Deep in the heart of the African Congo in the late 1800’s, the Belgian Government was on the hunt for power. King Leopold ll took over to help the natives become civilized. However, this help soon turned to greed and lead to death and destruction. Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, shows through the eyes of an innocent, naïve man named Marlow, the horror and devastation the Congo was facing. Nearly a century later, director Francis Ford Coppola released a movie rendition of Conrad’s iconic novel centered around the Vietnam War called Apocalypse Now. The movie and novel shared striking similarities, but also gained recognition in their own respects. The novel, Heart of Darkness, and the movie, Apocalypse Now, both share themes of imperialism,
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While the darkness in Conrad’s novel is shown through the characters, in the film, Coppola uses cinematography to display the inherent darkness. While watching, the film visually gets darker as Willard and Kurtz travel deeper into the jungle. The once gleaming river is shrouded in darkness with the only available light being a searchlight and flares. The fog engulfed bridge sets the stage for an arrow attack. The sense of confusion and isolation is achieved through this sporadic lighting and inability to see ahead. One of the most telling clues about Kurtz’ heart of darkness is the fact that throughout the film Kurtz’ face is blanketed in darkness. While other character’s full faces are shown in full light, Kurtz hides his. This tactic gives the character a mysterious and dark quality. This technique is also seen in other villains such as The Shredder in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Jaffar from Aladdin, and Doctor Doom from The Fantastic Four. Each of these villains are hidden by dark colors, masks and lighting techniques. Also, the movie’s climax is flushed in darkness when Willard achieves his mission of assassinating Kurtz. The only source of light is a backlight, allowing the audience to see the silhouettes of the two men. This darkness exemplifies the darkness in both Kurtz and
While the darkness in Conrad’s novel is shown through the characters, in the film, Coppola uses cinematography to display the inherent darkness. While watching, the film visually gets darker as Willard and Kurtz travel deeper into the jungle. The once gleaming river is shrouded in darkness with the only available light being a searchlight and flares. The fog engulfed bridge sets the stage for an arrow attack. The sense of confusion and isolation is achieved through this sporadic lighting and inability to see ahead. One of the most telling clues about Kurtz’ heart of darkness is the fact that throughout the film Kurtz’ face is blanketed in darkness. While other character’s full faces are shown in full light, Kurtz hides his. This tactic gives the character a mysterious and dark quality. This technique is also seen in other villains such as The Shredder in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Jaffar from Aladdin, and Doctor Doom from The Fantastic Four. Each of these villains are hidden by dark colors, masks and lighting techniques. Also, the movie’s climax is flushed in darkness when Willard achieves his mission of assassinating Kurtz. The only source of light is a backlight, allowing the audience to see the silhouettes of the two men. This darkness exemplifies the darkness in both Kurtz and