Auteur Francis Ford Coppola

 

Francis Coppola Creative Signature And The Power He Had As A Director


Francis Ford Coppola directed, produced, coached and co-edited Apocalypse Now, a film that took more than ten years to release due to many complications, one of them shooting in the middle of the Vietnam War. There are many reasons why Coppola is considered an auteur but sometimes his signature is not clear enough to differentiate his films. There are many characteristics that most of his films have such as the use of light and shadow, the themes used and the large-scale set piece action scenes.

The use of shadows and specific lighting is the most striking characteristic that can be seen throughout Apocalypse Now. The chiaroscuro lighting has the purpose to make it mysterious and the imposing shadow figures throughout scenes like the ending are what make this such a good directed film. The lighting is very specific and cinematography calculated, not only in Apocalypse Now but in The Godfather and The Conversation as well.
Coppola also uses narrative themes like power and corruption, and criticises America through these themes. In Apocalypse Now, Coppola creates the character of Lieutenant Colonel Kilgore who mostly represents the characteristics of America from that historic moment. For example the lack of morals, doubtful heroism and hypocrisy between others. In his films he tends to “expose” Americans by also showing their ugly side that is usually overlooked due to the heroism and medals that they are always covered by.

During the shooting of Apocalypse Now, many things went wrong. From going over budget, sets being destroyed and being forced to postpone the shooting, to an actor having a heart attack on set. Coppola faced many difficulties during the production but he was able to pull it off mainly because of the relationship he had with the cast and team. He coached the actors and gave them the freedom and space to improvise in search of new ideas that could direct him to the ending, which was not clear at the time. He showed to be collaborative and open minded as he found himself being patiently challenged when actors refused to say lines. He would find himself changing the script constantly, being flexible to other options to the point where there were no limits. The shooting of the film itself took longer than expected but the studio had given him the freedom to do whatever he wanted thinking that he had control when he didn’t. Obviously, the directing in Apocalypse Now is much different than in other of his films as he was given the freedom to do whatever he wanted and his style was shown as improvised, spontaneous, instinctive and risky.

Francis Coppola had power over the Apocalypse Now film as he had one of the most important roles, but he was also controlled by the studio. They had him on a tight leash after seeing that he had gone over budget and the fact that it was taking so long to finish the film. Fortunately for him, limits were imposed, because if it had been for Coppola he would not have released the film until years later or until he thought that he had found the perfect ending.

In conclusion, characteristics like lighting, shadows, themes and the work with the actors are his personal signature that make him an auteur. It is difficult to differentiate these characteristics at first sight, but he manages to make it noticeable in Apocalypse Now, The Conversation and The Godfather, which were his most successful films to this day.














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