Very few directors have had as good a decade as Francis Ford Coppola had in the 1970s. With The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, The Conversation, and Apocalypse Now, Coppola helmed four of the greatest movies ever made in the same 10-year period. He could’ve called it a day with those four films, but he’s directed plenty of other gems on top of that.
Pioneering the New Hollywood movement alongside such film school buddies as George Lucas and Martin Scorsese, Coppola is one of the most significant American filmmakers who ever lived.
Tucker: The Man And His Dream (6.9) – Preston Tucker
Originally planned as a mix of musical and experimental film starring Marlon Brando, Francis Ford Coppola’s biopic of entrepreneur Preston Tucker tearing apart the American automobile industry captures the man’s shortcomings spectacularly.
Although it would’ve been interesting with Brando in the role, Jeff Bridges turned out to be the ideal actor to play Tucker as he continually got more and more egg on his face with ongoing corporate scandals and fraud allegations.
The Outsiders (7.1) – Johnny Cade
Francis Ford Coppola had no intention of making a coming-of-age movie about teen angst until Jo Ellen Misakian, a school librarian in Fresno, wrote him a letter imploring him to turn The Outsiders into a movie.
The movie is notable for containing many up-and-coming actors who later became huge stars, including Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe, Tom Cruise, Diane Lane, and Emilio Estevez. The performance that stands out the most is Ralph Macchio’s portrayal of Johnny Cade.
The Rainmaker (7.2) – Rudy Baylor
Adapted from the John Grisham novel of the same name, The Rainmaker tells the story of a plucky young lawyer tackling the fraudulent endeavors of a big insurance company.
Insurance fraud may not be as exciting as a zombie apocalypse or an alien invasion, but in the hands of Francis Ford Coppola and Matt Damon, it’s pretty darn exciting.
Rumble Fish (7.2) – Motorcycle Boy
It’s tough to choose the best character from Rumble Fish, because it’s an interesting two-hander. Mickey Rourke plays a fearsome ex-gang leader who wants to lead a peaceful life, while Matt Dillon plays his younger brother, who wants to be a fearsome gangster like his brother.
The clash of these two characters is what makes the story interesting, but arguably the most individually compelling of the two is the gang leader who wants to go clean.
Bram Stoker’s Dracula (7.4) – Count Dracula
Coppola’s adaptation of Bram Stoker’s gothic horror masterpiece Dracula may not be as legendary or iconic as the classics from Universal or Hammer, but it’s head and shoulders above the slew of schlocky half-baked adaptations that plague audiences every couple of years.
Gary Oldman’s portrayal of the titular Count isn’t quite as great as Bela Lugosi or Christopher Lee, but his chilling presence is unforgettable.
The Godfather Part III (7.6) – Vincent Corleone
There’s not a lot to love in the final chapter of The Godfather trilogy, which Francis Ford Coppola didn’t want to make in the first place (he felt that The Godfather saga was told perfectly as a duology), but an Oscar-nominated Andy Garcia gives a shining turn as Vincent Corleone.
If Coppola had cast Winona Ryder as Mary as opposed to his own daughter, then she might’ve stolen the show, but with Sofia Coppola’s wooden, monotonous acting, she’s perhaps the worst part of the threequel.
The Conversation (7.8) – Harry Caul
Before Brian De Palma would homage The Conversation with Blow Out, Francis Ford Coppola homaged Michelangelo Antonioni’s Blowup with The Conversation. Perfectly capturing the political climate surrounding the Watergate scandal, Coppola told the compelling tale of a surveillance expert who hears something he wasn’t supposed to and gets hunted by shady government suits.
Gene Hackman gives the performance of a lifetime as Harry Caul, the quintessential man who knew too much, uncovering a conspiracy piece by piece.
Apocalypse Now (8.4) – Captain Willard
The most memorable character in Apocalypse Now might be the crazed Colonel Kurtz, but the most interesting and well-rounded role in the film is Captain Willard, played by Martin Sheen, who’s sent up the river to assassinate him.
Willard is the everyman soldier that viewers follow through one of the wildest wars that’s ever been fought, and he’s battling plenty of demons of his own.
The Godfather Part II (9.0) – Vito Corleone
In the second installment in The Godfather trilogy, Coppola told the parallel stories of Michael taking over the family business after his father’s death and a young Vito arriving in America at the turn of the 20th century and starting that business from scratch.
While Al Pacino provides another riveting performance as Michael during his continuing journey, Robert De Niro steals the show as young Vito, bagging an Oscar win and the unwavering admiration of his entire industry.
The Godfather (9.2) – Michael Corleone
Although Marlon Brando gives an iconic performance as an aging Vito Corleone in The Godfather, Al Pacino really shines in a star-making turn as Michael Corleone. The story of The Godfather is the story of Michael.
At the start of the movie, he’s a wayward war veteran with a bright future who’s destined to avoid the family business of organized crime. By the end of it, he’s the new don. Pacino plays that transformation beautifully.