The legend of Big city plays a major role. It is an ambitious sci-fi apocalypse drama from the legendary Francis Ford Coppola, who spent decades making it happen; he eventually sold part of his personal wine fortune to make it happen; it debuted at Cannes to great confusion and received reviews from all walks of life. But the filmmaker himself – the man who gave us The Godfather, Apocalypse now, The conversationAnd Bram Stoker’s Draculato name a few – wouldn’t have it any other way. The goal always seemed to be to create something baffling and incredibly original.
“The film industry tries to encourage everyone to believe that there is only one kind of film,” says Coppola. Rich in an important new interview. “There has to be a protagonist, and then there has to be an antagonist in the first few minutes. They prescribe a formula that they can sell over and over again. So when a film comes out that doesn’t fit that formula and they think it’s not a new formula that can be repeated, they don’t want to do it because they feel the risk is too great.” All about Big city – from the setting of future America meeting the Roman Empire to a scene that literally requires audience participation – should take risks. “As we know, the art we adore – Bizet’s CarmenArtists like Picasso, Monet and Matisse – is art that was considered too risky or a failure at the time,” emphasizes Coppola. “Apocalypse now is a perfect example. When the movie came out, people said, “What the hell is this?” But they never stopped watching it. With Big city you can’t pigeonhole it. And that’s great. That’s the kind of film I like.”
As always, there is a lot of Coppola himself in this work – even if he only realized it later. “It wasn’t clear to me during filming, but now that I’ve seen the finished film, I understand,” he says, looking at Adam Driver’s Cesar Catilina. “When I was filming, Apocalypse nowThey said I was Kurtz. When I The Godfatherthey said I was Michael. So maybe it’s my destiny that my life is actually shaped by the movies.” So get ready for another bold artistic expression from a filmmaker like no other. “Artists are the ones who shed light on our human condition. That’s why artists are necessary,” says Coppola. “We give them a chance to illuminate contemporary life. Film is fearlessly plunging into the unknown. That’s dangerous.” Who else is ready to take the plunge?
To read Richis full Big city Interview with Francis Ford Coppola in Gladiator II Issue – out Thursday, August 29. Pre-order a copy online here. Big city will be in UK cinemas from September 27th.
