A remarkable share of Hollywood’s most enduring classics can be traced back to visionary directors. As legendary filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola celebrates his 87th birthday, it’s the perfect moment to applaud the creator behind some of the most influential films ever made.
Born on April 7, 1939, in Detroit, Michigan, Coppola began his career in the '60s, directing the 1963 film Dementia 13. He directed the films You're a Big Boy Now and Finian's Rainbow, before co-writing the 1970 biographical war epic Patton that earned him an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay alongside screenwriter Edmund H. North.
Coppola's career turning point and his most coveted directorial role was none other than the crime drama classic The Godfather in 1972. There were some development hiccups, as Mario Puzo's novel, which the film is based on, was owned by Paramount. Coppola was also not the production company's first choice as director. Believe it or not, Coppola rejected the movie and thought Puzo's novel was "sleazy" and "cheap," but changed his mind after advice from family and friends and a debt owed to Warner Bros.
The Godfather became a cinematic masterpiece starring Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Richard Castellano, Robert Duvall, Sterling Hayden, John Marley, Richard Conte, and Diane Keaton. The film revolutionized the gangster genre and earned Coppola an Oscar for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay, withThe Godfather 2 earning him Best Director. A third installment was released in 1990.
The film was preserved by the Library of Congress and ranked the second-greatest film ever made after Citizen Kane. On the film's 54th anniversary, he posted on Instagram saying, "While making it, I never could imagine that it would become the #1 film in many polls over half a century later. I believed in this film when many didn’t and my ability to create a dialogue about what could work landed in success."
Related: 1957 Classic Film Ranked Among ‘Best Movies of All Time’
Coppola's achievements in film are numerous, having released the thriller The Conversation, which received the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. He also directed the Vietnam War epic Apocalypse Now, The Outsiders, Bram Stoker's Dracula, The Rainmaker, and produced many others.
The director's influence in Hollywood is undeniable, to say the least, with his family having followed in his footsteps. His sister and actor Talia Shirestarred in his films, but also in the boxing classic Rocky.Sofia Coppola, his daughter, made her debut in the gangster films and became a director with hits like The Virgin Suicides, and won an Oscar for the comedy-drama Lost in Translation. His nephew, Nicolas Cage, also rose to fame in Hollywood.
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