He was the creator of the cinematic myth of Dons. His marvelous effort ranks 3rd at AFI 100 Years 100 Movies list, just behind Citizen Kane and Casablanca (in order). He is Coppola- the director of Godfather.
Coppola directed some of the greatest movies of all times but his career is overshadowed by one big name- Godfather. More people remember Marlon Brando as Don than Mario Puzo, the creator of the character. Godfather is one of few novels that are overshadowed by the celluloid Xerox.
Godfather was his destiny. He was born in Detroit to a family of Italia ancestry. As a child, Coppola suffered from polio. Unlike hundreds of thousands who surrender, he fought and chased his dreams. With his father’s 8 mm camera, he started making movies (homemade puppet theatre) at age of ten. That was just a beginning.
His career started off with a low budget movie- Dementia 13. That was early 1960s. But his big kick was in 1971 when he bagged an Academy Award for Patton (Best Screenplay). He followed up with highly acclaimed Godfather (1972), The Conversation (1974) and Godfather II (1974). His next venture was Apocalypse Now (1979). It was the pinnacle of his career. His paid a lot for this venture and returns compensated. Like Citizen Kane, the movie achieved fame exponentially. Today, some critics rank it over Godfather.
His next few ventures were failure including an acclaimed cinematic effort- The Cotton Club. In late 80s, people considered him to be a jinxed demigod. He was desperate to prove people wrong. He returned with a bang- Godfather III. Though it did not win critical accolades, it was a blockbuster giving Coppola a much deserved success.
Even today, Coppola is a big Hollywood name. For some people, box-office doesn’t mean success or failure. Coppola is one of them.
For The Reel; Written By: Sujoy Ghosh
Coppola directed some of the greatest movies of all times but his career is overshadowed by one big name- Godfather. More people remember Marlon Brando as Don than Mario Puzo, the creator of the character. Godfather is one of few novels that are overshadowed by the celluloid Xerox.
Godfather was his destiny. He was born in Detroit to a family of Italia ancestry. As a child, Coppola suffered from polio. Unlike hundreds of thousands who surrender, he fought and chased his dreams. With his father’s 8 mm camera, he started making movies (homemade puppet theatre) at age of ten. That was just a beginning.
His career started off with a low budget movie- Dementia 13. That was early 1960s. But his big kick was in 1971 when he bagged an Academy Award for Patton (Best Screenplay). He followed up with highly acclaimed Godfather (1972), The Conversation (1974) and Godfather II (1974). His next venture was Apocalypse Now (1979). It was the pinnacle of his career. His paid a lot for this venture and returns compensated. Like Citizen Kane, the movie achieved fame exponentially. Today, some critics rank it over Godfather.
His next few ventures were failure including an acclaimed cinematic effort- The Cotton Club. In late 80s, people considered him to be a jinxed demigod. He was desperate to prove people wrong. He returned with a bang- Godfather III. Though it did not win critical accolades, it was a blockbuster giving Coppola a much deserved success.
Even today, Coppola is a big Hollywood name. For some people, box-office doesn’t mean success or failure. Coppola is one of them.
For The Reel; Written By: Sujoy Ghosh
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