Forget Apocalypse Now—this Mekong journey leads to wonder, not horror.
One of the mythic journeys of our time, through the exquisite, complicated, surprising terrain of Vietnam and Cambodia to the great ruins at Angkor - the magnificent Khmer temples being painstakingly restored deep in the Cambodian jungle. It is a high definition odyssey up a river far distanced in time from the corridor into the heart of darkness portrayed in Francis Coppola's "Apocalypse Now." In Angkor, the World Monuments Fund's John Stubbs and John Sanday describe their 15-year restoration of one of the jewels of a city called "the eighth wonder of the world." As we go inside the 12th Century temple complex of Preah Khan, along with the other major sites of Angkor Wat, Bayon and Banteay Srei, we learn that the story of their work in Angkor is not only a story of the rebirth of Angkor after the horrors of the Khmer Rouge Era, but it also is a story of the rebirth of Cambodia.
Cinematography
HD footage of temples being swallowed by jungle reborn.
Direction
Guthman lets the river and ruins do the talking.
Director
Les Guthman
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The World Monuments Fund began Angkor restoration in 1991 when the region was still littered with landmines.
Director Les Guthman specifically framed this as an answer to Coppola's nightmare vision—the same river, opposite destination.
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