1970s

Widely considered one of the best war movies ever made, Francis Ford Coppola's 1979 Vietnam War epic Apocalypse Now follows Martin Sheen's US Army Captain as he journeys up the Nung River from South Vietnam into Cambodia on a mission to assassinate the renegade Colonel Kurtz, played by Marlon Brando. With production in the Philippines fraught with problems including severe weather and ill health, the film went over schedule and over budget, prompting Coppola to explain at the first screening in Cannes ...We had access to too much money, too much equipment, and little by little we went insane. The troubled production was chronicled in the 1991 documentary Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse.

Prolific poster artist Bob Peak was commissioned to create a series of paintings to promote the film. Two of Peak’s artworks were used for the US campaign and for subsequent international releases. A third artwork with a dark and unsettling image of Brando as the demented Kurtz was released exclusively in Germany. This is the rare and sought after style C German release, with a stunning contrast of light and dark that is reminiscent of Rembrandt. In The Art of Bob Peak, it was revealed that of all his movie work, Peak was the most proud of his work on Apocalypse Now. The film was nominated for eight Academy Award, including Best Picture, winning two for Sound and Cinematography. 

Condition

Excellent (A-)

Prior to backing this poster had one vertical and three horizontal machine folds. Backing and light retouching has smoothed and diminished the folds. Distributor's snipe to lower right corner. Image and colours excellent.