2 Movies / December 12
Following in the footsteps of last month’s presentation of films by the celebrated director Francis Ford Coppola, we again present an evening of early Coppola works hosted by Ben Mankiewicz with commentary by the filmmaker himself.
Coppola was born in Detroit in 1939 to musician/composer Carmine Coppola and his wife, Italia. Francis graduated with a degree in drama from Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY, and studied filmmaking at UCLA. His on-the-job training in movies began with producer-director Roger Corman in the early 1960s, and by 1963 Coppola was directing his own films. He would soon add producer and writer to his list of capabilities.
Among Coppola’s numerous honors are five Oscars: Best Story and Screenplay, Patton (1970); Adapted Screenplay, The Godfather (1972); and Picture, Director, and Adapted Screenplay, The Godfather: Part II (1974). He was also nominated as Best Director for The Godfather, Apocalypse Now (1979) and The Godfather: Part III (1990). His most recent directorial credit was for Distant Vision (2016).
Below are the two films in this month’s tribute.
Finian’s Rainbow (1968) is presented in a new director’s edit overseen by Coppola. The musical fantasy film was adapted by E.Y. Harburg and Fred Saidy from their 1947 stage musical with its score by Harburg and Burton Lane.
Fred Astaire stars as Finian, an Irishman who travels to “Missitucky” in the Southern U.S. in hopes of making his fortune grow. Also prominent in the cast are Petula Clark, Don Francks, Keenan Wynn and Tommy Steele. Songs include “Look to the Rainbow,” “If This Isn’t Love,” “Old Devil Moon,” and “How Are Things in Glocca Morra?”
At the time of the film’s original release, Warner Bros. chose to present the film, which was shot in 35mm, in 70mm prints. This cut off the top and bottom of the image, thereby eliminating Astaire’s footwork in some scenes (much to the annoyance of the perfectionist star). Later DVD and Blu-ray releases restored the original dimensions.
Roger Ebert wrote of this film that “It gives you the same wonderful sense you got from Swing Time or Singin’ in the Rain or any of the great musicals: that it knows exactly where it’s going and is getting there as quickly and with as much fun as possible.”
You’re a Big Boy Now (1966) is a comedy about a virginal male teenager (Peter Kastner) who moves to New York City and is dazzled by an actress (Elizabeth Hartman) before finding his true love (Karen Black). An impressive supporting cast includes Geraldine Page, Rip Torn and Julie Harris.
According to TV Guide, the film “is significant as an early example of the developing talent of one of the most important (if not the most important) American directors of the 1970s. Coppola scripted and directed this whimsical look at coming of age in the 1960s as part of his graduate thesis at UCLA.”
