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1-12 of 12
- The amount of film that ran through cameras in the hellish shooting conditions of the Philippines over 200 shooting days in the late 1970s was gargantuan, even by action film standards. The effort to make sense of the footage was a 2 year odyssey taken on by four editors working under the direction of Francis Coppola. This documentary shows how the film was put together, taken apart and restructured in post production, with Captain Willard's [Martin Sheen] voice-over narration penned by Vietnam war era journalist Michael ["Dispatches"] Herr working together with Coppola and co-screenwriter John Milius.
- Famous comic book artist Stephen R. Bissette, creator of DC Comic Book character "The Swamp Thing" and co-creator of the comic character "Constantine" teaches film appreciation and the art of comic book illustration in rural Vermont. Bissette is a life-long fan of DANGER: DIABOLIK and in "From Fumetti to Film," Bissette gives us a guided tour of how, in his own words, DANGER: DIABOLIK was "...the best adaptation of comic book to feature film bar none." His concepts of how the apparent 2-dimensional world of comic book illustrations were faithfully, but imaginatively re-interpreted by director Mario Bava are enhanced with side by side comparisons of the original comic book images laid next to film clips. Other films and television adaptations of comic books in that era were less successful, according to Bissette.
- We interview co-producer and star Jennifer Lopez along with her long time friend and collaborator, director Gregory Nava, co-stars Martin Sheen and Maya Zapata about the filming of this important, contemporary story based on the facts of the Juarez murders. Lopez accepts an "Artists for Amnesty" award from the human rights organization Amnesty International in the documentary.
- Francis Coppola explains how he adapted the original novel by Mario Puzo. Coppola shows (for the first time) his original "prompt book" containing all of his notes and observations that would be used to plan the screenplay and production design of the now classic film. An intimate look inside the mind of the young as yet unknown director, circa 1971.
- After the storied filming of "Apocalypse Now" wrapped in the Philippines in 1977, an unlikely team of film and sound editors, designers, technicians and artists under the direction of maverick Francis Coppola toiled for nearly two years to created the remarkable soundtrack for Apocalypse Now, using the then brand new six-channel stereo surround format. This is the untold story of their remarkable journey captured by documentary film cameras.
- When Tom Hanks was cast as Forrest Gump, he did not have a clear idea of how the character would speak. Zemeckis and Hanks knew that the task was not "just speaking his lines with a southern accent," and they researched many regional dialects. Yet as the first day of shooting drew near, Gump's screen identity was still uncertain. After a series of open casting sessions were held in the South, an 8 year old with no prior acting experience was cast as Young Forrest Gump. Hanks met with the boy Michael Conner Humphreys, and within seconds, discovered that Michael's natural voice could be Forrest's.
- Join director Francis Coppola and his remarkable cast (including Matt Dillon, Ralph Macchio, Rob Lowe and C. Thomas Howell) as they reminisce about their experiences shooting "The Outsiders" in 1982 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The film was based on the best-selling novel by S.E. Hinton. Cinematographer Stephen Burum explains how many of the special process shots were done. The story of how a middle school class from Fresno, California convinced Coppola to adapt their favorite book into a film is told. The documentary concludes with a 20-year reunion at Coppola's home (2003) during which the cast is shown the new version of the film with 22 minutes of scenes that had been cut restored to make The Outsiders - The Complete Novel.
- In a 1994 interview, Robert Zemeckis referred to the specific screenplay adaptation by Eric Roth that inspired him make the film, saying that there had been many prior unsuccessful efforts. We will dissect the process of screenplay adaptation from the original 1986 novel by Winston Groom. This segment will feature new interviews with Groom, Roth, producers Wendy Finerman and Steve Starkey, and will be moderated by film critic and screenwriter Stephen Schiff.
- Fifteen years after this stunning reinterpretation of Dracula was released (1992), we go behind the scenes and watch master director Francis Coppola reinvent a classic with screenwriter James V. Hart, and cast members Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins, Keanu Reeves, Richard E. Grant, tom Waits and Sadie Frost. "Bram Stoker's Dracula was filmed entirely on the sound-stages of MGM (then recently acquired by Sony and Columbia pictures) and the visual style included vintage special effects and screen magic at a scale not seen in decades.
- Kimberly Peirce, director of "Boys Don't Cry" (1999) was inspired to make her second feature film "Stop-Loss" in part because of the experiences of her younger brother who joined the military in the wake of the September 11 attacks on New York. The documentary explores the research phase, during which Peirce and co-screen writer Mark Richard interviewed dozens of soldiers, veterans, parents, and resistors. We follow the production through actor "boot camp" and filming in Texas, in Morocco and on the road. Cast members Ryan Phillippe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Channing Tatum are also interviewed.
- On the 35th anniversary of the release of the landmark film "The Godfather," (March 15, 1972) we look back at the time and place of the film's conception and shooting. Forces in the film industry were in conflict: Hollywood was on the decline toward cultural irrelevance, conglomerates were taking over the storied movie studios and a new generation of auteur filmmakers including the young and then unknown Francis Coppola were emerging from film schools. The studio hated Coppola's ideas for casting, visual style and almost everything else, as they hoped for a quick, inexpensive exploitation of a pulpy best-seller. But one year later, said then Secretary of State Henry Kissinger at the world premiere in New York City: "...this picture is going to be just huge around the world, because if you can cry for a leading character who has killed 100s of people when he- when he dies, and you cry for him when he's dying, that's touching greatness, and this man, Coppola, has touched greatness."
- Francis Coppola wanted a classically based score realized completely on electronic synthesizers. This documentary explores this hyper creative phase including the composition and recording of the landmark synthesized soundtrack. The score went through many transformations; originally six or seven songs by The Doors were to be used. (Only "The End" remained as the film's opening.) The documentary reveals the influence of the Japanese arranger Tomita and his quadraphonic ideas. Also featured is The Grateful Dead's drummer Mickey Hart who designed a percussion-based score for the film. And of course The Doors.