The film "Apocalypse Now", directed by Francis Coppola, is loosely based upon Joseph Conrad's novella "Heart of Darkness" in which both works share similar themes and motifs. Both are accounts of Man's journey into his self, and the discoveries to be made there. They are also about Man confronting his fears of failure, insanity, death, and cultural contamination. Symbols such as the river and the boat preside in both as do the key personas of …
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…Heart of Darkness" combine to form an effective portrayal of themes and ideas, which the film shares with the novella. The journey of self discovery up the river through parallels and time into the past's horrific unknown is central to both works. The insanity that occurs in that process of discovery is captured effectively the confusion and madness within the US's war effort in Vietnam, the preferred choice of setting by Cappola to Conrad's Congo.