8 Films That Suffered Horrendous Delays

6. Apocalypse Now A film almost as famous for the arduous production process than the film itself, Apocalypse Now's multiple catastrophes are now the stuff of legend. The initial script by John Milius was championed by George Lucas as far back as 1969, but put on hold when the deal with Warner Brothers fell through. Coppola (who was set to act as executive producer with Lucas as director) then went on to make a little film called The Godfather, and as such was rather distracted for the next decade. The success of the first two Godfather films did however allow him to push ahead as director for Apocalypse Now when the time came. Besides, Lucas himself was busy with some sci-fi project that became rather popular. The omens were not good from the start. During pre-production Typhoon Olga destroyed many of the film's sets, pushing back production for months. Marlon Brando then turned up on set having been slightly too generous with his meal-time portion sizes. When production finally began, things did not get much better. With an initial budget of $12 million and a planned 6 week shoot, Coppola ended up having completed 238 days of shooting spread over 16 months and spent in excess of $31 million. Coppola himself came close to a nervous breakdown, Martin Sheen had a heart attack and thousands of dollars were spent on elaborate set pieces that did not make the (original) final cut. The fact that all these catastrophes and delays did not dilute the film's quality is a testament to Coppola's skill as a director. It remains the great war film.