Why the success of ‘The Godfather’ damaged Francis Ford Coppola
Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather changed cinema upon its release in 1972. It is one of the most well-known movies ever made, unequivocally praised and respected as a cinematic landmark. The crime epic was responsible for popularising the gangster genre, particularly those that focused on the Italian-American mafia, leading to movies such as Once Upon a Time in America and Goodfellas.
The Godfather’s mammoth impact on popular culture and the film industry cannot be understated. The movie took home ‘Best Picture’ at the Academy Awards, as well as ‘Best Actor’ for Marlon Brando (which he declined) and ‘Best Adapted Screenplay’. Additionally, the film won a BAFTA for ‘Best Film Music’ and five Golden Globes, including ‘Best Picture’ and ‘Best Director’.
Countless directors have cited The Godfather as a seminal influence. In BFI‘s ‘Greatest Films of All Time’ poll, filmmakers such as Oliver Stone, Paul Schrader, Richard Linklater and Kenneth Branagh voted for the movie, which earned a spot at number 12 on the list.
In 2022, Coppola told Empire how the film changed his life. “I went from having zero money at all and a family to support to having several million dollars, which was astonishing. No one in my family had that kind of money. I went from being unknown and poor with a lot of family responsibilities – I was married young, and I loved my kids and my family – to having some money and acclaim. I was famous; everyone knew about The Godfather and knew about me.”
Following the success of The Godfather, Coppola went on to release two more instalments in the trilogy, and The Godfather Part II received equal praise, with some critics even deeming it superior. He rounded off the decade with his epic war film Apocalypse Now before releasing popular movies like The Outsiders, Rumble Fish and Bram Stoker’s Dracula.
Yet, even though The Godfather allowed him to become one of the most well-respected and influential filmmakers of all time, he has some regrets surrounding the film, which he initially didn’t want to direct. He once revealed, “I thought the script was really hokey. I didn’t want to do it because I had written the script for the movie The Conversation, and I was trying to get money for that. It was George Lucas who told me that I should do it because we needed to get some money coming in.”
He also told Roger Ebert, “I never made a film where I didn’t find something that I loved. But I did make films that I wouldn’t have made had I not had to work. Time does heal a lot of feelings. I never felt burnt out, I always felt alive – but my mind wasn’t on film in the same way it was when I was a kid.”
He added, reflecting on the success of his landmark film, “If I made any mistakes in my life, it was that I allowed the success of The Godfather to sweep me off the course that I had set for myself as the young man, which was to always creatively write original material.”
