Hearts of Darkness director Eleanor Coppola has died at 87

Eleanor Coppola, director of the ground-breaking filmmaking documentary Hearts of Darkness and wife of Francis Ford Coppola, has passed away at the age of 87.

Eleanor Coppola, the wife of Francis Ford Coppola, has passed away at 87. She is most famously known for her work on Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse, the 1991 documentary that detailed the making of the troubled film Apocalypse Now in 1979.

Eleanor and Francis first met on the set of Dementia 13, Francis’ first feature film. They began dating and were married in 1963. Their children, Gian-Carlo, Roman, and Sofia, all pursued careers in the film industry after growing up on movie sets. Unfortunately, Gian-Carlo passed away in 1986 at the age of 22.

“I hope our family has set an example of supporting each other in their creative endeavors,” Eleanor said in a 2017 interview. “Our children chose to follow in our footsteps, and it wasn’t something we forced upon them. Sofia once said, ‘The nut does not fall far from the tree.’”

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Eleanor documented the tumultuous production of Apocalypse Now, capturing moments like Martin Sheen’s breakdown and the destruction of a costly set that almost derailed the project. “I was just trying to keep busy during the long shoot,” Eleanor explained in 1991. “I started filming for a short TV promo, but it turned into much more. I ended up with 60 hours of footage, a surprise that changed my life.“

Teaming up with co-directors Fax Bahr and George Hickenlooper, Eleanor turned Hearts of Darkness into a renowned filmmaking documentary. She later directed documentaries on other family members’ films, such as Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette. At 80, she ventured into narrative features with Paris Can Wait, a comedy starring Diane Lane and Alec Baldwin, which she wrote and directed. In 2020, she released Love Is Love Is Love.

Our condolences go out to the Coppola family during this difficult time. Rest in peace, Eleanor.

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