Very few director have had as good a ten as Francis Ford Coppola had in the 1970s . WithThe Godfather , The Godfather Part II , The Conversation , andApocalypse Now , Coppola helmed four of the neat movies ever made in the same 10 - year menstruum . He could ’ve call it a day with those four films , but he ’s directed plenty of other gems on top of that .

Pioneering the New Hollywood movementalongside such picture show school buddies as George Lucas and Martin Scorsese , Coppola is one of the most significant American filmmakers who ever lived .

Tucker: The Man And His Dream (6.9) – Preston Tucker

Originally design as a mix of melodic and observational film starring Marlon Brando , Francis Ford Coppola ’s biopic of entrepreneur Preston Tucker shoot apart the American motorcar industry bewitch the man ’s shortcomings spectacularly .

Although it would ’ve been interesting with Brando in the role , Jeff Bridges work out to be the ideal actor to play Tucker as he continually get more and more egg on his face with ongoing corporate scandals and role player allegation .

The Outsiders (7.1) – Johnny Cade

Francis Ford Coppola had no intention of making a coming - of - eld motion picture about teen angst until Jo Ellen Misakian , a school librarian in Fresno , wrote   him a letter implore him to turnThe Outsidersinto a movie .

The movie is notable for containing many up - and - hail actors who later became Brobdingnagian stars , including Patrick Swayze , Rob Lowe , Tom Cruise , Diane Lane , and Emilio Estevez . The performance that stand out the most is Ralph Macchio ’s portrayal of Johnny Cade .

The Rainmaker (7.2) – Rudy Baylor

Adapted from the John Grisham novel of the same name , The Rainmakertells the account of a feisty young lawyer tackling the fraudulent endeavors of a big insurance company .

Insurance fraud may not be as exciting asa zombie apocalypseoran alien intrusion , but in the mitt of Francis Ford Coppola and Matt Damon , it ’s pretty darn exciting .

Rumble Fish (7.2) – Motorcycle Boy

It ’s tough to take the good fiber fromRumble Fish , because it ’s an interesting two - hander . Mickey Rourke plays a fearsome ex - pack leader who wants to lead a peaceful living , while Matt Dillon bet his immature brother , who wants to be a fearsome mobster like his brother .

The clash of these two characters is what makes the story interesting , but arguably the most individually compelling of the two is the gang drawing card who want to go clean .

Bram Stoker’s Dracula (7.4) – Count Dracula

Coppola ’s adaptation of Bram Stoker ’s medieval horror masterpieceDraculamay not be as legendary or iconic as the classics from Universal or Hammer , but it ’s header and shoulders above the slew of schlocky half - baked adaptations that chivy audiences every couple of year .

Gary Oldman ’s portrait of the titulary Count is n’t quite as majuscule as Bela Lugosi or Christopher Lee , but his chilling presence is unforgettable .

The Godfather Part III (7.6) – Vincent Corleone

There ’s not a lot to love in the final chapter ofThe Godfathertrilogy , which Francis Ford Coppoladidn’t want to make in the first place(he felt thatThe Godfathersaga wastold perfectly as a duology ) , but an Oscar - propose Andy Garcia chip in a smooth turning as Vincent Corleone .

If Coppola had throw Winona Ryder as Mary as opposed to his own girl , then she might ’ve stolen the show , but with Sofia Coppola ’s wooden , monotonic acting , she’sperhaps the uncollectible part of the threequel .

The Conversation (7.8) – Harry Caul

Before Brian De Palma would homageThe ConversationwithBlow Out , Francis Ford Coppola homaged Michelangelo Antonioni’sBlowupwithThe Conversation . Perfectly catch the political mood circumvent the Watergate scandal , Coppola recount the compelling fib of a surveillance expert who get wind something he was n’t opine to and gets hunted by fly-by-night regime suit .

Gene Hackman gives the carrying into action of a lifetime as Harry Caul , the quintessential man who knew too much , unveil a conspiracy piece by piece .

Apocalypse Now (8.4) – Captain Willard

The most memorable character inApocalypse Nowmight be the craze Colonel Kurtz , but the most interesting and well - rounded role in the pic is Captain Willard , played by Martin Sheen , who ’s sent up the river to assassinate him .

Willard is the everyman soldier that viewers come through one of the wildest wars that ’s ever been fought , and he ’s battle quite a little of demons of his own .

The Godfather Part II (9.0) – Vito Corleone

In the 2d installment inThe Godfathertrilogy , Coppola told the parallel stories of Michael taking over the kinsfolk business after his father ’s death and a young Vito arriving in America at the spell of the twentieth hundred and starting that stage business from scratch .

While Al Pacino provides another fascinating execution as Michael during his continuing journey , Robert De Niro steals the show as young Vito , bagging an Oscar profits and the unwavering admiration of his intact diligence .

The Godfather (9.2) – Michael Corleone

Although Marlon Brando have an iconic performance as an maturate Vito Corleone inThe Godfather , Al Pacino really shines in a star - making turn as Michael Corleone . The account ofThe Godfatheris the story of Michael .

At the start of the movie , he ’s a perverse war old hand with a bright time to come who ’s destined to avoid the family line of work of organized crime . By the last of it , he ’s the new don . Pacino take on that transformation beautifully .

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Coppola characters

Jeff Bridges in Tucker The Man and His Dream

Ralph Macchio smiling as Jonny Cade in The Outsiders

Matt Damon holding up two notecards in The Rainmaker

Rumble-Fish-Mickey-Rourke

Gary Oldman as the Count in Bram Stokers Dracula

Vincent watches Mary walk in to the opera house in The Godfather Part III

Gene Hackman as Harry Caul in The Conversation

Martin Sheen in a river in Apocalypse Now

Robert De Niro on a city street in The Godfather Part II

Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) sitting at his desk in The Godfather.

Movies

The Godfather