The god father was made in a very classical, almost shakespearean style. It was going to be about succession. Like a king who had three sons, and none of the sons had all his talents. [ speaking nonenglish ] michael could be ruthless when he had to be ruthless, but he could be friendly. Nord, he was a complex hero. In other words, he was a complex hero. Were here in the napa valley on a rainy day, to interview Francis Ford Coppola. Now, hes one of the greatest Movie Directors of alltime, without any question. If you google the best movies of all time, the greatest movies of all time, the godfather is number un, number one, usually. But The Godfather 2 is often on that list of top ten and so is Apocalypse Now. So of the 10, 15 greatest movies of alltime, this man has made three of them. I am really interested in talking to him for another reason. When i came to america first, i was in college and i took a class, classics of american cinema. It was in some ways helpful for me, because it
the god father was made in a very classical, almost shakespearean style. it was going to be about succession. like a king who had three sons, and none of the sons had all his talents. [ speaking non-english ] michael could be ruthless when he had to be ruthless, but he could be friendly. nord, he was a complex hero. in other words, he was a complex hero. we re here in the napa valley on a rainy day, to interview francis ford coppola. now, he s one of the greatest movie directors of all-time, without any question. if you google the best movies of all time, the greatest movies of all time, the godfather is number un, number one, usually. but the godfather 2 is often on that list of top ten and so is apocalypse now. so of the 10, 15 greatest movies of all-time, this man has made three of them. i am really interested in talking to him for another reason. when i came to america first, i was in college and i took a class, classics of american cinema. it was in so
all my ideas were counter to what they wanted. they wanted to shoot the picture in, uh, st. louis, and they wanted the script to be set in the 70 s, which is when it was gonna be made, because if you make the movie in normal time, like if we make a movie today, all the cars can be the same. yeah. the hairstyles can be the same, the wardrobe can be the same, the props can be. if you make a period picture, you re adding a lot, a big layer of cost. and st. louis wasn t new york, which is where the book was set. so, first thing i said is, i wanna shoot it in new york, and i wanna shoot it 1945, in the period of the book. and it s very important that it be shot at period. and then they said, who is this kid? what does he think, it s crazy. we re - we re gonna make the movie for two million dollars. uh, what s it gonna cost if we try to go to new york?
is it true you almost got fired several times? oh, yeah, for sure. i would say i was almost fired more than four times. one time i thought i was fired. all my ideas were counter to what they wanted. they wanted to shoot the picture in st. louis, and they wanted the script to be set in the 70s, which is when it was going to be made, because if you make a movie in normal time, like if we make a movie today, all the cars can be the same, hairstyles and the wardrobe can be the same. if you make a period picture, you re adding a big layer of cost. and st. louis wasn t new york, which is where the book was at. so the first thing i said, i want to shoot it in new york, and i want to shoot it in 1945, in the period of the book. it s very important it be shot in period. let your heart be light
so they thought maybe if we got some italian actors to do it. every director turned it down. so they decided to give this nobody, who is an italian-american, a screen writer. i was about 28, and i got the chance. is it true you almost got fired several times? oh, yeah, for sure. i would say i was almost fired more than four times. one time i thought i was fired. all my ideas were counter to what they wanted. they wanted to shoot the picture in st. louis, and they wanted the script to be set in the 70s, which is when it was going to be made, because if you make a movie in normal time, like if we make a movie today, all the cars can be the same, hairstyles and the wardrobe can be the same. if you make a period picture, you re adding a big layer of cost. and st. louis wasn t new york, which is where the book was at.