Known, of course, as the creator of The Godfather franchise, Francis Ford Coppola has built himself an impressive, high-profile directorial career, spanning multiple decades and multiple genres. He is known as a central figure in the ‘New Hollywood’ movement established a few years before his most successful credits were released. He’s still active now and both his daughter and granddaughter have moved into the world of direction, keeping his legacy alive.
We’ve used IMDb to look at the five films that are considered his best, as well as his five worst. Considering he has made some of the greatest films of all time, there are a fair few films balancing out the list.
BEST: The Godfather: Part III (7.6)
The third entry in The Godfather franchise was released a fair few years after the incredibly well-received part 2 and was never supposed to be made. Unlike the first two films, the film was no longer based on the Mario Puzo novels, and the quality of this film really reflects that.
Considering Coppola was able to get much of his cast to reprise their roles and create the film on a big budget, it just didn’t have the impact of the previous installments. As the IMDb rating suggests, however, it wasn’t a bad film by any stretch.
WORST: Jack (5.8)
Moving a long way from The Godfather III, just six years after its release, Coppola got Robin Williams on board for a comedy-drama that gave itself a story very similar to various other films of a similar era (Big and Benjamin Button, for example).
Despite its impressive cast, the film was universally panned by critics, for reasons that are pretty obvious once you watch the film.
BEST: The Conversation (7.8)
Back in his filmmaking prime, Francis Ford Coppola tried his hand at the thriller genre, in which his close competitor, Martin Scorsese, had already proven his skills. He directed, wrote and produced the film on a small budget, and drew a young Harrison Ford into a minor role.
This was an incredibly impressive period for Coppola, as the film was nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, losing out to another of his films: The Godfather Part II.
WORST: Dementia 13 (5.7)
Many years before Coppola’s career as a filmmaker took off, in the early 1960s, he was directing small, independent films.
One of these films was Dementia 13, a black and white horror which is often considered his first attempt at serious, mainstream cinema. It was dismissed at the time, but received a remake in 2017.
BEST: Apocalypse Now (8.4)
Often overshadowed by The Godfather, many forget that Coppola directed another masterpiece of 1970s cinema. It might be incredibly long, but Apocalypse Now is a poignant commentary on the Vietnam War.
A now much more famous Harrison Ford returns to Coppola in this film, alongside Marlon Brando (again) and Martin Sheen. The film was nominated for eight Academy Awards that year and went on to be considered one of noted critic Roger Ebert’s favorite films of all time.
WORST: Twixt (4.8)
Despite taking creative control over a variety of masterpieces in the earlier days of his career, Francis Ford Coppola obviously hasn’t been able to maintain his filmmaking genius in the latter part of his career.
His 2011 return to horror was an absolute disaster at the box office and was panned by critics.
BEST: The Godfather: Part II (9.0)
It’s very difficult for a sequel to a great film to work out. In fact, there are almost zero examples of a sequel holding up to its original, except for The Godfather: Part II.
The film is both a prequel and a sequel to the original (genius), with Al Pacino reprising his role of Michael Corleone and Robert De Niro joining the cast as a young version of the deceased Vito Corleone. It’s a true masterpiece.
WORST: Tonight For Sure (3.0)
You might not expect it, but Francis Ford Coppola’s first film was effectively a piece of comedic softcore pornography.
As such, it isn’t really considered to be one of his first attempts at serious cinema. However, he directed, produced and co-wrote the film, so you cannot ignore its existence.
BEST: The Godfather (9.2)
Often considered the greatest film ever made, The Godfather is truly a work of cinematic genius. Its impressive cast is one thing (Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan), but the visual beauty, emotional brutality and perfect dialogue are just something else.
The film received an overwhelmingly positive response and many awards and is pretty much always at the top spot of ‘Best Films Ever’ lists. If you haven’t seen The Godfather in a while, it's time to watch it now.
WORST: The Bellboy And The Playgirls (3.0)
Just like Tonight For Sure, Francis Ford Coppola was worlds away from what he’d create with The Godfather just 10 years later when he made The Bellboy and the Playgirls.
This film wasn’t as overtly sexual as his previous work, but his directorial role (as he is credited alongside Fritz Umgelter) was limited to overseeing the shooting and editing of nude scenes to be inserted into the film for its American release. Strange.