I love Francis Ford Coppola’s persistence. He’s lost well over $100M on his “Megalopolis” gamble, and yet he’s already lined up his next two films — both self-financed.
Firstly, Coppola secured his next project, “Glimpses of the Moon,” and it now looks like production may begin very soon. A casting call is making the rounds in Calibria, Italy, for Coppola’s ‘Glimpses,’ with a 30-day production being eyed for November/December.
It was only a few months ago that Coppola admitted ‘Glimpses’ was written and “ready to go immediately,” while also noting that he needed someone else to foot the bill. He described it as a “modestly budgeted” film, though what that actually means is unclear, coming from a man who just spent more than $120M of his own money on his last project. Regardless, it now appears he’s secured the funding, with production expected to begin imminently.
Coppola has described ‘Glimpses’ as a “strange 30s-style musical.” No cast has been announced so far. This will be a loose adaptation of Edith Wharton’s novel of the same name, while also being “inspired” by Leo McCarey’s “The Awful Truth.” Both works explore the story of a married couple who part amicably, only to discover it’s harder to let go than they imagined.
The filmmaker previously described the project as having “strong dance and musical elements.” He added, “I’ve turned it into a very odd confection.” It’s worth remembering that Coppola’s only prior musical, 1981’s “One From the Heart,” was also something of an “odd confection.”
Coppola noted that ‘Glimpses’ was “funded the conventional way, with the help of national subsidies, because I’m all borrowed out.” While it “won’t be cheap by any means,” he emphasized that, unlike “Megalopolis,” it will not be an “epic.”
Coppola is, of course, the filmmaker behind “The Godfather” trilogy, “The Conversation” and “Apocalypse Now.” Then came, from the ‘80s on, the "frustrating post-‘Apocalypse Now’ phase of his career. He’s had a few keepers here and there, but none that have come close to his classics from the ‘70s. Some believe the arduous shoot of “Apocalypse Now” broke and changed the man, and with that, his movies as well.
The four classics from the ‘70s set practically unattainable expectations for the rest of his career. And yet, there are quite a few gems in Coppola’s post-Apocalypse Now filmography. It’s no coincidence then that, decades later, some of these hidden Coppola treasures, most from the ‘80s and ‘90s, are starting to re-emerge and get reappraised by a new generation of moviegoers.
I had polled over 120 critics, programmers and filmmakers, who were asked to select the best Coppola film from the post- ‘Apocalypse Now’ phase of his career. Opinions were wide-ranging, votes were split fairly evenly. You can check out the results.