“Under an overcast sky, seemed to lead into the heart of immense darkness.” This is the last line of the book Heart of Darkness and it sums up the setting and tone of the book. Apocalypse Now is a 1979 epic war film set in Vietnam and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. It is based on the book Heart of Darkness. The settings of the book and the film are very different; they take place in completely different locations. However, their effects are very similar to each other and manifest in different ways: in character development, in cultural aspects, as well as thematically. In the same way, the setting has shaped the main characters to be who they are. The character of Marlow in Heart of Darkness is similar to Willard in the film. Marlow tells the story in the heart of darkness. He is a sailor who tries to find the mysterious Kurtz, and he gradually becomes more and more obsessed with him as the plot progresses. The movie is more or less the same way. Willard is a soldier on a mission to exterminate Colonel Kurtz. However, as he gets more and more information about him, his opinions begin to change about him. Both Marlow and Willard attempt to meet Kurtz in some way and have developed similar personalities. They are both presented from a positive perspective, being the main protagonists of the book and film respectively. They also develop similar character qualities: tough, courageous, down-to-earth and independent. Their characters are very likeable; as a reader/viewer, most opinions are based on their point of view (point of view). However, despite these similarities, the director chose to change Willard slightly. For example, a movie is much shorter than a book, so character development is...... middle of paper...... table intention. He looked at you with a vengeful look. Although the time period and location are completely different, this description of the river is very similar to what the viewer experiences in the film. The foreshadowing of the mist in the film and book shows that something bad is about to happen: the ambush of the natives. The thematic elements are also very similar, ranging from imperialism to darkness to madness, as well as the exploration between good and evil. The messages between evil show the terror between the effects of imperialism and the madness of humanity. However, both the book and the film show these effects neither dramatic nor rapid. As TS Eliot's Hollow Men says of "the Apocalypse", "this is how the world ends, this is how the world ends, this is how the world ends, not with a bang but with a moan..”