Is Francis Ford Coppola dead?

Started by Duck Sauce, February 06, 2003, 12:43:58 AM

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mutinyco

Quote from: GhostboyWhat can I say, I'm a procrastinator. Also, I really have to force myself to watch things at home...I'm a big screen junkie. But in the interest of cinema history, I've gotten a lot better at sitting down in front of my TV.

I guess it was a sort of timely decision to view them on Wednesday.

You were just waiting to sit down and watch the entire trilogy at once. It's okay, I've still never seen Gone With the Wind.
"I believe in this, and it's been tested by research: he who fucks nuns will later join the church."

-St. Joe

modage


so, i started my Coppola Week this month with One From The Heart.  between this and new york, new  york, its interesting to see two of the 70's biggest directors try (and fail) to resurrect the musical.  both tried to combine a classic musical format with more modern touches.  the story was a familiar one, a couple whose relationship has gone stale, breaks up, investigates other relationships and wind up back together.  harry dean stanton and  nastassja kinski made interesting supporting characters.  but because of the constantly changing tone of the film it was hard to actually care about what was going on, HOWEVER i was never bored.  

this was singlehandedly due to the way this movie was shot.  the lighting colors in every scene were just wildly vibrant.  greens, blues, reds, yellows, sometimes in the same room!  they also never wanted to stay one color for the course of a whole shot, if it started out fully lit the shot would end up a silhouette, etc.  *(there is a great shot where a blue neon sign turns into kinski's face that is just fantastic.) in addition the camera movement was creative (if not a little distracting).  this was all due obviously to shooting the entire thing on a soundstage and coppola taking full advantage of that by making every shot interesting to look at if nothing else.  

perhaps he became so consumed he forgot about telling a good story, or perhaps he just couldnt nail the proper tone between a musical and a modern romance, or perhaps he just fucked up. i didnt think about it at the time, but after reading a review or two i can see an influence on Moulin Rouge (which i love) so, maybe fans of that film can appreciate this for trying as it did.  regardless, it was certainly an interesting failure if nothing else and i almost want to recommend that people watch it just for that reason.
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

ono


modage

yeah i was looking for that.  thanks.
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

modage


a few nights ago i watched Rumble Fish.  which, during the film i kept thinking 'wow this seems like the Outsiders'.  not until after did i find out they were based on books by the same author.  

regardless, this movie was also, worthwhile but overall a miss.  its so interesting though that when the 80s hit Coppola sort of went 'i'm the future of cinema, at least thats what everyone has told me for the past 10 years, so what the hell do i do now?'  and he tried something weird and different with One from the Heart and that didnt work, and went 180 degrees with Rumble Fish and that didnt really work either.

also, this movie had a UGE cast.  in the first five minutes there was Matt Dillon, Diane Lane, Nic Cage, Tom Waits, Chris Penn, Lawrence Fishburne, plus the later addition of Dennis Hopper and Mickey Rourke.  mickey rourke, i've recently discovered must've been the absolute coolest guy on the planet for about 5 years in the early 80s.  i'd only known him from his 'comeback' roles in Spun and OUATIM, and he is completely different (looking sounding everything).  Matt Dillon, on the other hand IS and has always been absolutely terrible.  i dont know how keanu reeves catches as much flack without any being directed at this guy.  he's awful and how he scored lead roles in movies with Gus Van Sant, Cameron Crowe and FF Coppola is just beyond me.  and since the movie rests somewhat on his shoulders, i just couldnt love it.  

its almost impossible for me to believe that the guy who made 2 Godfathers and Apocalypse Now went ON to make THIS MOVIE!  i just cannot believe it.  it seems like he was de-evolving because i could've swore i was watching like his student film.  which is really exactly what this seemed like.  the black and white the moody character driven without really going anywhere, fish symbolism ( and selective color), and the overbearing impressionistic score by police drummer Stewart Copeland!  (although i could hear shades of Brions percussive pdl score in there....)  it really just seemed like a (really good) film he could've made in college.  but like i said it was 180 from OFTH, so i guess he knew he was supposed to do something with cinema, but just didnt have a clue what it was.  but again, i was never bored but never completely captivated.

for anyone who hasnt seen either, if only for historical purposes, i RECOMMEND a double feature of One from the Heart and Rumble Fish.  it will blow minds.
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

coffeebeetle

Has anyone seen You're a Big Boy Now?

I found it to be rather sloppy, but nonetheless entertaining. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0061209/
more than any other time in history, mankind faces a crossroads. one path leads to despair and utter hopelessness. the other, to total extinction. let us pray we have the wisdom to choose correctly.
woody allen (side effects - 1980)

modage


saw The Cotton Club and Tucker: The Man and His Dream today.  the cotton club was watchable, but not great.  from what i read about his becoming attached to the project when it was already way over budget and only having a short time till he began to film and as many drafts of the script as he had written to film, i give him a lot of credit for being able to make the best of it not so bad.  the film itself seemed like a cross between New York, New York and Once Upon A Time In America, but not as bad as either.  it was interesting to see a handful of the Coppola Regulars again (Diane Lane, Tom Waits, Nic Cage, Lawrence Fishburne) and Gere was pretty good as the lead but there just wasnt enough going for this film to really make it interesting.  (again, its just unfathomable how the man who made the Godfather could go on to make this.  was it just a fluke?)
Tucker was pretty good and very enjoyable.  it was interesting to note the similarities to Seabiscuit as far as Jeff Bridges character and even the narration, historical americana feel, etc.  the first 30 minutes or so of the film were just pure joy until things started to go wrong.  by the end of the film i felt more beaten down than the lead character for all the things they had tried to do to him.  it was an interesting story, and also interesting to see Coppola put a few of his One From The Heart filmmaking techniques to good use in this film where they were used selectively and well.
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

modage


FINALLY finished up Coppola week (two weeks, whatever) with The Rainmaker yesterday. i really have never been interested in a courtroom or john grisham-type movie but i was entertained nonetheless.  great cast, incl. matt damon pre-anybody-giving-a-shit-who-he-is, (peak) claire danes (where the hell has she been?), mickey rourke (pre-comeback) and danny devito and jon voight.  story kept me interested and cast kept me entertained.  pretty good, but sort of by-the-numbers seeming movie.  what kept ringing in my head was a quote by coppola (i believe) about basically being ashamed at having to do a john grisham adaptation when he really wanted to be an auteur.  that was kind of sad, especially when he was able to make it pretty good.  so, i think the ones i've seen would go something like this...

1. the godfather pt. 1 and pt. 2
2. apocalypse now
3. bram stokers dracula
4. the conversation
5. tucker: the man and his dream
6. the rainmaker
7. one from the heart
8. the outsiders
9. rumble fish
10. godfather pt. 3
11. peggy sue got married
12. cotton club
Christopher Nolan's directive was clear to everyone in the cast and crew: Use CGI only as a last resort.

grand theft sparrow

So glad to see that someone else thinks Rainmaker is an underrated flick.

And why did you skip over Jack?   :wink:

MacGuffin

Putin Praises Coppola's Films

Russian President Vladimir Putin praised the works of director Francis Ford Coppola as the two met for tea at the Kremlin before Coppola received a film award.

"In Russia your works are well known and highly valued," Putin told Coppola during a televised portion of the meeting Saturday. He said he was not just referring to "The Godfather" which is extremely popular in Russia but also to films "that so accurately tell of the horrors of war."

Coppola, in turn, lauded Putin's speech marking the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz by Soviet troops, during which Putin said he was ashamed of anti-Semitism's existence in Russia.

"Excellent speech," Coppola said. "But in person you look much younger than you did on TV."

Coppola was in Moscow to receive a Golden Eagle award from Russia's National Academy of Cinematic Arts and Sciences for his contribution to world cinematography.

Coppola gave Putin a DVD of "Lost in Translation," for which his daughter, Sofia Coppola, won an Oscar for best original screenplay in 2004.

Coppola told Putin that both he and his daughter had won their first Oscar at age 32, and the Russian president responded, "Now your granddaughter must do it."


American film director Francis Ford Coppola, left, gives a DVD copy of his daughter Sofia Coppola's movie "Lost in Translation" to Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting in the Kremlin in Moscow, Saturday, Jan. 29, 2005. Coppola met with Putin in the Kremlin hours ahead of a ceremony in which he was to receive a Golden Eagle, a Russian award, for his contribution to world cinematography.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


Skeleton FilmWorks

Two Lane Blacktop

Quote from: MacGuffinPutin Praises Coppola's Films



Aw, man, Coppola didn't even take those annoying anti-theft stickers off the DVD before giving it to Putin.

This'll cause an international incident, you just watch.  

2LB
Body by Guinness

Myxo

That picture would have some serious photoshop potential if you could make out the DVD cover.

cine

Tomorrow's headline:

Putin pans 'Lost In Translation'; returns gift

soixante

What about Peggy Sue Got Married and Gardens of Stone?  To me, Coppola and Lucas were on parallel tracks -- they could do no wrong in the 70's, but neither could make a watchable film in the 80's.

The first four adaptations of Grisham novels ( The Firm, Pelican Brief, The Client, A Time to Kill) were prosaic films by Hollywood journeymen directors.  The Rainmaker was the first time an auteur tackled Grisham, followed in short order by Robert Altman's Gingerbread Man.

It is interesting and instructive to see how Coppola and Altman find interesting ways to give Grisham legal thrillers a certain amount of style (as opposed to Joel Schumacher's straightforward approach).
Music is your best entertainment value.

Ravi