Movies

Coppola, born in  April 7th 1939, graduated the Hofstra University where he studied theatre. Afterwards he enrolled himself in the UCLA Film School and graduated with a M.F.A. in film directing. During his time at Hofstra he had written various plays and musicals for the performing students. While attending UCLA he had directed a number of shorts, including  the horror film The Two Christophers which was inspired by Edgar Allen Poes short story William Wilson. Francis had his most significant break when he became the apprentice of Z-movie filmmaker Roger Corman. After proving his worth in many of Cormans projects, Coppola was allowed to make his own project.

In 1963 he wrote, directed and produced with just a few thousand dollars and a crew of nine people, his first feature, Dementia 13. After graduation he started to grow in the eyes of the Warner Brothers and spent the next years working as a screenwriter. While making his way up in Hollywood, Coppola visualized a utopia for young filmmakers yearning for creative freedom in the making of their films. Coppola and his friend, George Lucas,  created American Zoetrope in San Francisco, California. Despite their united talent, their first production, in 1971, was a major box office disaster, albeit critically successful. With a budget of almost 800 thousand dollars the movie, THX 1138, only grossed 5,000 dollars in the US. After the enormous financial loss, Coppola needed employment. Paramount Pictures offered him the task to do an adaptation of Mario Puzos The Godfather. He, reluctantly, accepted the offer, mostly just because he needed money. This was, of course, a very good decision as The Godfather proved to be one masterpiece of a movie, being a success critically and financially. Coppola demanded creative power over the making of the film, and eventually got his own way of depicting the Mafia without disrespecting his Italian heritage.

Francis Ford Coppola finished shooting The Godfather in just seven days, having over 90 hours of footage. In his initial cut of the film he had it down to just a bit over two hours, but under the suggestion of the Vice President of production from Paramount, he re-edited, adding one extra hour to the film. This was the finishing touch to what would be later known as one of the best films ever made. The Godfather has a place for itself engraved for many years to come, in the film industry. Studied and analyzed by film students everywhere, The Godfather made the world see what Francis Ford Coppola has contributed to filmmaking, being only the first of many great films to be done by this promising, rising new director.

Not two years after the release of The Godfather, Coppola had given us its sequel The Godfather Part II. Wanting full creative power over the movie, he produced it himself. Unlike its predecessor this one took Coppola nine months to film, something he did all over the globe, from Sicily to the Dominican Republic and in the United States. Financial success was already expected, but this film surprised everyone with its unbelievable quality, making it probably the best sequel ever done, putting it in the same ranks as the first film. By this point, Coppolas name was gold. The Godfather Part I and Part II both won Oscars for Best Picture.

In the same year as The Godfather Part II, in 1974, Coppola also made another amazing film, which is also his most personal. The Conversation, inspired by his childhood passion of eavesdropping on his parents conversations, especially his attempts at finding out what he was going to receive for Christmas. Critically successful, the movie was amazingly received at the Cannes Festival, and was only outdone, by his other release of the year, the already mentioned Part II of The Godfather.

These three movies, and their amazing success, overshadowed Coppolas other releases which were very disappointing both financially and critically. His next movie was released in 1979, Apocalypse Now, a movie that was so grueling to everyone in production, taking up one year and a half to finish shooting instead of the scheduled six weeks. Francis was under such stress that he threatened to commit suicide and one of the main cast, Martin Sheen aged 36, suffered a heart attack. Apocalypse Now was amazingly successful and greatly received by critics and audience. The film had put Coppola through physical and emotional suffering, so much that he needed a break from war movies and violent gangster films which had made him famous. Thus, he took a new approach for his newest film, a romantic musical.

One From The Heart was released in 1982. Having enough of filming on location, he decided to do this project entirely in a studio. Coppola even added to the feel of the movie by filming it in 1.371 aspect ratio like in the 40s and 50s. Coppola hired Gene Kelly as technical advisor for the film. In the end, the movie production cost was severely high, the quality of the film low and was a major disappointment in all departments despite Coppolas serious attempt in making a musical. Following all his previous financial flops, the failure of One From The Heart severely crippled Coppolas bank account. In 1983 he took on another project The Outsiders based on the novel by Susie Hinton. Coppola didnt have enough money to pay Hinton, but he offered her a percentage of  the profits. Hinton had faith in Coppola and she agreed to let him make the film. Luckily, the movie did great at the box office. This movie was just what Coppola needed to get back on his feet. Following the success of this movie, Coppola did another Hinton adaptation, Rumble Fish, in the same year.  He started filming right after finishing The Outsiders.

Coppola chose a different touch on this film. Filmed in black and white with only two symbolic images presented in color, it was meant as an art film for kids. Unlike The Outsiders, this one was another flop. However thanks to the highly successful box office that The Outsiders received, American Zoetrope managed to live on. Becoming a major name in the film industry in the 70s, Coppola had a steady downfall in the 80s. He had strived to present new material with experimental techniques, but in the end he was left questioning his future in the movie business. Coppola was the third director behind Jonathan Demme and Penny Marshall to be involved with Peggy Sue Got Married, the title of which is lifted from a Buddy Holly song, but eventually he was thought to be the best choice for this project. Production started in 1985 and was finished eight weeks later. Trying to get his reputation back, Coppola kept the production under budget and time limits. Released in 1986, Peggy Sue Got Married was an instant hit, rumored to have surpassed its predecessor, and it was Coppolas best movie of that decade. Paramount Pictures had been trying to get Francis Ford Coppola to finish the Godfather Trilogy for years, but he was no longer interested in gangster movies. Mario Puzo had written scripts for a third installment twice, without success. Being tired of gangster movies, Coppola chose to spend the 80s and millions of dollars on experimental projects, bringing his visions to the big screen. Sadly, most of them were disasters that cost him a great amount of his money bringing him to increasing fear of bankruptcy and losing American Zoetrope. In 1990 he decided to return to the franchise that made him famous. Coppola had written and directed The Godfather Part III. The title Coppola gave to his film was originally The Death Of Michael Corleone but, despite his protest, the title was changed to its final form.Most of the significant cast and crew returned for the sequel, but the production was troubled. When the film was finally released to its overly eager public, it was generally well received. He gave his daughter Sofia, the role of Michael Corleones daughter. Her performance being heavily criticized, criticism that Coppola insists is misdirected towards him.Two years after its release, Coppola edited all three parts of the trilogy into a 583 minute epic which he released on video. He also re-released Apocalypse Now, years later after its theatrical run.Coppola often casts his real-life family members in his films. In the Godfather Trilogy, their characters relationships to Michael Corleone often paralleled their real-life relationship to Coppola. His sister, Talia Shire, played Michaels sister Connie, and his daughter, Sofia Coppola, had the role of Michaels daughter Mary who was named for Coppolas other daughter.

In 1992 Coppola made Bram Stokers Dracula. The film has its strengths and its weaknesses. Of its strengths, the most impressive is Coppolas use of complimentary old and new filmmaking technologies. In homage to vintage vampire films like Nosferatu (1922) and Dracula (1931), Coppola used many of the techniques popular in the early years of filmmaking (for example using irises to cut from one scene to the next) and even used an old Path camera to shoot some footage. And then seamlessly tied in are some of the most cutting edge special effects and make-up technologies available. On top of that youve got beautiful period costumes and sets that add to the amazing visuals of the picture. The film made over eighty million dollars in its US theatrical run and much more abroad. Coppola now had two consecutive hits with this and The Godfather Part III. This brought Zoetrope back in business. Since he first started directing up until the present day, he has done 32 films in total. In the 2000s he has not been as active making only 3 movies in 10 years. Although his skills have not faded and we can still see Coppola in his new films, in each he gives us his own vision. In 2007 he made a film adaptation of Romanian writer Mircea Eliades novel Youth Without Youth after he received the book, read it and liked the story, he decided he wanted to put it on the big screen. Francis Ford Coppola is and will be one of the greatest directors the film industry will ever have, opening eyes to everyone who sees his films, his talent remarkably distinct. His latest movie Tetro was released in 2009, greatly received by audiences and critics.

The Godfather films are personal. And they are, even though our family were never gangsters, and we only heard about somebody who knew a gangster. But still, the real day-to-day reality of the Italian family that was put into the gangster film was based on my family and what I remember as a kid. You cant make films without them being personal to some extent.

I think Tetro is the most beautiful film Ive ever done in terms of how it was made. I dont know what people will make of the picture, but just the filmmaking part of it, Ive learnt to put it together beautifully.- Francis Ford Coppola.