Whatever happened to Francis Ford Coppola?

In the 70's Francis Ford Coppola was considered the top director in the world, the leader of the New Wave of younger Hollywood directors to take over the reigns of the industry. This new wave of directors consisting of Coppola, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorcese and Brian DePalma were given praises and the blessing of the aging directors as their succesors. Of these names Spielberg was like the only that was considered still a work of art in progress, since all he was doing were blockbuster popcorn flicks and hasn't made yet a 'serious film'. Coppola had already done The Conversation, The Godfather Part 1 & 2 plus was already hard at work on his next masterpiece, "Apocalypse Now". Surely he was revered by critics and his films were also commercial success. But after the Vietnam War film he went into a slump. His films began to be less commercial and critics were not loving them. He made "One From the Heart", a musical that barely anyone watched it, "The Cotton Club' & "Peggy Sue Got Married" a bit better movies thant the previous one, but they weren't 'loved' by anyone and were a box office bombs. His movies went over schedule, over budget (an old pattern from the Godfather which made the studios very nervous) and ended losing money big time. His ambition to create a new film studio, Zoetroupe Studios, left him in near bankrupcy. He needed a hit badly. The Godfather part III was more a disappointment than the runaway blockbuster he was expecting. So when then popular actress Wynona Ryder, who was originally slated to play Michael Corleone's daughter, offered him to direct her pet project, 'Bram Stoker's Dracula', he took it immediately as a sort of pay job. The film was a success and put him back on track. Then he followed it with a series of forgettable films which were not that bad, but neither memorable nor box office winners. He produced a ton of films with mixed results and now at age 73, after filming two very small films only a handful people have seen, he revealed that he is planning a big budget film set in New York and will tell a story that spans from the 1920's to the 1960's. Will the old master do it again and deliver a masterpiece or has he lost his magic touch?

 

Nicolas Cage is his nephew.

 

If you look at his resume, 6 straight classic, must-watch-and-must-have movies in the 1970s....maybe a couple in the 80s and then zip.

 

Making the first two Godfather films and The Conversation eclipses the work of 500 directors combined... he doesn't really need to prove anything

 

They're not that good...

 

i know you don't like it but you gotta put Apocalypse in there as well.

 

i thought the last movie he did was that don juan flick w/ johnny depp and brando.

 

yes they are

That is easily three of the most remarkable films ever made by anyone ever

How many directors can lay claim to three films that good as well as a fourth (as Gatti mentioned) that is considered a classic by many (I'm not a fan, though the first hour or two is excellent and gripping)

David Lean had "Bridge On The River Kwai" and "Lawrence Of Arabia" and "Doctor Zhivago" (though I'm not a big fan of that last one)

Scorsese had "Taxi Driver", "Goodfellas", maybe "Mean Streets" or "Raging Bull"

It's pretty exclusive company there

 

I bow to popular criticism there, agreed. I don't like the film much, but most people, critical and otherwise, DO like it... a lot. Add that to Godfather I and II as well as The Conversation... that's a ridiculous resume