Every director has his favorite project. Often they take the form of concept and big-budget productions that cross the line between artistic pursuits and commercial viability with such determination that it’s almost guaranteed to never get the backing of a major studio - at least not without major compromise and time-tested. back catalog of box office successes. This does not mean that such films cannot be made. Martin Scorsese fought for decades to The Last Temptation of Christ and Silence, and ultimately succeeded without compromising his original vision. But due to the financial motivation that dominates the headspace of Hollywood producers, many of these projects simply gather dust in the dreams of moviegoers.

One of these projects metropolissci-fi epic, courtesy of Francis Ford Coppola The production of the film began in November 2022, a full 40 years after work on the script began. What the film is about remains shrouded in mystery, but overall we know it’s a love story set in a futuristic New York City (albeit modeled after Ancient Rome) that explores deep philosophical questions about humanity and the nature of our society. Its genre, title and premise show a clear influence Fritz Lang silent masterpiece metropolisand given Coppola’s desire for it to be a modern classic that we’re all going to watch as an annual tradition, there’s no doubt that he wants metropolis be included in the pantheon of such films. An endeavor of this magnitude sounds like a definition of “putting the cart before the horse,” but at the same time, it’s hard not to admire his passion for this project.

What took so long to “Megapolis”?

The image of the metropolis

For decades it seemed that metropolis will only exist on lists of “greatest unmade films” next to Stanley Kubrick Napoleon and David Lynch Ronnie Rocket, and despite Coppola’s enthusiasm for the film, even he seemed resigned to the fact that it would never be made. However, in May 2019, it became known that development had resumed at full speed, and three years later, the cameras finally began to film one of the most legendary events in the history of cinema. Filming is due to wrap up in March 2023, and while we shouldn’t be rushing to celebrate its upcoming release, hopefully we won’t have to wait long. (If there is one lesson to be learned from Terry Gilliama equally bad movie The Man Who Killed Don Quixotethis is something that should not be taken for granted.)

But why metropolis so long? Pretty predictably, the answer comes down to money, though not necessarily in the way you might imagine. Coppola began development on the film in the early 1980s, which, in hindsight, was only a few years too late. His work in the 1970s became a film legend, and his consistent success with Godfather, Talk, The Godfather Part 2and Apocalypse has come gave him the go-ahead for almost everything. Unfortunately he chose One from the heart, a film whose massive box office failure (grossing just $636,796 on a $26 million budget) plunged him into a decade of financial turmoil that effectively locked him into studio-friendly films until he paid off his debts. There was also a problem Apocalypse has come — or rather, the infamous difficult shoot that dragged on for over a year and almost killed the lead actor (to name but a few of his problems). While the resulting film has been widely acclaimed, it’s hard to imagine any studio looking at Coppola and not worrying about a possible repeat - a problem exacerbated by a large budget. metropolis will require.

Leap forward 10 years and the success of other business ventures such as The Godfather Part 3 and Dracula by Bram Stoker allowed Coppola to free himself from his money problems. It didn’t take long before his eyes were on metropolis once again, but the shift of decades should not have made it easier to realize such an ambitious project. Few studios were interested, and those that received reviews were only about its “financial or pop value”—comments that Coppola felt belittled his artistic merit. When it became clear that Hollywood would not want to support the film, he decided to finance it himself. He soon returned to the commercial train and began making films such as connector and rain maker primarily (but not exclusively) to raise money for metropolis, and as one century gave way to another, he nearly reached that goal. Operator Ron Fricke was hired to film the second part of New York, and Coppola began to read at the table with some of the most famous Hollywood names such as Robert DeNiro, Leonardo DiCaprioand Uma Thurman. metropolis finally done.

Just when Coppola thought it was time…

At least until disaster strikes. The events of September 11, 2001 brought production to an immediate halt, and for a while it looked like the film would never recover. Since New York is essentially the protagonist metropolis, the prospect of resuming production after such a seismic event (especially since the plot of the film tells about the rebuilding of the city after its imminent destruction) was unthinkable. The decision was eventually made to drop the film, a decision that must have upset Coppola but was probably for the best given the tragedy that had befallen the world. But no one can just walk away from a 20 year project like it was nothing, and in an interview he compared his time to metropolis being in love with someone who didn’t want him back. Despite his attempts to break out of his grip with films such as Youth without youth and Tetroit’s clear that part of him was still fixated on the past, dreaming of what might have been.

Production is finally moving forward

With this in mind, it is not surprising that he will make one last attempt to get metropolis from the ground. What should be amazing is that this time it actually worked. By 2019, enough time had passed since 9/11 to make the story more acceptable to a wider audience, and combined with the rapidly changing film landscape, which meant that high-concept production was no longer beholden to the big studios, it was clear there never was. best time to do metropolis. Cutting-edge technology is becoming more common every day, and while Coppola may not have delivered a hit in decades, his name still carries enough weight to secure him an audience with just about any actor he wants. Likewise, few actors would turn down the opportunity to work with him. Between the re-announcement and the start of filming, countless names changed, with the final cast consisting of Adam Driver, Forest Whitaker, Jon Voight, Laurence Fishburne, Nathalie Emmanueland Dustin Hoffman (among other things) is a dizzying choice that is enough to grab someone’s attention.

However, a $100 million budget had to be considered, and this is where Coppola’s passion crossed the line from genius to insanity. Fed up with kowtowing to the studios, Coppola decided to cover the costs himself. The late resurgence of his career as a vintner has brought him a fortune large enough to finance almost anything he wants. It’s a hell of a gamble, and considering the film doesn’t currently have a distributor (plus the complex nature of its visuals), metropolis costs can easily spiral out of control before it’s ready for public viewing. Not that Coppola looked worried. It’s a story he believes in - not just on a personal level, but from a broader social perspective, and it’s unlikely that the 83-year-old director will let his dream fall apart when it’s so close to being realised.

In any case, Coppola never fit into the Hollywood mold. He was one of the leading figures in New Hollywood for a reason, and even while making some of the best films ever made, he still struggled with producers and restrictions at every turn. That he could do something as daring as Apocalypse has come within Hollywood, surprisingly, this success will never last. His previous attempts to free himself from this system may have failed, but his passion for truly auteur cinema has never waned. It’s only fitting that his biggest passion project be made independently, and even if it doesn’t live up to 40 years’ expectations, the very fact that it was made is worth celebrating. metropolis is one of the riskiest bets in film history, but for Coppola, it’s just a story worth telling. If there are any feelings that sum up his career, this is it.