Classic Film Club

FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA

Francis Ford Coppola

Francis Ford Coppola (1971)

Biography

BIO

Francis Ford Coppola was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1939.   His father, Carmine Coppola (1910-1991), became principle flutist for the NBC Symphony Orchestra and the family moved to Queens, New York when Coppola was still a toddler.   His father later acted in and provided music for several of Coppola’s films.   His older brother August (1934-2009) was an academic and film executive, and his younger sister is the actress Talia Shire.

Coppola contracted polio as a child and was confined to his bed for long periods.   He developed an interest in reading, puppet theatre, and making 8mm movies.   Coppola graduated from Hofstra University with a degree in theatrical arts and continued his education at the UCLA Film School.

While in school, at the age of 20, Coppola was hired by American International Pictures in 1959 to re-edit and dub a Russian film for re-release in the U.S.   By 1962, he had written, produced, and directed his first film for Premier Pictures, a small production house specializing in soft-core movies.

Coppola began to achieve some recognition as the writer and director of You’re a Big Boy Now (1966) for which Geraldine Page received her 4th Academy Award nomination.   He then cemented his reputation as an up-and-coming screenwriter when he was awarded his first Oscar for Patton (1970) starring George C. Scott who insisted, as a prerequisite for taking the role, that the studio resurrect Coppola’s screenplay which had previously been rejected by studio heads.

In 1972, he wrote and directed The Godfather which received 11 Academy Award nominations, including another Oscar win for Coppola in the Best Writing category.

A year later, American Graffiti (1973) received 5 Academy Award nominations, including a Best Picture nod to Coppola as producer.

In 1974, both The Conversation and The Godfather: Part II received a combined total of 14 Academy Award nominations with Coppola taking home Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Writing.

Apocalypse Now (1979), Coppola’s Vietnam War epic, and The Godfather: Part III (1990) both received Academy Award nominations for Best Picture and Best Director.

He received the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award in 2011.

Coppola married Eleanor Neil in 1963 after meeting her on the set of one of his early films where she was employed as an assistant art director. The couple raised three children:

His grandchildren include the writer/director Gia Coppola.   His nephew is the actor Nicolas Cage.

Coppola is involved in several other business ventures, including a few wineries in California and Oregon.


Other Pictures

Francis Ford Coppola (1978)

Films

NOTED FILMS

Patton

Patton
  • Patton
  • 1970

The Godfather

The Godfather
  • The Godfather
  • 1972
  • New York mafiosi erupt into an all-out war after the father of one family is hospitalized and his hot-head son takes over day-to-day operations.   Francis Ford Coppola directs Marlon Brando.

American Graffiti

American Graffiti
  • American Graffiti
  • 1973
  • Clint Eastwood directs and stars in a sobering tale of a group of prostitutes who put out a contract on two cowboys who slashed one of the women.

The Godfather: Part II

The Godfather: Part II
  • The Godfather: Part II
  • 1974
  • The son takes over as head of the mafia family and proves to be even more violent than his father.   Francis Ford Coppola directs Al Pacino.

Apocalypse Now

Apocalypse Now
  • Apocalypse Now
  • 1979
  • Director Francis Ford Coppola mashes the Vietnam War and Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness".   A young captain is sent to kill a renegade colonel.

The Rainmaker

The Rainmaker
  • The Rainmaker
  • 1997
  • A young lawyer learns what it’s like to work on contingency.

    Francis Ford Coppola directs Matt Damon, Claire Danes, Jon Voight, and Mary Kay Place.

Complete filmography at: