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Some see cinema as a\u00a0form of theatre, and others see it as a\u00a0form of circus. The great American filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola sits very much in the latter camp, having across nearly seven decades produced a\u00a0litany of cinematic spectacles custom-primed to scintillate and delight. From his canonical classics of the 1970<\/span>s, his chic style exercises of the 1980<\/span>s, and his idiosyncratic studio epics of the 1990<\/span>s, to the more personal, moody, experimental works of the new millennium, Coppola is the type of ringmaster who needs to feel that he himself is being satisfied artistically before he can think about how these works will connect to a\u00a0broader audience.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n His most recent offering, the long-gestating passion project\u00a0<\/span>Megalopolis<\/i>, was, until its spectacular unveiling at the 2024<\/span> Cannes Film Festival, the subject of much cinephile speculation and back-channel gossip. What will it be? What will it look like? Does this great filmmaker still have the juice to disrupt the norms of classical film production as he has done so many times in the\u00a0past?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Megalopolis<\/i>, about a\u00a0grand city on the precipice of decline and the architect who built it, is one-hundred percent pure Coppola, accept no substitutes, even if it looks, sounds, and feels like nothing else we\u2019ve seen before or since. Here, in anticipation of the film being available to stream on MUBI<\/span>, we\u2019ve taken a\u00a0peek back at some of Coppola\u2019s back catalogue in search of some clues as to the exact provenance of this head-spinning cine-monument.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n 1<\/span>. The Godfather \u2013 The mythos<\/strong><\/p>\n Following his vital internship at the hands of Roger Corman, this for-hire project for Paramount Pictures was the film that put Coppola not just on the map, but gave him direct access to the Hollywood throne room. Though the story is notable for its juicy character turns and memorable dialogue, it also depicts age-old power structures at the point where they are beginning to calcify and creak, which is one of the many themes of\u00a0<\/span>Megalopolis<\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n 2<\/span>. The Conversation \u2013 The conspiracy<\/strong><\/p>\n Celebrity architect and innovator, Caesar Catalina, played by Adam Driver in\u00a0<\/span>Megalopolis<\/i>, feels like he could be a\u00a0distant relation of maestro sound-recordist and snoop, Harry Caul (Gene Hackman), from Coppola\u2019s 1974<\/span> masterpiece,\u00a0<\/span>The Conversation<\/i>. Professionally, both men sit at the apex of their field, but are eventually undone by a\u00a0surfeit of pride and their inability to ignore or rebuff a\u00a0conspiracy against them.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nGet more Little White\u00a0Lies<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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