Francis Ford Coppola Deflects Negative Reviews in New Megalopolis Trailer

What do The Godfather, Apocalypse Now, Dracula and soon Megalopolis have in common? They have gained popularity over the years.

Everyone at this year's Cannes Film Festival will remember the bombshell dropped by Francis Ford Coppola with Megalopolis – the work of his life in which he invested part of his personal fortune. First by its more than particular projection: a man had intervened on stage to engage in conversation with the character played by Adam Driver on screen. Then by its ensemble. A “mega” title, a “mega” film, a behemoth with a somewhat particular shoot…

Megalopolis: Videos of Francis Ford Coppola's inappropriate behavior published

Although the director may have nothing more to prove in cinema, Megalopolis suffered a collective lynching from critics, who were unanimous about the indigestion caused by the film. A “mega-flop” that Coppola himself claimed to be unaware of. However, the latest trailer seems to indicate otherwise. And his response to the detractors is quite clever, if a little cynical.

Surprisingly, to promote Megalopolisthe trailer does not start with Megalopolis. During the first minute, we take stock of the director's qualitative filmography in chronological order, returning to his previous feature films which were panned at the time by critics and are today considered masterpieces of the seventh art. The Godfather ? “Diminished by its artistic side”wrote the famous critic Pauline Kael in The New Yorker. Apocalypse Now ? “A spectacular failure” according to National Review. Dracula ? “A magnificent bazaar”, For Entertainment Weekly.

“A true genius is often misunderstood.”

It is in this continuity of avant-garde filmmaker that Coppola then presents (finally!) Megalopolis. We find the baroque images already seen in the previous trailers. An unbridled set taking place in New Rome – futuristic New York with an antique sauce – where the oligarchy dominates and feeds on extravagance and arena games, and where the population below revolts in the streets.

Caesar Catiline (Adam Driver) is a genius architect, the director's reflection, capable of stopping time. His utopian plans to save civilization from perdition are thwarted by the arch-conservative mayor Franklyn Cierco (Giancarlo Esposito) attached to the status quo. Julia (Nathalie Emmanuel), daughter of Cicero and in love with Caesar, is torn between the opposing visions of the two men in her life. After the fall of the Roman Empire, that of American hegemony.

The message is clear. In a final attempt, Francis Ford Coppola tries to convince hesitant viewers to ignore the negative reviews and discover his pharaonic work for themselves. The Godfather, Apocalypse Now And Dracula have been there, and yet the public loves them. So why not Megalopolis ? Let's say in twenty, thirty or forty years, his last feature film will be like its predecessors – cult over time.

Starring Shia LaBeouf, Aubrey Plaza, Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight, Megalopolis will be released in France on September 25.

Cannes 2024 – We saw Megalopolis, the monstrous film by Francis Ford Coppola [critique]