Monday, April 07, 2008

Coppola (x 2)

Today is Francis Ford Coppola's 69th birthday. Though he's most closely associated with New York, the vineyards of California or Italy itself, he was actually born in Detroit. So many greats come from Michigan, don'cha know. May he make a movie as good as any of these again ...

Those are my six personal favorites from his filmography (not in order. And shut up... I've never seen Godfather Part II. No, I have no excuse).

Come to think of it -- May he make a movie as good as any of these again...


Talent didn't skip a generation.
...so what's your favorite Coppola film? (Francis or Sofia born)
*

31 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love them both.

1. (tie) Apocalypse Now
Lost in Translation
3. The Godfather
4. The Conversation
5. The Godfather: Part II

Anonymous said...

My favorite Coppola made film is either The Conversation and Marie Antoinette.

Glenn Dunks said...

Wait wait wait

you haven't seen The Godfather Part II?

...how is that even remotely possible? Yikes.

1. One from the Heart
2. Lost in Translation
3. The Godfather Part II
4. The Godfather
5. Bram Stoker's Dracula

Yeah, I know my #1 choice is a bit skewed, but I totally covet it like almost no other. But at least I have Godfather II on there!

Luke said...

His Dracula was terrible, Noni being the only saving grace.

NATHANIEL R said...

Luke see i love the madness and abandon of his Dracula... and I think Noni is almost the worst thing in it.

love SADIE FROST! the costumes. the craziness.

sometimes as a guilty pleasure. sometimes i just love.

Glenn... ONE FROM THE HEART and ALL THAT JAZZ ... somebody has a thing, a big thing, for ambitious musicals as the genre was gasping for its last breaths (pre-revival)

Anonymous said...

My favorite is most definitely The Virgin Suicides. I can't think of a better representation of a novel on film. I didn't care for Lost in Translation or Marie Antoinette, but Sofia's debut is a gem.

Anonymous said...

Ah, EASILY The Virgin Suicides.

Carl Joseph Papa said...

francis
1. the godfather
2. apocalypse now
3. the godfather pt 2

sofia
1. lost in translation
2. the virgin suicides
3. marie antoinette

Cinesnatch said...

1. Godfather II
2. The Conversation
3. Godfather
4. First half of Apocalypse Now
5. Peggy Sue Got Married
6. Marie Antoinette
7. Sadie Frost in "Dracula"

Luke said...

Well, I must admit, I turned it off after an hour. And I only mentioned Noni because she's so pretty and makes everything better. :D

NATHANIEL R said...

vinci your #7 is so cute. and defendable ;)

Anonymous said...

The Godfather
The Godfather: Part II
The Conversation

Anonymous said...

About Coppola...
You probably already know it, but finally Javier Bardem will not be in Tetro. The delay in the production of Nine seems to have caused the overlapping of both productions.
Bardem will be replaced by Carmen Maura -Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown-. The source is The Hollywood Reporter, though I have no access and cannot confirm it. Bardem is still listed on IMDB as part of the production.

Iggy

John T said...

Four Coppola films:

1. The Godfather
2. The Godfather, Part II (seriously, Nat, this is one of the greatest films ever made AND a Best Picture winner-why no view?)
3. Lost in Translation

While I like other things from the respective Coppola filmographies, these three easily outpace anything else they've done (for me).

Anonymous said...

Movie
The Godfather
The Godfather II
The Godfather III
The Conversation
Apocalypse Now

No matter how great Sofia's movies are, they are still very far from the level of Dad Coppola.

- cal roth

Anonymous said...

Apocalypse Now is my favorite Coppola.

Um yeah...I kind of can't stand Sofia. I hated Marie Antoinette. & Lost in Translation was just eh.

Duncan said...

Marie Antoinette
Lost in Translation
The Outsiders
The Rainmaker
Hearts of Darkness (technically Eleanor Coppola)

RJ said...

There's nothing I love more that a Nixon-era paranoia thriller. It's why I love The China Syndrome, All the President's Men, Klute, The Parallax View (in all its amazing 70s-ness), and (to some degree) Targets.

So The Conversation easily takes the prize. It's probably one of my favorite movies period.

NATHANIEL R said...

it's a tossup for me between The Conversation and Apocalypse Now, depending on my mood

Anonymous said...

The Godfather is in my Top 20 ever.

Anonymous said...

Of course I like his early work, but I have to admit--Youth Without Youth is one of the most impressive films I've seen in a while. I saw it nearly a month ago, and I still can't get it out of my head. If only other directors from the New Hollywood era would take such risks!

J.D. said...

Okay, so either this is weird or just pathetic: I've seen all three of Sofia's films, but have seen nothing by her father.

Marie Antoinette is, like, perfection though. Yes.

Brian Darr said...

the Conversation and Apocalypse Now. Though I too have not seen everything- including the three films in your bottom FFC row.

I sadly missed Youth Without Youth. Most recently I saw Rumble Fish on DVD and it wasn't bad at all.

Anonymous said...

1. Lost in Translation
2. "City Girl"
3. Marie Antoinette
4. The Virgin Suicides
5. " I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself"
6. Lick the Star
7. "This Here Giraffe"
8. "Playground Love"
9. The Godfather
10. "Shine"

That's how much I f-ing LOOOOVE that woman. Premature and naive it may be, but she's my favourite filmmaker of all time. Her work just makes me feel a certain way that nothing else does.

NATHANIEL R said...

Brian... i'm always shocked when people haven't seen Peggy Sue Got Married (since it was big at the time but probably more because of my Kathleen Turner obsession) but One From the Heart is a really fascinating experiment. Well worth a look from an auteurial perspective.

amir --that's a lotta love.

j.d. your cinephilia is new. I am totally jealous that you can experience so many great movies for the first time! And i mean that honestly.

chad really? I've heard bad things. Maybe I should ignore them.

Duncan said...

I agree, Rumble Fish is worth a look, mainly for its understated use of vintage Mickey Rourke (much like Levinson did in Diner). However, of all of FFC's S.E. Hinton adaptations, I find The Outsiders the most touching. Indeed, there's just something about his films set in the 1950s (Peggy Sue included) that's special. Perhaps because he's a member of the "Silent Generation," the teenagers came of age in the 1950s...

Glenn said...

Nat, you still have The Godfather Part II ahead of you! And you're right, I do have a weird thing for semi-musicals from the tailend of the genre's reign. You could throw in Xanadu, too! Although I am the first to admit that One from the Heart is definitely not for everybody. I'd say it's not more most people.

Take out Nic Cage from Peggy Sue Got Married and we could talk.

Sadie Frost's vampiric entrance to the tomb in that big white frock is just... WOW, is it not?

Anonymous said...

I'm going traditional with Godfathers I & II. Awesome, awesome, awesome.

Apocalypse Now is close behind in the masterpiece category, and The Conversation is a classic. Bram Stoker's Dracula is tons of fun.

Never seen Peggy Sue.

Sofia Coppola is great, too. I love Lost in Translation and Marie Antoinette (to a slightly lesser degree), and have plenty of respect The Virgin Suicides (seriously, Kirsten Dunst should work with her all the time). Nothing she's done yet has approached the mastery of her father's best (that's not a criticism - most filmmakers are lucky to produce something half as good, but she's got exciting potential.

Amir, preferring Sofia's films to Francis's is one thing (even that's stretching it, I think), but her music videos. Come on! But I guess that's subjectivity.

Anonymous said...

Oh, come now. Keanu is by far the worst thing about Dracula. No contest. - Lyn.

Brian Darr said...

One From the Heart does sound very interesting. I'm still kicking myself for missing a two-week engagement of the film at the Castro Theatre several years ago, back before I realized just how rare and unrepeatable these repertory screenings of 35mm prints are.

Glenn Dunks said...

I, for better or worse, saw Apolcalpyse Now Redux. If I'd have been bothered to research which scenes were new and which were not I might be able to guage the film better. Alas.

And, for some reason, I didn't really get into the groove of The Conversation.