Consider by many film critics and millions of fans are one of the greatest films in the history of cinema, the news that American director Francis Ford Coppola is launching a Kickstarter campaign to develop a video game version of Apocalypse Now.
The 1979 film, a loose adaptation of Joseph Conrad’s novella Heart of Darkness, stars Martin Sheen, Robert Duvall, and Marlon Brando as the psychologically unhinged Colonel Kurtz. Dogged by a troubled shoot, the film is now regarded as a classic, a cultural milestone and a film whose influence continues to be felt.
Now five-time Oscar-winning filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, among others, is seeking $900,000 (€840,000) to turn the psychological thriller into a video game, with plans for a worldwide release in 2020.
A new chapter in Coppola’s career
“Forty years ago, I set out to make a personal art picture that could hopefully influence generations of viewers for years to come,” said Coppola, who will act as a creative advisor on the project. “Today, I’m joined by new daredevils, a team who wants to make an interactive version of Apocalypse Now, where you are Captain Benjamin Willard [the role played by Martin Sheen] amidst the harsh backdrop of the Vietnam War.
“I’ve been watching video games grow into a meaningful way to tell stories, and I’m excited to explore the possibilities for Apocalypse Now for a new platform and a new generation.”
Apocalypse, how?
The game is billed a classic RPG, where players will take control of the soldier sent on a mission terminate with extreme prejudice the despotic Kurtz, who has become a cult leader in the Vietnam jungle, while the war rages on around him. The game will focus on survival rather than all-out action, with combat and fighting to play a minor role.
While the Kickstarter has yet to display any of the actual game footage, the project will be developed by industry veterans who have produced some of the most successful computer game Kickstarter campaigns ever.
