Before Francis Ford Coppola unleashes his passion project Megalopolis on the world, there are plenty of other movies to check out from the director. In the 1970s, Coppola rose to prominence as one of the most acclaimed filmmakers of the New Hollywood movement. From The Godfather to Apocalypse Now, Coppola helmed four of the greatest movies ever made back-to-back. This year, Coppola has been making headlines with one of the most ambitious independent productions in film history. The director has invested millions out of his own pocket to bring his long-gestating sci-fi epic Megalopolis to life.
From allegations of inappropriate on-set behavior to trouble securing a distribution deal, Megalopolis has faced every problem imaginable in the lead-up to its release. Most recently, the filmmakers faced some heat for including fake review quotes in the latest Megalopolis trailer. The fraught production of Megalopolis has drawn comparisons to past Coppola movies, which faced similar challenges in their journey to the screen. After receiving mixed reviews from critics, Megalopolis is set to finally arrive in theaters on September 27. Before then, there are plenty of previous Coppola masterpieces to catch up on.
7 The Godfather (1972)
The movie that solidified Coppola’s reputation as one of the world’s greatest filmmakers and cemented the American New Wave’s takeover of the Hollywood movie industry was 1972’s The Godfather. Based on the Mario Puzo novel of the same name, The Godfather revolves around the fictional Corleone crime family. The patriarch, Vito, must choose a successor following an attempt on his life. He initially wants to keep his youngest son, Michael, out of the family business, so he can be the first Corleone to lead a legitimate life. But Michael ends up getting drawn into the business and succeeding his father.
The Godfather
won three Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Actor (Marlon Brando), and Best Writing,
Until The Godfather came along, the gangster genre was defined by well-worn archetypes and familiar clichés. By imbuing the Corleone saga with the rich minutiae of Italian-American life, Coppola brought a refreshing sense of authenticity that was missing from previous gangster films. Marlon Brando and Al Pacino anchor the movie with two of the finest performances in cinema history – Brando as the aging patriarch and Pacino as the favorite son swayed from his wayward path. The Godfather was both universally praised by critics and a blockbuster hit at the box office.
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Francis Ford Coppola directed this 1978 classic that would go on to become one of the most iconic crime films ever made. Starring Marlon Brando, James Caan, and Al Pacino, The Godfather gives a tense and introspective look into the Corleone crime family of New York City.
Director Francis Ford Coppola Release Date March 24, 1972 Studio(s) Paramount Pictures Distributor(s) Paramount+ Writers Mario Puzo , Francis Ford Coppola Cast Marlon Brando , Diane Keaton , James Caan , Al Pacino , Robert Duvall Runtime 175 minutes Expand
Related Vito Corleone’s The Godfather Timeline Explained (In Chronological Order)
Vito Corleone was already rich and powerful when audiences met him in The Godfather, but Part II filled in his complex (and tragic) backstory.
6 The Rainmaker (1997)
After suffering some of the worst reviews of his career with Jack, Coppola bounced back with the 1997 legal thriller The Rainmaker. Adapted from the John Grisham novel of the same name, The Rainmaker revolves around a young, underdog lawyer taking on a corrupt insurance company. Grisham’s work has been adapted for the screen many times, from The Firm to The Client to The Pelican Brief, but The Rainmaker is arguably the best of the bunch, because it doesn’t just adapt Grisham’s plot; it adapts the everyday immersion and colorful supporting characters that make his writing so great.
The Rainmaker was lauded for eschewing the usual clichés of the courtroom genre and depicting the day-to-day life of a lawyer with a surprising degree of realism. Every client matters, and they often require more from their lawyer than just legal services, and The Rainmaker captures that. Most Grisham adaptations iron out the subtlety of his books, but Coppola’s movie thrives on that subtlety. An early-career Matt Damon gives a gripping performance in the lead role, and Coppola maintains the tension from start to finish.
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The Rainmaker is a legal drama directed by Francis Ford Coppola and based on John Grisham’s novel. The film stars Matt Damon as Rudy Baylor, a young attorney taking on a powerful insurance company with the help of a paralegal, played by Danny DeVito. As Rudy faces off against an experienced defense lawyer, he aims to achieve justice for his clients while navigating the challenges of the legal system.
Director Francis Ford Coppola Release Date November 21, 1997 Writers John Grisham , Francis Ford Coppola , Michael Herr Cast Matt Damon , Danny DeVito , Claire Danes , Jon Voight , Mary Kay Place , dean stockwell , Teresa Wright , Virginia Madsen Runtime 135 Minutes Main Genre Drama Expand
5 Peggy Sue Got Married (1986)
Uncharacteristically lighthearted for a Coppola film, 1986’s Peggy Sue Got Married is a feel-good fantasy rom-com. Kathleen Turner stars as a woman on the brink of a divorce, who attends her 25-year high school reunion with her daughter (rather than her husband, Charlie, who was her high school sweetheart). At the reunion, Peggy Sue is magically transported back in time to her senior year in 1960. It seems as though the universe has given her a second chance to avoid marrying Charlie and choose a different path, but she finds herself falling for Charlie all over again.
Everyone looks back on their life with regret and wonders what could have been. With Peggy Sue Got Married, Coppola brought that introspection to the screen in a touching story about true love. Peggy Sue Got Married arrived in the midst of a wave of similarly nostalgic movies in the mid-‘80s – Back to the Future being the most iconic example – but what made it stand out was the sincerity of Coppola’s direction and the commitment of Turner’s performance. Whereas Back to the Future gets bogged down in its complicated sci-fi plotting, Peggy Sue Got Married focuses squarely on the emotions.
4 The Conversation (1974)
From Alan J. Pakula’s Klute to Roman Polanski’s Chinatown to John Schlesinger’s Marathon Man, it seemed that every Hollywood filmmaker came out with their own paranoid conspiracy thriller in the years following the Watergate scandal. In between the first and second Godfather films, Coppola seized the opportunity to write and direct his own post-Watergate thriller, 1974’s The Conversation. In a contemporary spin on Michelangelo Antonioni’s Blowup, The Conversation stars Gene Hackman as surveillance expert Harry Caul. While carrying out a routine wiretapping assignment, Caul hears something he wasn’t supposed to and becomes paranoid that he’s being targeted for assassination.
Hackman gives one of the greatest performances of his career, capturing Caul’s worsening paranoia perfectly as he finds more and more evidence that he’s being followed. Coppola charts this journey spectacularly from behind the camera, matching every element of the filmmaking to Caul’s fears. Walter Murch and Richard Chew’s editing masterfully ratchets up the suspense as the conspiracy closes in on Caul. The only reason The Conversation isn’t more widely known is because Coppola’s own The Godfather Part II outshone it in 1974. Coppola achieved the near-impossible Oscar feat of losing Best Picture to himself.
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*Availability in US Director Francis Ford Coppola Release Date April 7, 1974 Writers Francis Ford Coppola Cast Gene Hackman , John Cazale , Allen Garfield , Frederic Forrest , Cindy Williams , Michael Higgins Runtime 113 minutes Main Genre Drama Expand
3 Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)
There had been dozens of film adaptations of the seminal Bram Stoker novel Dracula before Coppola took a stab at it in 1992, but Coppola aimed for a much more faithful adaptation, as evidenced by his chosen title, Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Bram Stoker’s Dracula follows the episodic structure of the source material, starting off with Dracula falling for Mina Harker in the first half before bringing in Van Helsing to end his reign of terror in the second half. Coppola also digs into Dracula’s backstory as Vlad the Impaler in the unnerving 1400s-set prologue.
Coppola brought the gothic descriptions of Stoker’s book to life with moody cinematography, extravagant costumes, and foreboding sets.
Although Keanu Reeves’ less-than-convincing English accent in the role of Jonathan Harker was universally panned, just about every other aspect of Bram Stoker’s Dracula was widely praised. Gary Oldman’s uniquely eccentric turn as Dracula, Winona Ryder’s impassioned portrayal of Mina, and Anthony Hopkins’ understated performance as Van Helsing were all well-received. Above all, Bram Stoker’s Dracula was lauded for its visual style. Coppola brought the gothic descriptions of Stoker’s book to life with moody cinematography, extravagant costumes, and foreboding sets. It might not be the greatest Dracula movie ever made, but Bram Stoker’s Dracula is visually stunning.
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*Availability in US Director Francis Ford Coppola Release Date November 13, 1992 Writers Bram Stoker , James V. Hart Cast Gary Oldman , Winona Ryder , Anthony Hopkins , Keanu Reeves , Richard E. Grant , Cary Elwes Runtime 2h 8m
2 The Godfather Part II (1974)
For the past half-century, The Godfather Part II has been the go-to example of a sequel that outdoes its predecessor. The original movie is regarded to be one of the greatest films ever made and a landmark in cinema history, so topping it with a sequel would’ve seemed nearly impossible. But somehow, Coppola did it. The Godfather Part II is part sequel, part prequel. As it follows up on Michael succeeding his father as the head of the family, it simultaneously jumps back in time to show how Vito built his criminal empire in the first place.
By contrasting Vito’s rise to authority with Michael’s moral downfall, The Godfather Part II deepens the themes of power and loyalty introduced in the first movie. The climactic christening scene in the first movie showed what a heartless monster Michael had become in taking up his father’s mantle, but the sequel showed that he was capable of even more inhumanity; the christening massacre was just the tip of the iceberg. Pulling off a superior sequel to The Godfather is a feat that’s almost as impressive as making a sci-fi epic with a self-funded nine-figure budget.
The Godfather Part II 
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Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather II continues Michael Corleone’s story as he expands the Corleones’ presence as a crime syndicate. The film is also half devoted to the backstory of Vito Corleone, following his rise to power in 1920s New York City. While The Godfather is considered one of the greatest movies ever made, The Godfather Part II was able to live up to the original and secure six Oscars at the 1975 Academy Awards.
Director Francis Ford Coppola Release Date December 20, 1974 Distributor(s) Paramount Pictures Writers Francis Ford Coppola , Robert De Niro , Al Pacino Cast Al Pacino , Robert De Niro , James Caan , Diane Keaton Runtime 202minutes Expand
1 Apocalypse Now (1979)
Coppola went way overbudget and way overschedule on his Vietnam War epic Apocalypse Now, which was finally released in 1979, but it was worth it to deliver arguably the greatest movie of his career. John Milius’ script recontextualizes the story of Joseph Campbell’s Heart of Darkness into a Vietnam setting. Martin Sheen stars as a disillusioned U.S. Army Captain who’s sent upriver on a black-ops mission to assassinate the mysterious Colonel Kurtz, played by Marlon Brando, who’s gone rogue and amassed a cult following deep in the jungle. Along the way, he slowly loses his mind.
Although it’s unrealistic that the U.S. military would order a hit on one of their own colonels, Apocalypse Now captures the chaos of the Vietnam War more accurately than most other entries in that subgenre. It has psychedelic visuals, nightmarish editing, a rock ‘n’ roll soundtrack, and a surreal odyssey through the fog of war. What makes Apocalypse Now the greatest war movie ever made is that it’s more of a horror film than a war film. It has beheadings, animal attacks, and shameless sadism. Unless Megalopolis can somehow top it, Apocalypse Now will likely go down as Coppola’s masterpiece.
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In Francis Ford Coppola’s classic Vietnam War film, loosely based on Joseph Conrad’s novella Heart of Darkness, an army Captain is tasked with assassinating a rogue Colonel who has created a cult-like compound in the Cambodian jungle and is currently waging his own war outside the army’s purview. Martin Sheen and Marlon Brando star as Captain Willard and Colonel Kurtz respectively, with an ensemble cast that includes Robert Duvall, Laurence Fishburne, and Dennis Hopper.
Director Francis Ford Coppola Release Date August 15, 1979 Distributor(s) United Artists Writers Joseph Conrad , John Milius , Francis Ford Coppola , Michael Herr Cast Marlon Brando , Martin Sheen , Robert Duvall , Frederic Forrest , Sam Bottoms , Laurence Fishburne Runtime 147 minutes Main Genre War Expand
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Megalopolis, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, is a visionary 2024 film exploring the ambitious dream of reconstructing New York City into a utopia, following a devastating disaster. The narrative delves into the clash between the architect’s utopian vision and the political and personal turmoil that ensues. With a star-studded cast, the film examines themes of ambition, power, and the human spirit’s resilience against the backdrop of a futuristic metropolis.
Director Francis Ford Coppola Writers Francis Ford Coppola Cast Adam Driver , Forest Whitaker , Nathalie Emmanuel , Jon Voight , Laurence Fishburne , Aubrey Plaza , Shia LaBeouf , Jason Schwartzman , Grace VanderWaal , Kathryn Hunter , Talia Shire , Dustin Hoffman , D. B. Sweeney , Giancarlo Esposito Runtime 138 Minutes Main Genre Drama Expand