No one can doubt that Francis Ford Coppola was one of the greatest forces in the world of cinema, a genius behind many classics ("The Godfather" trilogy, "The Conversation") but also a crazed artist driven by his impulses in pushing himself, his cast and crew to the limit everybody had to follow his vision (as seen in the troubled shooting of "Apocalypse Now" or the millions spent in the Las Vegas recreation of "One From the Heart" which was so costly that for 15 years all the subsequent movies made by him were done to pay for the debts he got from it, which also resulted in the bankrupcy of his American Zoetrope company). Yet he made it through in the industry and left his mark, and his upcoming "Megalopolis" is a passion project of more than 20 years that it's getting closer to get a release at last.

This short documentary by Monte Hellman presents the man behind the creations and the art as someone who is very fond of his childhood memories and feels himself as a child-like spirit, with great excitment for whatever he's creating - at this film's shooting he was filming "One from the Heart" (which is a criminally underrated film of his, one of my favorite of all time). He doesn't spend any time here to talk about his movies or accomplishments, he's more into talking about what makes him passionate in life, thoughts about real love and how rare they are in everyone's lives, and there's even a small time for him to dwell about the state of the art in the future. Well, the future is here and I don't think he's totally right about the artist being this huge figure of importance who has a huge relevance to everyone's lives - it depends on whom we're talking about and the way they interact with their fans or critics (now with social media, inexistent back in the 1980's, is something that brings everybody closer but the level and quality of interaction or the level of fame and popularity is truncated, flawed and quite subjective). For the way Coppola describes the artists influence and power I don't see it all that factual, only a handful can have such control and attention from their audiences.

It's a cool documentary but I'd really love it if Coppola had more time to talk about at least one of his movies or just to present some reasoning behind "One from..." since most critics were alienated about the experience and thought the man went crazy with his musical. Hellman should've presented a longer piece for us, viewers from the future, to take a look at one of the greatest film directors and auteurs of all time. 7/10.

The documentary is a form of non-fiction storytelling that aims to present factual information, insights, and perspectives on real-world subjects, events, issues, or people. Documentaries can cover a wide range of topics, including history, science, culture, social issues, nature, biographies, and more.

Dziga Vertov in Man with a Movie Camera (1929)

The short form refers to creative works characterized by their brevity and concise storytelling. Unlike full-length feature films, short films have a running time of less than 45 minutes, while TV shorts have a running time of less than 22 minutes.

Benedict Cumberbatch in The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023)

Award winning writer, producer and director Francis Ford Coppola shares his personal views on life and art during the shooting of "One From the Heart" (1982). He talks about what makes him passionate in life and also the future of arts as he sees it.

Get a closer look at some of Hollywood's perfect pairs.

Hollywood Power Couples

Get a closer look at some of Hollywood&#39;s perfect pairs.

"The Gentlemen" and "Slow Horses" return this fall, while the "Reacher" spin-off series "Neagley" makes its debut. See our guide of the biggest Fall TV and streaming releases.

2026 Fall TV and Streaming Watch Guide

&quot;The Gentlemen&quot; and &quot;Slow Horses&quot; return this fall, while the &quot;Reacher&quot; spin-off series &quot;Neagley&quot; makes its debut. See our guide of the biggest Fall TV and streaming releases.

See who dazzled on the red carpet and took home gold at the 78th Primetime Creative Emmy Awards.

Primetime Creative Arts Emmys: Photos We Love

Laurie Bird, Warren Oates, James Taylor, and Dennis Wilson in Two-Lane Blacktop (1971)

Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out!

Samantha Scully in Silent Night, Deadly Night 3: Better Watch Out! (1989)

Make It Three Yards: A Conversation with James Taylor

Make it Three Yards: A Conversation with James Taylor (2007)

Make it Three Yards: A Conversation with James Taylor

Somewhere Near Salinas: A Conversation with Kris Kristofferson

Somewhere Near Salinas: A Conversation with Kris Kristofferson (2007)

Lee Marvin, Maximilian Schell, Robert Shaw, and Linda Evans in Avalanche Express (1979)

Jack Nicholson, Harry Dean Stanton, Tom Filer, Cameron Mitchell, and Millie Perkins in Ride in the Whirlwind (1966)

Lung Ti and Stuart Whitman in Shatter (1974)

Inside the Coppola Personality

Photos

Top Cast3

User reviews1

More like this

Related interests

Storyline

Did you know

Top picks

Details

Tech specs

Contribute to this page

More to explore

Recently viewed