Eleanor Coppola recorded how a cinematic triumph almost came unstuck

It was his film of course, one he had mortgaged their house to pay for. But it was also hers. He, with hundreds of extras, tons of explosives and military hardware loaned, then snatched back, by the Philippines government, was shooting the story of Captain Ben Willard, sent during the Vietnam war to close down an operation run from Cambodia by Colonel Kurtz, a rogue Green Beret. She, with her simple single-lens camera, filmed behind the scenes to show the logistical emergencies, winds and floods, personality clashes and script rehashes that went on day by day. His film, released in 1979, was nominated for eight Oscars and won two. Hers, when it appeared 12 years later (part-edited by her, with her narration and the title “Hearts of Darkness”) won six nominations and an Emmy. It was the best piece of art she ever made.