I noticed similarities right away when I started reading Heart of Darkness. I figured the character of Marlow was like Captain Willard, and Kurtz was, well, Kurtz. Something that was difficult for me was expecting Heart of Darkness to be the same storyline as Apocalypse Now, then I remembered it was only inspired by it. Similarities between Willard and Marlow were not as distinct as Kurtz’ were. Marlow sounded like a man that truly loved adventure, always having a “passion for maps” and would lose himself in “all the glories of exploration” (71). When I first saw Captain Willard, he has a nervous breakdown in his hotel room and punches a glass mirror. Marlow appears to be more infatuated with Kurtz than Willard is in terms of continually thinking he is this remarkable man whereas Willard is told before he is even sent to kill Kurtz that he is a dangerous and despicable person in charge of mass killings of natives in Cambodia.
On the other hand, Kurtz in the novel is this allusive figure-the reader fully believes that he is as amazing as everyone says he is even though he mysteriously produces tons of ivory and is incredibly hard to reach. He also is seen as this amazing figure even after he dies. Willard learns first that Kurtz is a trader, but on his journey he learns that Kurtz was one of the best soldiers and captains of the U.S. army and almost became a general until he went crazy. Both Kurtz’s are regarded as miraculous in their fields and regarded with high esteem at some point.
While Marlow sails to the inner station to find Kurtz he encounters a cannibal tribe as well as pilgrims who wish to take over his ship. Willard also has people take over his boat including natives and people who shoot from the trees killing his fellow crew members. Both Willard and Marlow also remark on people who have had the task of finding Kurtz and not succeeding. Captain Colby in Apocalypse Now and Fresleven in Heart of Darkness. It is interesting how both are subtly mentioned in each work but are still nonetheless important to the story.
When Willard and Marlow finally make it to where Kurtz has been hiding/staying, the description in the novella and the motion picture both show a land filled with decapitated bodies and heads on sticks. Kurtz is also seen and portrayed as incredibly ill and weak, which juxtaposes the demeanor he was presented with in both Conrad and Coppola’s stories. When Marlow finally hears Kurtz speak he describes it as “grave, profound, vibrating, while the man did not seem capable of a whisper” (141). Conrad gives these detailed descriptions of who Kurtz really was that Marlon Brando portrayed so impeccably. He writes, “I saw the inconceivable mystery of a soul that knew no restraint, no faith, and no fear, and yet struggling blindly with itself” (150) and “His was an impenetrable darkness. I looked at him as you peer down at a man who is lying at the bottom of a precipice where the sun never shines” (153). When Marlon Brando is onscreen he is practically in darkness the entire time, barely being able to see his face. He is known for his dark and fervent voice that leaves a lasting impression on people so adding it to this altogether ambiguous character made viewers completely entranced along with Captain Willard. When both Kurtz’s die, they say the same last words-”the horror! the horror!” (154). In the novella, Kurtz quickly becomes more and more ill and Marlow runs out not wanting to see him die. Willard takes a much different approach and slowly walks up behind Kurtz as he is talking to himself and slashes him multiple times with a machete (he is provoked more in the film in my opinion due to the murder of one of his crew members). The similarities in the novella and the adaptation both share the journey of a young seaman and the journey of an experienced general who both are searching for the same adventure and for the truth. 
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