20 Things You Somehow Missed In Apocalypse Now

Coppola's original plan for Apocalypse Now was that the film would be shot on locations in Georgia and Florida, with the support of U.S. Army equipment. However, when the script was submitted to the Department of Defense for review, they wanted nothing to do with the film-- they did not want it to be made, and would provide no logistical support. The reason is likely due to the subject matter involving the extrajudicial killings carried out by Colonel Kurtz and his troops, which would have been recognized as a veiled reference to Colonel Rheault and the events of 1969. As a result, Coppola was stuck looking for a new shooting location.

After a search that included scouting in Australia and Malaysia, Coppola eventually decided to shoot the film in the Philippines, both because of the jungles resembling Vietnam, and because the Philippian army used a great deal of American military equipment. The army allowed the production access to their equipment, including their entire flight of helicopters, which cause difficulties during the shoot when the army suddenly needed their helicopters to deal with a local insurrection.