When Lionsgate released the second trailer for Francis Ford Coppola’s epic film “Megalopolis” on Wednesday morning, it began with pans from several notable critics of his past work.
Among the citations attributed to their reviews of “The Godfather,” Pauline Gale of The New Yorker called it “undermined by its artistry,” and Andrew Sarris of the Village Voice criticized it as a “spoiled self-indulgence movie.” Other quotes from critics such as Roger Ebert, John Simon, Stanley Kaufman, Vincent Canby and Rex Reed similarly flash across the screen, offering scathing critiques of Coppola’s work in masterpieces like “Apocalypse Now.” The idea that these movies have stood the test of time — their initial reactions, not so much. “Megalopolis,” which premiered at Cannes, was dismissed by many critics as cheesy and confusing. The new trailer aims to establish Coppola’s latest film as a work of art, just like the legendary director’s predecessors.
This is an interesting point, but there is a significant hole in the trailer’s argument. The problem is that these quotes don’t actually appear in any of the cited reviews and it’s huge. as Indicated by the eagle and verified by VarietyNone of the phrases are found in versions of the stories available online. It is now unclear where the quotes came from. Ebert’s quote that “Dracula” was a “triumph of style over substance” was actually taken from his 1989 review of “Batman.”
VarietyHis own Owen Kleiberman misquoted the 1992 film “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” as “a beautiful mess” and highlighted its “absurdity” when he reviewed the film for Entertainment Weekly, where he worked at the time of its release.
“Even if you’re one of those people who don’t like critics, we’re not qualified to put words in our mouths. Again, the trivial scandal of all of this is that the entire ‘Megalopolis’ trailer is built on a false story,” says Kleiberman of the trailer’s quotes. “Critics loved ‘The Godfather.’ And although ‘Apocalypse Now’ was divisive, it received critical critical acclaim. As long as I call ‘Bram Stoker’s Dracula’ a ‘beautiful mess’, I mean it! As for that film, now it looks good.
Some of the critics mentioned in the trailer actually hated Coppola’s early work. reed, For example“Apocalypse Now” has been called a “combo of hypocritical twaddle”.
As for “Megalopolis,” it might actually deserve a critical reappraisal. In his review, VarietyPeter Debruge had a negative reaction to the film, writing that “the legendary director creates a deeply personal, yet sloppy, allegory of his relationship with art”, adding that “world-building – an invaluable tool of the 21st century. Hollywood franchises – may not be in his wheelhouse.
“Megalopolis” hits US theaters on September 27. Lionsgate did not immediately respond. VarietyA request for comment. Reid, who still reviews for the Observer, did not respond to a request for comment. Gale, Simon, Ebert, Canby, Kaufman and Charis are dead, which makes it hard to get their reaction.
