Sofia Coppola’s five favourite films of all time
When the current discussion about nepotism within the film industry popped off, one of the first names on the list was that of Sofia Coppola. Inevitably associated with her father, the great Francis Ford Coppola, Sofia Coppola has spent her entire career trying to prove that she has her own cinematic identity. While many fans still disagree with that assertion, it’s hard to deny that films like Lost in Translation and Marie Antoinette have helped establish Sofia Coppola’s distinctive style.
The controversies surrounding nepotism have haunted Coppola since the beginning of her acting career, especially due to her disastrous performance in The Godfather Part III. However, Coppola’s subsequent efforts as a filmmaker have convinced many people that she was always meant to be a director. Incorporating the influences of various backgrounds, such as the fashion industry as well as film, Coppola’s visual style is captivating.
During a conversation with Rotten Tomatoes, Coppola was asked to select five of her favourite films of all time. Ranging from the French New Wave to the New Hollywood movement, Coppola’s film taste is naturally eclectic since she was probably introduced to a wide range of cinematic sensibilities from a very early age. These are the cinematic masterpieces that convinced Coppola to eventually pursue a career as a filmmaker.
The first pick on her list is a Francis Ford Coppola film since her father will always be her first influence. Coppola selected Rumble Fish as her favourite Francis Ford Coppola movie: “I love that it’s an art film about teenagers. I just love the way that it’s shot — I love those old lenses, those Zeiss lenses; they have a softer feel. [Coppola and her DP, Harris Savides, used the lenses from Rumble Fish to shoot Somewhere.] Roman [Coppola, her brother] and I are just sentimental about film.”
Although the pioneering visual style of Stanley Kubrick is not at all similar to Coppola’s own flourishes, she cited Kubrick’s controversial 1962 project – Lolita – as a major influence. The visual language that Kubrick employed in Lolita caught Coppola’s attention: “I love Kubrick. I love the way he put that film together, the way it’s filmed. Just some of the shots he did there, like the reverse shot in the car window with the monster.”
Check out the full list below.
Sofia Coppola’s five favourite films:
- Rumble Fish (Francis Ford Coppola, 1983)
- Breathless (Jean-Luc Godard, 1960)
- Sixteen Candles (John Hughes, 1984)
- Lolita (Stanley Kubrick, 1962)
- The Last Picture Show (Peter Bogdanovich, 1971)
When asked about her 2010 drama Somewhere, Coppola also noted that the cinematic style of the film was influenced by the experiments of Jean-Luc Godard. She singled out Godard’s dynamic 1960 debut feature Breathless, the masterpiece that set the ball rolling for one of the most important decades in the history of cinema.
In 1983, Jim McBride made a celebrated remake of Breathless, but Coppola still prefers the momentum and the power of the original: “The Godard version. [On the similarities between the moving car jump cuts in Somewhere:] I guess I was going through that whole New Wave thing… coming from a documentary background.”
