Sofia Coppola picks her favourite films of all time
As the daughter of one of cinema’s most influential auteurs, Sofia Coppola has taken to the medium effortlessly with her own artistic vision, approach and aftermath, creating her own status within the realm of filmmaking. The director is most commonly recognised for her sentimental works such as The Virgin Suicides, artistic pieces like Lost in Translation and the historical drama Marie Antoinette.
Coppola spoke with The Guardian about her vision in filmmaking, sharing how her experience as a woman channels into her work, such as its emphasis on feminine ideals and experiences. “I just feel like I have a feminine point of view, and I’m happy to put that out there,” the filmmaker revealed. “We certainly have enough masculine ones.”
Coppola was immersed in filmmaking as a child, attending film festivals with her father and appearing in acting roles before moving to behind the camera. These experiences, combined with a passion for watching and understanding movies, helped shape the director’s relationship with cinema.
Later, the filmmaker sat down with Rotten Tomatoes to discuss some of her favourite movies that she re-watches and finds motivation for artistry when watching. These features include classic comedies from the 1980s and staples in the French New Wave movement.
Coppola opens her list with Rumble Fish, the 1983 drama directed by her father, Francis Ford Coppola. The film follows a former gang member, played by Mickey Rourke, looking for a new life of peace as his younger brother, played by Matt Dillon, aspires to follow in his sibling’s footsteps.
Rumble Fish embodies an avant-garde style through stark, high-contrast black-and-white visuals and cinematic illusions of the French New Wave. Coppola references this artistic approach when expressing her love for the film. “I love that it’s an art film about teenagers,” she shares. “I just love the way that it’s shot — I love those old lenses, those Zeiss lenses; they have a softer feel. Roman (her brother) and I are just sentimental about film.”
Keeping with a theme, Coppola cites the French New Wave staple Breathless as her next addition. This compelling crime drama was directed by French New Wave pioneer Jean-Luc Goddard and released in 1960. It follows a petty thief trying to convince his student girlfriend to run away with him. Breathless maintained the movement’s manifesto through handheld camerawork, authentic locations and experimental editing. These techniques inspired Coppola, who employed them in her 2010 drama Somewhere. “The Godard version, such as the moving car jump cuts. “I guess I was going through that whole New Wave thing… coming from a documentary background,” she explained.
Speaking about John Hughes’ comedy classic Sixteen Candles, the story of a teenage girl navigating girlhood during her 16th birthday, Coppola states: “That was one of my favourite films when I was growing up, and I’ll still watch it every time it’s on.”
The film’s themes of teen life with a young girl as the protagonist feeds into the director’s personal expression in filmmaking. “I never felt like I had to fit into the majority view. Maybe growing up with so many strong men around me meant I felt, I don’t know, closely connected to being feminine,” Coppola added in the interview with The Guardian.
“I mean, in my first movie, I felt like making something for teenage girls. I looked at the movies they made for teenage girls and thought: why can’t they have beautiful photography? Why shouldn’t we treat that audience with respect? That was something I missed when I was that age: I wished the movies weren’t so condescending. So I guess I’ve always just made the films that I’d have wanted to see.”
Check out Coppola’s full list of favourite films below.
Sofia Coppola’s favourite films:
- Rumble Fish (Francis Ford Coppola, 1983)
- Breathless (Jean-Luc Goddard, 1960)
- Lolita (Stanley Kubrick, 1962)
- Sixteen Candles (John Hughes, 1984)
- The Last Picture Show (Peter Bogdanovich, 1971)
- Tootsie (Sydney Pollack, 1982)
- The Heartbreak Kid (Elaine May, 1972)
- In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar-Wai, 2000)
- Let the Right One In (Tomas Alfredson, 2008)
The filmmaker also paid tribute to one of cinema’s greatest giants with her next favourite film, Lolita, based on Vladimir Nabokov’s book of the same name. The 1962 adaptation follows the controversial original material of a middle-aged lecturer becoming obsessed with a teenage girl in a heavily censored vision. “I love Kubrick. I love the way he put that film together, the way it’s filmed,” Coppola gushes. “Just some of the shots he did there, like the reverse shot in the car window with the monster.”
The Last Picture Show also appears on Coppola’s list. This Peter Bogdanovich drama narrates the relationship and experiences of two high school seniors as one dates the school’s It girl and the other has an affair with the coach’s wife. Bogdanovich’s direction and performances by stars Timothy Bottoms and Jeff Bridges lead to Coppola’s summary: “It’s just a beautiful film”.
