Coppola's Youth Without Youth

Interesting article. It sounds like he's chafing under his own reputation, scared that he won't live up to the calibre of his earlier work. It's about time he sucked it up and moved forward with new work.
 
It's hard to believe he hasn't made a film since "The Rainmaker". I actually liked that movie, even if it wasn't the classic that some of his earlier work was. I'll check out his next flick for sure.
 
Francis Ford Coppola said:
"The best thing for me at this point in my life is to become a student again and make movies with the eyes I had when I was enthusiastic about it in the first place."
Click to expand...
I think this is representative of a lot of filmmakers that were once considered great, and now find themselves producing mediocre product. It seems that film becomes too much of a business, and they don't have the passion and energy for the medium they had when they started. That is why a film like "Jack" is made by the director of "The Godfather". FFC was great earlier in his career, because he loved the art of filmmaking, and was willing to devote everything to the art. He, like many others, has become lazy (thus, no new movies in 8 years). At least he acknowledges the fact that he has lost his enthusiasm, and hopefully "Youth Without Youth" fulfills the promise in his quote.
 
Lazy? Every person involved in the arts is in some way expressing their individual pain through a film, song, play, painting, etc. SOmetimes we release the pain over time, and sometimes we simply work though it living life and much of that drive that helped us express ourselves is lost. Many of Copolla's films were the same core story retold i n different venues. To me Mean Streets was no different than Goodfella's or Casino, just different places and for Coppolla different levels of knowledge. Want to see how immature a director he was at one time? Rent Mean Streets.

To many times artists hit there apex in terms of expression and their ego is damaged because they think they have more in them. Many times they don't. History shows that.
 
Yeah, and I expressed my pain for sitting through a film like Jack. That was a LAZY film. I wouldn't necessarily call an 8 year absence the effect of being lazy (poor example by be), but FFC has made many LAZY films, especially recently. That is what happens when you become more business minded. I'm not trying to single FFC out, as it happens to most directors, if you read the quote (and the article), you can see Coppola has indeed become LAZY. You have to constantly study your craft, and a great artist devotes his life to his art. Why do you think there are so man BAD movies. Financial gain is not the right motive for an artist, it is the love and enthusiasm for the craft.
 
Let's not confuse Coppola for Scorsese. :)

One of the most fascinating things I've ever watched was a documentary about American Zoetrope that was on Disc two of the THX-1138 DVD. Absolutely amazing what Coppola litterally pushed through Hollywood. It also shows you a lot about where his desires and ambitions truly are. I can't say I blame him to taking a break from filmmaking, but I'm glad to see him back in the saddle, as it were.

Chris
 
Yea I did confuse the two. I consider them very much alike. Perhaps that is why. BUt do watch mean streets and see how a young filmmaker looks compared to later on.
 
Coppolla's Masterpeices?

Apocalypse Now
The Godfather: Part II (The best IMO)
The Conversation
The Godfather

The good?

The Outsiders
Dracula
Rumble Fish
Tucker: The Man and His Dream

****?

Supernova
The Rainmaker
Jack
Peggy Sue Got Married
Captain EO <<<<<<<<<<< Are you kidding me?
The Cotton Club
One from the Heart


These ****ing directors man. 8 years off? What the **** has he been doing?

You now to be honest? As much as I thin kI'd like to do this for a living; I'd be hard pressed to do more than a film every 3 or 4 years probally.
 
John, I've only seen the movies you list as masterpieces, but they're all great, although Apocalypse Now is a huge self-indulgent mess, but still fascinating. Oddly enough, I really want to see one from the heart.

The Conversation I think is Coppola's best. It's so restrained and efficient--ever bit is perfectly controlled. Great script and great direction and none of the excess of his later work. Plus, you have to love the plot twist.

Anyhow, I want to see Megalopolis a lot, even though I bet it won't be so good. So any steps towards it getting made are progress. AI was supposed to be a similar masterpiece that had been built up through the years but it was a giant turd so I don't expect Coppola to come back with a masterpiece, but who knows? Scorsese, Spielberg, and Lucas (with ROTS) are still still making good movies and innovating their older styles to fit with new. I mean, they're not the freshest directors, but they're the best of the best--still. (Well, not Lucas, but I still love what he's doing for the industry.)
 
John you know and I'm not comparing the two but Kubrick always wanted to make more films but he had hard time choosing a project.
That's probably Coppola's problem he just wanted to have the greatest project for a comeback and choose carefully because nothing sens like Dracula had been any good. Megapolis was his future project but when 9/11 happend he had problem of thinking out a way around it and then like 5 6 years later this came along.
 
I sincerely hope Coppola is able to find within him the man that made The Conversation, Apocalypse Now and Rumble Fish.
 
youth without youth

youth without youth

http://www.ywyfilm.com/

FFC, francis ford coppola is making a film again. how long has it been? Maybe it hasn't been that long. I just can't remember his last good film.


So what does everyone make of this one?
 
Just to add to the conversation. The problem with FFC and why he made all those bad films was he was heavely is debt and for a while took projects just to pay off bills.

And what has he been doing for 8 years? Producing or executive producting many other files, running American Zoetrope, he also owns and runs the Niebaum-Coppola Estate Winery, makes coffee (Cafe Niebaum-Coppola).

Did I hear lazy? No. Coppola, like many people who make films, or any artist for that matter but mainly the entertainment industry, find as they get older, making there are is not as important as they thought when there were young. Other interest take hold, family becomes more important.

It's funny they way people just on his case for not making "great" films anymore. But in his case, there were many factor.

But "Youth without Youth" is his return to person filmmaking likes the ones he did before he became a "great" film maker. Films like "You're a Big Boy Now" or "The Rain People" These he made on a low budget and will never be considered "Classics".
 
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