Honesty Over Success

Paper by Amanda Darouie. Viewed on DVD.

Francis Ford Coppola understood the power of risk, the power of thinking like a kid, and the power of following what your gut is saying the right thing to do is. He’s directed more than a handful of movies all over the spectrum in terms of budget, and genre but won Hollywood’s attention with a few blockbusters that launched his directing career further than he anticipated and for which he is remembered for to this day. Before this assignment, the only thing I knew about Coppola was what I saw of him in the behind the scenes documentary of “Apocalypse Now” called “Hearts of Darkness.” The way he approached the process of production and his persistence in the making of “Apocalypse Now”, a two hundred and thirty-eight day shooting schedule, inspired me and caught my interest. He had vigor for his story and was willing to pay whatever price to get the shots and performances he needed. Coppola had a dream of writing and directing personal stories, but his unpredicted success at an early age drew him off of that course. Coppola was a convicted director who believed in personal stories, and who developed an inspiring artistic process over the years of his career. In all of the movies that I viewed for this unit, “Godfather” parts one, two and three, “The Conversation”, and “Apocalypse Now” Coppola’s view of the world and the values he holds true to including honesty and family come across in his work.

As an artist, Coppola never intended for his career to take the path that it did. His success was short-lived but the legacy of the few successful stories he directed live on. He attributes his success to taking risks and following your instincts when it’s telling you to try something new. Some of his “most applauded decisions as a director” have been ones that his Hollywood bosses have disapproved of. Early in his career Coppola struggled with the shackles that the studios kept him in. After his career took up, Coppola developed a philosophy that directors who are able to should self-finance their movies allowing them complete freedom from studios and the pressures of creating a product to please investors. He started a wine business in order to finance his films. Something I admired about him in “Hearts of Darkness” was his commitment and the fact that his is “all-in” as a director and willing to do whatever he needed to tell his stories in an honest way. I think that was Coppola’s worldview- a hope for honesty and truth in the midst of corruption and a fallen humanity. I think all of the movies I watched for this section exemplify this and show traces of the things he values.

The film that launched Coppola’s career in Hollywood was “The Godfather.” Despite it’s success Coppola called the production of “The Godfather” a nightmare. He despised the pressures from the studios and more than once almost lost his job because of conflicts in creative and casting decisions. The production of “The Godfather” epitomizes Coppola’s career. This was not the type of movie he wanted to direct, but in a time when he needed money he took the job and regrets that the success of the movie in turn lead his career down a different path than he dreamt of. With all of that said, Coppola was still able to tell a story that included some of his characteristic themes. Coppola’s god-fatherly nature comes across in the film. The story focused a lot on family, which came across specifically in the scenes where they would hold family meetings. I think as the audience watches this movie they search for truth and goodness in the characters who are surrounded by corruption and the mob lifestyle. I think the fact that the Godfather originally refuses to partake in business that involved drugs shows a theme of conviction and maturity on part of the Godfather who knew that giving into the money that the drug business might have would put his business and his family into danger.

The second Godfather film is considered by majority to be the most successful. Coppola originally denied the opportunity to direct the film, but when studios denied his request to has Scorsese direct it, he decided to take it under the condition that he would self-finance it granting him freedom from the studio pressures he faced in production of the first “Godfather”. Coppola masterfully “intricetely interrelates two periods” winning an Oscars all around in 1975 including Best Picture. The second Godfather took Coppola to another level of freedom, but continued on the path of themes that the first one started including corruption, strict business, and the importance of family. “Its business, not personal” is a statement made through the whole trilogy. It ties in with the theme of corruption and the unsettling feeling that the line gives because of the truth it reveals about the violent things the family does as business. With that said, the line also implies the separation between the violent nature of the family business, and the personal lives of the family. Coppola implements a fatherly protective nature over his characters and his value of family shows in the way the Godfather’s family lives and fights for one another.

In between the second and third parts of the Godfather trilogy, Coppola dusted off an old script and directed a film that was personal to him. “The Conversation” says Coppola, is the type of story he wanted to tell. Before his career took off he dreamt of directing small low budget films that were personal stories. The story follows Harry Caul, a surveillance expert. One theme that I caught onto early and that I thought was interesting throughout the movie was the separation between the audio and the visuals of the film. I think this movie ties directly into Coppola’s common theme of corruption. The whole movie is about Caul’s attempt to figure out why this conversation that he was hired to record was so important and why it would cause this couple to be murdered. Caul feels a sense of guilt and pressure to relieve the situation. His character is an honest one and he is someone who risks his life and career to just do the right think. I think that Harry Caul is Coppola in a nutshell.

As audiences anticipated a concluding chapter to the Godfather series, the third Godfather was considered a failure in comparison. It got mixed reviews but for critics just could not bring the closure that die-hard Godfather fans needed. The film completes the story of Michael Corleone. The first obvious theme of the story is forgiveness. From the beginning of the series we are introduced to a Michael that is uninterested in the family business, and now here we are with a Michael that is saddened by a life that he did not ask for. I think it could be said that Michael’s career in the family business and where it took him has a strong correlation with Coppola’s career and the sadness he faced that his career did not take the path he wanted.

Coppola is a legendary auteur who will be forever remembered by these handful of movies and whom embodies a character and work ethic worthy of much success.

Works Cited:

1. ”Francis Ford Coppola”, Senses of Cinema. Brian Dauth, May 2006, Great Directors, Issue 39.
2. “An Interview with Francis For Coppola”. Alison Beard, 2011.
3. “Back to Bernalda”. Francis Ford Coppola, Novemeber 15, 2012.
4. “The Liberation of Francis For Coppola”. Bruce Handy.
5. “Francis Ford Coppola”: On Money, Risk, and Collaboration.” Artison Anderson.

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Published:
09.18.14 / 3pm
Category:
Academic Papers, DVD, Films