Francis Ford Coppola’s Best Films, Besides ‘the Godfather’ Trilogy
While The Godfather is considered Francis Ford Coppola’s greatest achievement, the celebrated film director had plenty of other big hits. In fact, four of Coppola’s films have made it to the American Film Institute’s top 100 movies. Sure, Godfather is considered the second-best movie of all time, right behind Citizen Kane, but fans argue some of Coppola’s other works are better.
Apocalypse Now is consider Coppola’s best film by many
While The Godfather is considered the second-best film of all time, according to The American Film Institute, Rotten Tomatoes’ reviewers think a different Coppola flick is just as good. Apocalypse Now has a staggering 98% rating on the notoriously critical website.
The film, which was released in 1979, defined the career of several massive stars. Robert Duvall, Marlon Brando, and Martin Sheen all starred in the Vietnam War era combat flick. The movie was based on Heart of Darkness, a book by Joseph Conrad.
Bram Stroker’s Dracula is another fan favorite
In 1992, Coppola recreated a classic horror film with Bram Stoker’s Dracula. The gothic film featuring Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, and Anthony Hopkins was mostly well-received. It’s been argued that Coppola is the director that resurrected the tale of Dracula after Hollywood had overused it in much campier horror films.
Coppola was said to have made one big mistake with the film, though. Several critics argued that the casting of Keanu Reeves in the movie made little sense. Several outlets, including the Los Angeles Times, argued that Reeves, who, up until that point, was best known for far less serious films, was out of his depth.
One of Coppola’s best films was relegated to the shadows during the hype of The Godfather Part II
In 1974 Coppola directed The Godfather Part II. The movie didn’t beat its predecessor at the box office, but it did create a ton of hype. It created so much hype that another 1974 flick directed by Coppola is often forgotten by all but the most seasoned film aficionados.
Nine months before The Godfather Part II hit the theaters, Coppola released a film he wrote, produced, and directed. The Conversation follows Harry Caul, a surveillance expert, as he deals with the fallout of recording private conversations, including his own paranoid. The flick was nominated for several Academy Awards, including best picture. It lost the coveted category to The Godfather Part II.
