Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola ( KOH-pə-lə; born April 7, 1939) is an American filmmaker. One of the leading figures of the New Hollywood, Coppola is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. He has received five Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, three Golden Globe Awards, and two Palmes d'Or, in addition to nominations for two Emmy Awards and a Grammy Award.
Defining films
In their own words
I had always wanted to make a movie about surveillance and what it meant and the first thing that got me really interested in it was Michelangelo Antonioni's 'Blow-Up'.
This is what The Godfather is about. It's about the feudal lords, the kings, the emperors... I wanted the film to evoke that same kind of aristocratic splendor and melancholy.
I was looking at films like Salvatore Giuliano, or the way the Sicilian mafiosi spoke in Rosi's film, it had a very high, grand quality that appealed to me. I wanted to represent the Corleone family, and particularly Michael, with that same sort of Shakespearean quality.
This is what The Godfather is about: the feudal lords, the kings, the emperors... I wanted the film to evoke that same kind of aristocratic splendor and melancholy.
