Director Francis Ford Coppola (1939)

Tetro (2009) is a drama film written, produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. On the week of his 18th birthday, Bennie, a waiter on a cruise ship, has a layover in Buenos Aires. He seeks out his older brother, Tetro, who he hasn’t seen in years and currently lives with Miranda. However, Tetro is a burnt-out case; he’s emotionally distant yet somewhat welcoming to his sibling. As they reconnect, Bennie uncovers pages of Tetro’s unfinished novel, which sparks their curiosity about their elusive father and the past that haunts them both. Despite Tetro’s reluctance to confront their family ...

Francis Ford Coppola wrote, produced, and directed Youth Without Youth (2007), a fantasy drama based on Mircea Eliade’s novella of the same name. The film follows Dominic Matei, a 70-year-old linguistics professor who is still longing for his lost love, Laura. He decides to revisit Bucharest, where they first met in university. Feeling like his quest for the origins of human language has been futile and solitary, Dominic plans to end his life after this final trip. However, as he crosses the street, he suddenly gets struck by lightning but miraculously survives. At ...

The American legal drama film, The Rainmaker (1997), was both written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. It is based on the 1995 novel of the same name by John Grisham. Unlike many other graduates from Memphis State University Law School, Rudy Baylor finds himself without a well-paying job and instead takes on part-time positions at a local bar. In dire need of employment, he meets the bar’s owner, J. Lyman ‘Bruiser’ Stone, who is known for being a ruthless but successful ambulance chaser. After hiring Rudy as an associate, Bruiser explains that ...

Jack (1996), an American coming-of-age comedy-drama film, was co-produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. At a costume party, Karen Powell unexpectedly goes into labor and is quickly taken to the hospital by her husband Brian and their companions. Strangely, Jack appears to be a full-term healthy baby despite being born in just the 10th week of gestation. Further medical examinations reveal that Jack suffers from a rare condition causing him to grow four times faster than average. By the time he is ten years old, Jack already has the physical appearance of a 40-year-old man. One day, some boys come to his house ...

Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992), an American vampire horror film, was produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola and written by James V. Hart. It is based on Stoker’s classic 1897 novel of the same name. The story follows Vlad Dracula, who returns from a victorious battle against the Ottoman Empire in 1462 to find his beloved wife, Elisabeta, dead. He is told by a priest that her soul is condemned for committing suicide. Outraged, Vlad renounces Christianity and vows to avenge Elisabeta with the powers of ...

The American crime film, The Godfather Part III (1990), was produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Co-written with Mario Puzo, the screenplay follows the story of Michael Corleone who is approaching 60 in 1979. Wracked with guilt over his ruthless rise to power, Michael donates millions to charitable causes. He is also dealing with the aftermath of ordering his brother’s murder. Michael and his ex-wife Kay are divorced, and their children Anthony and Mary reside with Kay. During a reception at St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral honoring Michael, which takes ...

New York Stories (1989) is an American anthology film featuring three segments with a central focus on the bustling metropolis of New York City. The first segment, Life Lessons, is directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Richard Price. It stars Nick Nolte. The second segment, Life Without Zoë, is helmed by Francis Ford Coppola and co-written by Coppola and his daughter,

Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988) is a biographical comedy-drama movie directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Detroit’s Preston Tucker harbored a passion for car-making since his youth. During the Second World War, he created an armored vehicle for the military and earned profits producing gun turrets for planes in a small workshop near his Ypsilanti residence. With the unwavering support of his extended family, especially his wife Vera, children Preston Jr., Noble, and Marilyn Lee, Tucker embarks on a mission to create the ‘car of tomorrow’. The ‘Tucker Torpedo’ boasts groundbreaking safety ...

Gardens of Stone (1987), an American drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, is based on Nicholas Proffitt’s novel of the same name. Sergeant First Class Clell Hazard, a hardened veteran of the Korean and Vietnam Wars, would prefer to serve as an instructor at the U.S. Army Infantry School at Fort Benning, preparing soldiers for the conflict in Vietnam. However, he is instead assigned to the 1st Battalion 3d Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) at Fort Myer, Virginia. This unit serves as the ceremonial honor guard for fallen soldiers’ funerals and guards the ...

Peggy Sue Got Married (1986), an American fantasy comedy-drama directed by Francis Ford Coppola, follows the story of Peggy Sue Bodell. She attends her 25-year high school reunion in 1985, accompanied by her daughter Beth instead of her high-school sweetheart and husband, Charlie. They married soon after graduation when Peggy Sue became pregnant but have since separated due to Charlie’s infidelity. At the reunion, she reconnects with her old high school friends Maddy and Carol while ignoring Charlie’s unexpected arrival. The emcee then announces the reunion’s “king and queen”: Richard ...

The American musical crime drama film, The Cotton Club (1984), was co-written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. It was based on James Haskins’ book of the same name. Protagonist Dixie Dwyer, a musician, collaborates with mobsters to advance his career but his plans are disrupted when he falls for Vera Cicero, the girlfriend of gangland kingpin Dutch Schultz. Brothers Sandman and Dixie from the neighborhood join The Cotton Club, a jazz club known for its predominantly black performers and white clientele. Mobster Owney Madden is the owner of the club, which he ...

Rumble Fish (1983), an American drama directed by Francis Ford Coppola, is based on the novel of the same name by S. E. Hinton. In Tulsa, Oklahoma, Rusty James is the younger brother of ‘The Motorcycle Boy’, a well-known figure among the local gangs who had previously brought peace between them. When the Motorcycle Boy mysteriously disappears for two months, chaos ensues as heroin takes over the streets and Rusty James struggles to maintain his reputation. As he battles a rival gang leader and gains the upper hand, he is suddenly interrupted by the unexpected ...

The Outsiders (1983), an American coming-of-age crime drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, is based on S. E. Hinton’s 1967 novel of the same name. In 1965 Tulsa, the Curtis brothers’ parents are deceased, leaving eldest brother Darrel to raise and support his two younger brothers, Sodapop and Ponyboy. The ‘Socs’ continually harass and attack Ponyboy until some of his fellow greasers intervene. Later at the drive-in theater, Dallas attempts to flirt with ‘Soc’ Cherry Valance but instead becomes angry and leaves abruptly. Cherry ...

One from the Heart (1982), a musical romantic drama film, was both written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The plot unfolds on Independence Day in Las Vegas where Hank, a mechanic, and Frannie, a travel agent, end their five-year relationship. Hank’s lack of consideration for Frannie’s desire for adventure and thrill causes their split. Both individuals end up spending the night with their envisioned partners – Hank with Leila, a circus performer, and Frannie with Ray, a waiter masquerading as a singer and pianist. Following their separate nights apart, Hank experiences an emotional breakdown and ...

The American epic war film, Apocalypse Now (1979), was produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. It begins in Saigon, South Vietnam in late 1969 where U.S. Army Captain and special operations veteran Benjamin L. Willard has returned on another combat tour during the Vietnam War. He openly admits that he is unable to readjust to society in the USA and shares that his marriage has ended. In his room, he drinks heavily, chain-smokes, and experiences hallucinations alone until one day when he becomes upset and injures himself by shattering a large mirror. Soon after, two military policemen arrive to escort him to an ...

The American epic crime film, The Godfather Part II (1974), was produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Loosely based on the novel The Godfather by Mario Puzo, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Coppola, it serves as both a sequel and a prequel to the 1972 film of the same name. In parallel storylines, one follows Michael Corleone in 1958 as he takes on his role as Don of the Corleone family after surviving an assassination attempt. The other delves into his father Vito’s journey from his childhood ...

The American neo-noir mystery thriller film, The Conversation (1974), was written, produced, and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. It follows the story of Harry Caul, a surveillance expert in San Francisco who specializes in wiretapping services. His latest client, known only as ‘the Director’, hires him and his team to eavesdrop on a couple walking through Union Square. Despite the challenge of background noise, Caul skillfully filters and merges the tapes to create a clear recording with an ambiguous message. He is known for being extremely private and guarded about his personal life and carries a heavy ...

The Godfather (1972) is an American epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo’s best-selling 1969 novel of the same name. Set in 1945, it tells the story of Vito Corleone, the powerful don of the New York City Corleone family. During his daughter Connie’s wedding to Carlo, Vito receives requests from various guests. At the reception, his son Michael introduces his girlfriend Kay Adams to the family. Johnny Fontane, a popular singer and ...

The Rain People (1969) is an American road drama film written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Long Island housewife Natalie Ravenna sets off on a road trip in a family station wagon, leaving her husband at home. She visits her parents who are greatly upset with her, and later makes a collect phone call to share the news of her pregnancy with her husband. Despite his excitement, she explains that she needs some time away from him and is not yet ready to return home. Along the way, she gives a ride to Jimmy ‘Killer’ Kilgannon, a former college football star who had been paid to leave school due to a ...

The American musical fantasy film, Finian’s Rainbow (1968), is the creation of Francis Ford Coppola, adapted from E.Y. Harburg and Fred Saidy’s stage production of the same name. It revolves around the arrival of a sly Irish immigrant, Finian McLonergan, in America with his daughter Sharon and a carpetbag full of hidden gold. Their destination is Rainbow Valley, a fictional location in Missitucky where Finian plans to bury his fortune in hopes of it multiplying due to its proximity to Fort Knox. However, they ...