16/20
Coppola completely abandoned the project in 2007 and did not begin developing it again until 2019
Plot
The city of New Rome faces a duel between Caesar Catiline, a brilliant artist in favor of a utopian future, and the greedy mayor Franklin Cicero. Among them is Julia Cicero, whose loyalties are divided between her father and her lover. Francis Ford Coppola wrote the screenplay in the early 1980s, but the film was shelved in part because of his financial debts. Pre-production finally began in 2001 after shooting 30 hours of second footage and a table read with Paul Newman, Uma Thurman, Robert De Niro, James Gandolfini, Nicolas Cage, Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Crowe, Eddie Falco and Kevin Spacey , but the project was scrapped after the 9/11 attacks because a scene from the script (page 166) "predicts" the attacks. The security video of Cicero entering Ceasars office is believed to be from two different cameras, as indicated by the small text in upper left corner.
This is the same shot reversed and slightly tilted
Hamilton Crass III: What do you think of this bone I have?. "The Ultimate IMAX Experience" the film version features a live actor asking questions during the filmed press conference.. Mentioned on The John Campea Show: Adam Driver to host Francis Ford Coppola’s new film Megalopolis (2022). My Pledge Written by Grace VanderWaal Performed by Grace VanderWaal Courtesy of Columbia Records By arrangement with Sony Music Entertainment Produced and orchestrated by Kris Kukul. It’s the huge mess everyone said it was, and a hugely interesting mess.
For everything that works in Megalopolis, there’s something that doesn’t
Parts are very creative and unlike anything else, and then there are long stretches that are completely boring. It’s 138 minutes long, but it feels like it’s pushing the three-hour mark. Whether that makes it suitably epic or too often boring will probably depend on the viewer. It’s also the kind of movie where I’m not sure over-analyzing will help. Coppola tries to say so much in one film, and as a result, much of it comes off as meaningless.
Somehow I am suddenly frustrated, exhausted, confused and impressed
There were a few moments during the film where I wondered if it was all some sort of practical joke. It may mean a lot to him, or maybe only parts do, and the rest of the time he’s laughing at us. There’s a certain balance between fun and boring here. Visuals that look striking along with parts that are visually striking. This is a film that moviegoers will argue about and remember while 99% of the population will continue to live their lives in blissful ignorance of its existence.
I can’t give advice to anyone else who is considering taking 138 minutes of their deadline
I can’t decide if it would be better to be among the blessed many or the confused 1%. I’m glad I saw it and I also think it was a bit of a waste of time. Check out our list of exciting new films from this year’s film festivals, including Venice, TIFF, New York Film Festival and more.
