When I was studying film-making one of the key courses we had to take was screen writing. I came to appreciate a number of writers, but one of my favourites was John Milius. It is like a guilty little pleasure to admit that, for
serious film-makers are supposed to say they admire folks like
Jean Renoir (which I do -
La règle du jeu is a classic). Now, for most of us Milius is the guy who directed
Conan the Barbarian and
Red Dawn, but he is also the
writer who saved the original
Dirty Harry, scripted Robert Shaw's memorable "Indianapolis" dialogue in
Jaws (both of which were uncredited) and, arguably, wrote all the interesting scenes in
Apocalypse Now (my rule of thumb: if it keeps your eyes on the screen, it was Milius - if it makes you look at your watch, it was written by Coppola). Let's compare! A large scale air assault on a
Viet Cong strongpoint (while playing Wagner's
Die Walküre) with the key objective to seize some prime surfing ground = Milius. Endless musings into the dark recesses of the soul with lots of brooding closeups of a drug-frazzled Martin Sheen or overweight Brando = Coppola. My film school advisor, Professor K, had been a Vietnam veteran, and he ran into Milius in the early 70s as he was interviewing veterans to get background for his script. What left an impression on me was Milius's whacked-out interview on
Heart's of Darkness (
Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse), Eleanor Coppola's documentary of the making of the movie. He relates a story where the studio sent him to the Philippines to investigate why the production was way over on every account - and, if necessary, to shut it down. Milius, in his hyperbolic style, compared his meeting with Coppola as von Rundstedt's
meeting with Hitler in the Bunker in 1945 to tell him that the war was lost. Milius recounts that Coppola persuaded him that "... this movie would be the first to win the Nobel Peace Prize..." and then John exclaims (as von Rundstedt): "Vee don't need gas for zer tanks! Vee vill VIN!". George Lucas, on the other hand, not-so-fondly remembers that Milius wanted to film
Apocalypse Now in 16mm in Vietnam (in the midst of the actual war), and that he was slated to direct. Milius, you wingnut! What if you got George killed? Sheesh, no
Star Wars...
When I was studying film-making one of the key courses we had to take was screen writing. I came to appreciate a number of writers, but one of my favourites was John Milius. It is like a guilty little pleasure to admit that, for serious film-makers are supposed to say they admire folks like Jean Renoir (which I do - La règle du jeu is a classic). Now, for most of us Milius is the guy who directed Conan the Barbarian and Red Dawn, but he is also the 
writer who saved the original Dirty Harry, scripted Robert Shaw's memorable "Indianapolis" dialogue in Jaws (both of which were uncredited) and, arguably, wrote all the interesting scenes in Apocalypse Now (my rule of thumb: if it keeps your eyes on the screen, it was Milius - if it makes you look at your watch, it was written by Coppola). Let's compare! A large scale air assault on a
Viet Cong strongpoint (while playing Wagner's Die Walküre) with the key objective to seize some prime surfing ground = Milius. Endless musings into the dark recesses of the soul with lots of brooding closeups of a drug-frazzled Martin Sheen or overweight Brando = Coppola. My film school advisor, Professor K, had been a Vietnam veteran, and he ran into Milius in the early 70s as he was interviewing veterans to get background for his script. What left an impression on me was Milius's whacked-out interview on Heart's of Darkness (Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse), Eleanor Coppola's documentary of the making of the movie. He relates a story where the studio sent him to the Philippines to investigate why the production was way over on every account - and, if necessary, to shut it down. Milius, in his hyperbolic style, compared his meeting with Coppola as von Rundstedt's
meeting with Hitler in the Bunker in 1945 to tell him that the war was lost. Milius recounts that Coppola persuaded him that "... this movie would be the first to win the Nobel Peace Prize..." and then John exclaims (as von Rundstedt): "Vee don't need gas for zer tanks! Vee vill VIN!". George Lucas, on the other hand, not-so-fondly remembers that Milius wanted to film Apocalypse Now in 16mm in Vietnam (in the midst of the actual war), and that he was slated to direct. Milius, you wingnut! What if you got George killed? Sheesh, no Star Wars...
5 comments:
Hello and welcome to my humble blog!
Most certainly, Walter Murch deserves ample praise! Gosh, if I knew there were so many sound design people out there I would have mentioned him first (please pardon: it is only that my friends and I like to quote Milius from time to time, and I wanted to give them a little something familiar - this being my first month of blogging and all...). Personally, I love sound design - Apocalypse Now had something like eighteen to twenty tracks of sound, right? I remember the first time I edited and then added three tracks to a 16mm film - what a difference! Been hooked ever since.
Anyhow, thank you for visiting! Gosh, I think that makes it like five people who've actually been here- woohoo!
Oh, and don't forget Vittorio Storaro! The color and light of Apocalypse Now is amazing...
Alright, alright, perhaps Coppola's judgement is somewhat suspect; he did give us Jack of all things, and when he couldn't secure Winona Ryder he went with his second(!) choice Sofia Coppola(!!) for Godfather III.
But but but, as you well know he was fighting against seemingly insurmountable odds whilst making Apocalypse Now. Don't forget Martin Sheen had a heart attack; tropical storms repeatedly ripped down the sets; the helicopters kept disappearing; Dennis Hopper was completely off his trolley; and last but not least, Brando had moved to a space in his head that nobody could ever hope to reach. With all that in mind, the fact that he was able to squeeze out any meaningful dialogue at all is nothing short of miraculous. Even if Milius had written for Brando, do you believe Brando could have been coaxed into delivering it?
And while I accept Conan is a classic in some perverse way, are you really prepared to overlook the horror, the horror that Milius helped pen Miami Vice?
I love sound editing, but picture editing comes a close second. I appreciate the work that goes into putting images together - what kind of editing do you do?
Alex, good points about Coppola. I think the Godfather Part II was his best overall movie (with The Conversation as a VERY close second). As to Milius - I didn't know he wrote for Miami Vice (the t.v. series, right?). And what, may I ask, was wrong with Miami Vice? Set design? Music? Hmmm... I think my next post will have to be about Michael Mann (Kit Ten, please set my man Alex straight about the genius of Mr. Mann).
Here's a triva question: who doubled for Martin Sheen during the filming of Apocalypse Now (when he was laid low by his heart attack)?
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