing the stage and said that  Coppola would do things to get a natural  

reaction calling him “an incredible director”  (Palopoli). By the end of filming the scene,  

she nearly passed out from exhaustion  and needed a B12 shot (Palopoli).

Bill Graham sets off a smoke grenade and  signals for the helicopter to start up so  

they can leave. I have to think that this  gesture here is a reference to Nixon who  

flashed his signature peace signs as he was  boarding the helicopter after his resignation.

Coppola felt that it was already so surreal  just to be on-location filming this movie  

that he tried to inject this feeling  everywhere he could (Commentary). As  

we discussed in previous episodes, the  colored smoke is a motif signaling when  

things get surreal and we can certainly  see this here. Two stuntmen perform a  

pretty interesting stunt here dangling off the  helicopter and falling into the water below.

This was made even more dangerous by the fact that  the pilots were eighteen years old (Palopoli).

Willard has a bottle of booze wrapped  in a magazine to hide his drinking.

Willard’s voice-over here alludes to the North  

Vietnamese not needing all this fanfare  for morale. They are in it all the way.

Charlie didn’t get much USO. He was dug in  too deep or moving too fast. His idea of great  

R-and-R was cold rice, and a little rat meat.  He had only two ways home: death or victory.

Seeing Bill Graham fly away in a helicopter is  a little eerie considering he would die in a  

helicopter crash in 1991 (Bill Graham wiki).  We’ll see him again in the next episode.

We see the aftermath of the show in a shot  from the next day. What’s interesting here  

is that they didn’t do anything to  dress the set for filming this–it’s  

just what it happened to look like after  filming the previous night (Commentary).

In the Redux version, as the boat rides away,  Clean tells a story about a Sergeant who shot  

a South Vietnamese Lieutenant for “sticking  pins in his favorite centerfold” (Cowie 41).

…And blew his ass clean off of the dock! There  weren’t no more Lieutenant that day, now.

Coppola liked this [quote] “delightful  [scene],” but said “they must play off  

the main story” and suggested it be intercut  with the men waiting for the Playboy show to  

begin (Cowie 41). The story appears in  Milius' 1969 draft of the script and  

does take place in the stands before the  show like Coppola suggested (Screenplay).

Willard finally takes off his bandaid  here, completing the… bandaid arc?

The journey to Kurtz is now fully underway  and we can see the crew having a bit of  

fun–Clean dances to the radio and  Lance water skis behind the boat.

There is a bit of truth to  this in that Don Thompson,  

a Navy pilot and professional water  skier, would water ski and teach  

others to water ski “in river combat  zones of Vietnam” (Don Thompson wiki).

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and  Sciences has an interesting post on Tumblr,  

which you can find in the description, that  maps the patrol boat’s journey up the river  

to Kurtz. The map is very detailed and was  made by production designer Dean Tavoularis.

Producer Gray Frederickson had budgeted  for only two plastic patrol boats,  

but even just finding two was extremely  difficult (Cowie 49). They went through  

“several confiscated Vietnamese boats in  Thailand,” but they didn’t have engines,  

and the engines the production had sent  over from the States didn’t fit (Cowie 49)

They found a solution, but during this  shoot in Iba, one of the patrol boats  

had a “mechanical failure” and Coppola was  pissed, flying back to his house in Manila  

and saying that he’ll come back when  they have a boat that works (Cowie 61).

Here, we see a bit of editing  trickery because two patrol boats  

come sailing down the river in the opposite  direction. That makes two going down river,  

passing one going up river, but the production  only had two boats. If you watch closely,  

you never actually see the  three boats in the same shot.

Another interesting bit is that, even though  they’ve really just started their journey to  

Kurtz, they kind of already had a brush with him.  The soldier who moons our crew is Pete Cooper, the  

man tasked with looking after the boats during the  production (Cowie 77). At just under six feet six  

inches, Cooper stood-in for Marlon Brando in wide  shots that show Kurtz as a tall man (Cowie 77).

And get this, there’s a bit more editing trickery  because, even though Cooper just mooned the boat,  

he is apparently also the guy on the second  boat who throws the smoke grenade (Cowie 77).

Kind of ironic that the guy whose job it is to  

look after the boats plays the  guy who sets the boat on fire.

We see that the boat, and crew,  are already beginning to adapt to  

the elements when the fire damage  is patched up with jungle leaves.

Willard dives back into the Kurtz dossier and  determines that the two South Vietnamese colonels  

and two others Kurtz had killed were,  in fact, most likely counter-agents.

Enemy activity in his old  sector dropped off to nothing.  

Guess he must have hit the right four people.

But Kurtz was fighting the war his  own way and winning. The army couldn’t  

abide Kurtz untethered and called in Willard.

Willard finally reveals to Chief  that they are going into Cambodia.

We’re not supposed to be in  Cambodia, but that’s where I’m going.

On the next episode of Making Apocalypse Now, the  crew of the patrol boat arrives at a medivac area  

that has been decimated by a real typhoon in a  sequence that only appears in the Redux version,  

even being the only sequence cut  from the newest Final Cut version.

In the meantime, check out this episode’s  companion PDF. It’s just a dollar.

I’d like to take a moment to thank  this episode’s sponsor, Mubi.

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