Apocalypse Now vs. Heart of Darkness

The major difference that makes a large impact on the story is the fact that in the Congo, the object of being there--and through that--why Mr. Kurtz was there, was that it was for material and financial gain, while it wasn't in Vietnam, which is the setting of Apocalypse Now. The reason that the U.S went to war in Vietnam was to ensure that the communist South didn't change the North into communists, as a proxy war in the larger Cold War with The Soviet Union. So the war was for philosophical and politic reasons, not to plunder the natural resources of the Vietnamese. Because Mr. Kurtz was, while unconventional and at odds with the government that he worked for in both book and movie, bringing very large quantities of profitable Ivory in for the 'government' ran by King Leopold, they had some relative value for him. He was making them very rich, it was just that he was unconventional, and apparently spoiling the region for some time to come. So, in Heart of Darkness, Mr. Kurtz had some intrinsic value monetarily for Leopold, and therefore some worth himself. It changes his worth and therefore the reasons for all happenings to set the story in Vietnam where he was not providing a revenue source, but rather just holding an outpost. It makes him less valuable and therefore causes the leadership to order his execution. It also changes the motivations that led to his brutality with Vietnamese life. In Apocalypse Now, he murders for power, because he can, and because it is wartime. In Heart of Darkness, Mr. Kurtz murders for intimidation (to collect Ivory easier) and because he can. To note, in Apocalypse Now Kurtz does have value in recognizing key enemy agents, but this isn't recognized by the leadership. Also, because Mr. Kurtz was sending back a chain of Ivory back at all times, the leadership could still feel a connection, and some modicum of control over what he did. This, however was not the case in Apocalypse Now because all the leadership in charge of the Vietnam war could do was read the reports on the chaos and assassinations carried out by Kurtz, and so they (rightfully) felt helplessly out of touch and control.