While “The Godfather” and “Apocalypse Now” have already certified his legendary status, Francis Ford Coppola has never been completely free of the slings and arrows of film critics. Efforts like “Jack” or even the more recent “Twixt” have seen him taken to task for the less than stellar efforts, but according to Coppola, people shouldn’t be so quick to judgment.
In an interview with Empire, Coppola shares his belief that films need to marinate in the minds of viewers first before an opinion is launched—even if it takes a decade. “I’m not sure I really totally grasp how the experience of making a film can be so awful and yet the reception not. Perhaps it’s because when you reach for something new, you may rub people the wrong way or the film might at first seem a mess, when in fact it points to a new way of seeing things,” he said.
“Films I thought, because of their original reception, were failures and yet went on in time to be regarded as classics [has surprised me],” Coppola continued. “Sometimes I think films shouldn’t even be judged until ten years have passed.”
To Coppola’s defense, in the era of instant opinions on Twitter, there is something to be said for waiting and thinking before typing out an 140 character assessment of a movie. And history has shown certain films—”Heaven’s Gate” for example—getting reappraised and seen in a new light, decades on from their release.
But Coppola sees hope in the future of cinema, and rattles off a list of filmmakers he believes are doing great work.”Wes Anderson, Paul Thomas Anderson, James Gray, Sofia [Coppola], David O. Russell, Steven Soderbergh, Tamara Jenkins, Sarah Polley – we are blessed by these new generations of filmmakers. I could name many more. In the end, though, I love a film I’ve never seen before,” he said, echoing a sentiment we certainly agree with. [via Xposé Entertainment]