Book vs Movie

A key difference between Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now is the setting. Heart of Darkness is set in the Congo; Apocalypse Now takes place in Vietnam. The novel focuses on Kurtz in the Congo where he is obtaining ivory for personal, financial gain. The movie however is set to the more recent time of the Vietnam War. The story is changed a lot seeing as the fighting is war-related rather than over a demand for a good. The movie and the book are similar in the fact that the natives are being invaded and are forced to fight. The "natives" however do not play as vital a role in the movie as they did in the book. The differing settings do share an important characteristic though, that of the terrain. The characters have to navigate through the mysterious jungle throughout their journeys which is a common key element.