Why Al Pacino declined to work on a classic Francis Ford Coppola movie
When Francis Ford Coppola took on The Godfather, he had yet to trailblaze the so-called ‘New Hollywood’ era alongside the likes of Martin Scorsese, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. His status within the cinematic community had just begun to flourish following a string of low-budget movies, a rise which had so far peaked with 1970’s Patton, a film by Franklin J. Schaffner, which Coppola co-wrote.
Although he endured much hardship getting the script to the screen, Coppola stumbled upon his magnum opus in 1972. Against harsh odds set by Paramount Studios, Coppola brought in Marlon Brando for the role of Don Vito Corleone and helped to elevate the career of Al Pacino, who co-starred as Vito’s son, Michael.
Two years later, Pacino returned to his role in The Godfather Part II, which co-starred Robert De Niro and depicted the events preceding and following those of the first movie. Receiving similar levels of acclaim as the first instalment, the movie helped to elevate De Niro’s career and further strengthened Coppola and Pacino’s professional relationship.
When Coppola was gearing up to shoot his calamitous Vietnam War masterpiece Apocalypse Now later in the decade, he returned to his address book. He managed to bag Harrison Ford, with whom he had previously worked on 1974’s The Conversation and even the unreliable Brando. However, getting hold of Pacino seemed to be the most challenging task during the casting process.
Loosely based on Joseph Conrad’s 1902 novella, Heart of Darkness, and set to the tune of the Vietnam War, Apocalypse Now was the cinematic equivalent of a piece of toast falling sticky side up on a clean patch of floor. The production was fraught with setbacks but somehow landed on its feet.
One of the early setbacks was first choice Steve McQueen and later Pacino’s decision not to take on the central role of US soldier Benjamin Willard. The part was ultimately handed to Martin Sheen, who delivered a fantastic performance despite suffering a near-fatal heart attack while shooting in Baler, the Philippines.
Pacino reflected on his decision not to take on the monumental project in a 2019 interview with Empire. “I just wasn’t ready to do it,” he said. “I was at a certain point in my life and not in the right space for going away and doing a movie like that. I remember Coppola saying at the time, ‘Pacino won’t do a film unless you do it at his house.’ I said, ‘Yes, come over to my place. We can do Apocalypse Now here. Look, we’ll get somewhere with it.”
In 1979, the year of Apocalypse Now, Pacino instead starred in Norman Jewison’s comedy-drama …And Justice for All. The movie, famed for Pacino’s iconic line, “You’re out of order! You’re out of order! The whole trial is out of order! They’re out of order,” was a critical and commercial success, but Apocalypse Now seems to have won the test of time.
Watch the trailer for Apocalypse Now below.
