Francis Ford Coppola has high hopes for young filmmakers, saying we won’t even be able to comprehend their vision.
We can debate whether or not we take the masters of cinema for granted or not, but there is always hope in the future filmmakers to build on what they did. Maybe some of the legends dismiss things like Marvel as not being true cinema but it all came from somewhere; that is, influences carry on through generations. And that will be true forever, whether we can imagine it or not.
Francis Ford Coppola recently stopped by The Criterion Collection’s famed closet to not only take home a tote bag full of movies but give his thoughts on the state of cinema and where it might be headed. Speaking on influences and where he sees the next generation of filmmakers headed, Coppola stated, “All of us are on the shoulders of giants. And hopefully will provide that same kind of inspiration to the wonderful young people coming along. And the truth of the matter is that cinema, art always changes…The cinema of our grandchildren is going to be out there on the edge of – almost, we’re not going to be able to even understand it. It’s going to be so different. And I have a great enjoyment trying to imagine what that will be like.”
Coppola even cited how his own influences from another brilliant filmmaker shaped his career, saying he remembered seeing Michelangelo Antonioni’s Blow-Up and wanting to make films like that. Thus, The Conversation – a film that also centers around someone discovering secrets through surveillance – was born, with both movies helping inspire Brian De Palma’s Blow Out.
As for what Francis Ford Coppola selected as his closet picks: The Complete Jacques Tati, trailblazing female filmmaker Dorothy Arzner’s Dance, Girl, Dance, and even his own Rumble Fish, which is currently the director’s only film in the collection. However, his visit does bring up the question of whether or not he might have another movie coming soon to The Criterion Collection…Metropolis in 4K, anyone?
What do you make of Coppola’s comments on the younger generation of filmmakers? Are you hopeful for cinema once the current masters are gone? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below.