‘Star Wars’ And ‘Apocalypse Now’ Overlap More Often Than You’d Think
(Welcome toThe Movies That Made Star Wars, a series where we explore the films and television properties that inspired or help us better understand George Lucas' iconic universe. In this edition:Apocalypse Now.)
Francis Ford Coppola’sApocalypse Nowis a frenetic look into the final days of the Vietnam war. Where other films might have looked at the war from a more classic war film perspective, Coppola brought an insanity to it that matched how many felt about the conflict. Martin Sheen stars as Captain Willard, assigned to seek out Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando), deep behind enemy lines. His journey is insane, like any war might be. There’s no comfort to be had there, only madness. Based loosely on Joseph Conrad’sHeart of Darkness, the John Milius script and Coppola’s documentary style of filmmaking made this film an instant classic, pushing us into dark places we’d rather pretend war doesn’t take us.
There are a lot of interesting things about the making ofApocalypse Now, it’s an incredible film and was made in an incredibly unorthodox way, but maybe the most interesting thing aboutApocalypse Nowin the context ofStar Warswas that it was originally going to be a George Lucas film.
American Zoetrope
After the success of Francis Ford Coppola’sThe Rain Peoplein 1969, Warner Brothers gave the young filmmaker a development deal for him and his production company. One of the films he proposed to produce wasApocalypse Now, written by John Milius and directed by his friend, George Lucas. The film was intended to be shot on a shoestring budget in Stockton, California. Lucas was going to use 16mm black and white film (American Graffitiwas also shot on 16mm film) and it would be a little bit more of a dark comedy than what came to pass. Coppola’s relationship with Warner Brothers strained and the film went into a purgatory of development. George Lucas ended up leaving the project because he wanted to write something of his own and make it. That film turned out to beStar Wars.
Coppola ended up filming the movie in 1976, beforeStar Wars, and including a nod to Lucas in the film. In fact, Colonel G. Lucas is a character played in the film by none other than Harrison Ford.
Shatterpoint
Though Lucas definitely had an impact on the development ofApocalypse Now,Apocalypse Nowabsolutely had an impact on the texture of theStar Wars.The film was a watershed moment in war films and, naturally, it affectedallfilms and war stories after its release andStar Warswas no exception. The first, most tangible influence came in the form of literature, though.
Matthew Stover’s 2003 novelShatterpointmight be one of the finest examples ofStar Warsliterature in the first place, but it draws heavy inspiration from bothApocalypse Nowand Conrad’sHeart of Darkness. Shatterpointwas one of the first books in the Expanded Universe to take place during the Clone Wars, and centered around Jedi Master Mace Windu as he ventured to the very Vietnam-like jungle planet of Haruun Kal. Instead of going to rescue Marlon Brando, he went to rescue his former Padawan, Depa Billaba. Like Colonel Kurtz, though, she’d suffered a mental break and needs someone to bring her back into the light. She’s been lured to the dark side of the Force, and he must journey through the darkness to bring her back or kill her.
The book exudes the same brooding as the film and so much of the same soul-searching and I would recommend any fan ofApocalypse NowandStar Warsread it.
Though the book was transferred to theLegendstimeline in 2014, there have been a number of hints included in the canon that wink and nod to it to let us know it’s still thought of as something that happened. Depa Billaba was the master of Kanan Jarrus, a character created forStar Wars Rebels. In the comic that documented their first and last days together before Order 66, Depa Billaba comes out of the coma that she’s left in at the end ofShatterpoint.
Walter Murch
Shatterpointwouldn’t be the last timeApocalypse NowinfluencedStar Wars.The next direct influence came in the fourth season ofStar Wars: The Clone Wars.The Umbara arc is considered one of the darkest arcs on the entire show. It takes as many cues form Stanley Kubrick’sPaths of Gloryas it does fromApocalypse Now, but one episode actually shares a key crew member with the classic war film.
Walter Murch was one of the editors and sound editors onApocalypse Now.In fact, he won his first Academy Award for his work on the sound on the film, though he lost out on the editing to Alan Heim, the editor ofAll That Jazz.The editing was legendary and I would highly recommend reading his treatise on editing,In the Blink of An Eye,which documented some of the struggle he went through in cutting the film. He talks about the war they fought just to get the movie edited since Coppola had shot so much film on the project and how many false starts and dead ends they found. For any student of the art of editing, the stories he recounts are must-read material.
Murch went on to direct movies likeReturn to Ozand eventually found his way toThe Clone Wars.“The General,” the eighth episode of the fourth season ofThe CloneWars,tells the dark tale of a Jedi General turned dark, very much a Kurtz-like character. He’s senselessly sending the clones in his command to the slaughter and Murch, theApocalypse Nowveteran, brings the same bleak restlessness from Coppola’s film into the world ofStar Wars.The entire arc is one of the best they were able to do on the show and really steeps itself in the sort of dark madness thatApocalypse Nowdealt with.
Maul and Savage
But that wouldn’t be the last timeThe Clone Warssaw themes fromApocalypse Nowcreep into the show. Later in the season, Savage Opress, the brother of Maul, was sent on a Willard-like quest to seek out his brother who was long thought dead. Through the galaxy he travels until he finds Maul, like Kurtz, steeped in shadow and madness. Maul, however, comes back from the horror and we all know how that ended.
TheApocalypse Nowthemes were displayed front and center during the promotion of Maul’s return. The poster advertising it was a straight homage to the poster of Colonel Kurtz’s melting face for the Coppola film.
Apocalypse Now
Apocalypse Nowis practically mandatory viewing for students of ’70s cinema, war cinema, and now fans ofStar Wars.It’s odd to think a film so quirky and dark could find itself embedded in a galaxy far, far away, but it proves the versatility of theStar Warscanvas to see these themes adapted so faithfully without breaking it.
Apocalypse Nowis currently available to stream for a modest fee at most streaming rental sites.The Clone Warsis still streaming as part of a Netflix subscription.ShatterpointandIn the Blink of An Eyeare available wherever books are sold.
