In the pantheon of war films, Apocalypse Now stands alone as one of the most unique, brutal and daring of the genre.
Francis Ford Coppola famously went insane during the production, all of which was captured in the documentary Hearts Of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse, and pretty much stopped making epic-scale films after it - unless you can count Captain EO or Dracula as epic-scale.
In any case, the reason Apocalypse Now is being talked about again is that Coppola has announced a Kickstarter campaign that'll be based on the film. The press blurb states that the game will "be an immersive, psychedelic horror RPG from the creators, designers, directors, writers and producers of Fallout: New Vegas, Pillars of Eternity, The Witcher, Neverwinter Nights 2, Wasteland 2, Torment: Tides of Numenera, Everquest, DC Universe Online, PlanetSide, PlanetSide 2, Star Wars Galaxies and many more classic games."
That's a pretty impressive line-up of games right there, especially Fallout: New Vegas and PlanetSide 2. Not only that, the Kickstarter's blurb also confirms that Francis Ford Coppola is heavily involved as American Zoetrope are listed as creative partners. All told, the Kickstarter is hoping for $900,000 with rewards offered for different amounts on the like.
The campaign's up and has already amassed $51,406 - as of writing - with 29 days to go for it to reach the target.
So, thoughts? A lot of outlets and people in the industry are calling it a foolhardy gesture and that Apocalypse Now doesn't lend itself to a videogame adaptation. While it might not be the first film that'd come into your mind that's ripe for adaptation, it certainly does bode well that they're opting for a more survival horror element than a straight-up shooter experience.
After all, Apocalypse Now was very much about the horrors we visit upon our own kind - so why wouldn't it work within that sphere? Let's not forget that Coppola wasn't a fan of the pretty-decent Godfather game from a few years ago, but he's completely on board with this - so that also tells you something.
We'll check back in twenty-nine days and see if it all comes off. In the meantime, you can check out the Kickstarter for yourself.