How Film Directors Bogdanovich, Coppola & Friedkin Fell from Greatness

As the calendar changed into the new decade of the 1970's, the winds were changing in Hollywood. With the release in 1969 of "Midnight Cowboy" and "Easy Rider" it was becoming evident that old time Hollywood was on the way out and a new generation of young, renegade filmmakers were on their way in to tell new, personal and controversial stories.

Legendary directors such as George Cukor, Alfred Hitchcock, Elia Kazan, Stanley Kramer, Billy Wilder and William Wyler were in the autumn years of their careers and while they continued working it was evident their best work was behind them. The baton was about to be passed to a group of new directors that would help to revolutionize a new era where the studio system rules would be thrown out the window.

Studio heads were no longer so much in charge that they controlled every aspect of a director's work, particularly a young director who had the creativity, fight and ego to create the films they envisioned, but they still attempted to prevent these directors from carrying out their visions. Out of this came some of our best directors including Woody Allen, Robert Altman, Hal Ashby, Brian DePalma, George Lucas, Terence Malick, Paul Mazursky, Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg.

Each of these men had their struggles but persevered and created some of the great films of the decade. It wasn't easy for any of these men as the studios weren't "hip" enough to quite understand the new wave that was being created. Upon its first preview the head of production at Universal informed director George Lucas that his movie "American Graffiti" was a monumental failure and would never see the light of day. Francis Ford Coppola, producer of "Graffiti," offered to buy the film from Universal at that moment but the offer was refused. "Graffiti" would go on to be the third biggest moneymaker of 1973 behind "The Exorcist" and "The Sting" grossing over $55 million.

Each of these directors would create their own masterpieces but each of them would also have their ups and downs. Each of them would also recover from their failures and continue to create master works of art with the exception of three gifted men.

These three men would all have amazingly successful beginnings to their careers but would suddenly stumble, seemingly unable to recover as of today. How did these three directors fall so far and so hard so quickly? Were they so blinded by their talent they felt they could take mediocre scripts and weave masterpieces out of them? Or perhaps they had such strong and immobile egos they felt they could do no wrong? Possibly it was just bad luck. For whatever reasons these three men who created some of Hollywood's greatest movies of the 70's lost their touch and are only known today by their works of decades past. Time is running out on any hope of seeing these men return to the glory of their youth but film lovers keep their fingers crossed every time these men direct a new movie.

Here is a look at the highs and lows of Peter Bogdanovich, Francis Ford Coppola and William Friedkin.

PETER BOGDANOVICH - Bogdanovich made his directorial debut in 1968 with a little seen but very effective thriller called "Targets," telling two stories that will come together in an evening of bloody carnage. Veteran horror actor Boris Karloff stars as an aging horror actor so sickened by the violence of the real world that he feels his horror films are no longer scary or relevant and decides to retire after making one last personal appearance at a drive-in where his newest movie is premiering. The second story involves a young man on the brink of snapping from reality into a world of violence.

When he does snap he commits a horrific act of violence before packing up guns and ammunition and heading for the top of a roadside water tower to calmly shoot at motorists. When the police chase him off he takes refuge at the very same drive-in where the premiere is being held and climbs into the back of the screen with his rifle and awaits darkness. "Targets" is a quietly intense film and very difficult to watch though it is considered quite tame by today's standards. The film had the misfortune of being released at the time when the gunshot deaths of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy were still fresh in the minds of America so the studio quietly released the film with little advertisement and the picture failed.

The first part of the 70's was the kindest to Bogdanovich. His follow up film was an adaptation of Larry McMurtry's "The Last Picture Show," (1971), about the life of teenagers in a small Texas town in the 1950's. Gloriously shot in black and white and featuring a young cast of then unknowns including Jeff Bridges, Timothy Bottoms, Randy Quaid, Ellen Burstyn and Cybill Shepherd, "Picture Show" became Bogdanovich's masterpiece collecting 8 Academy Award nominations including Best Picture and Bogdanovich's only nomination for Best Director.

The very next year Bogdanovich made "What's Up Doc?" an homage to the Howard Hawks slapstick comedies of the 1940's with Ryan O'Neal and Barbra Streisand. Though the film received only lukewarm reviews it was a box office smash. In 1973 Bogdanovich made "Paper Moon" about a con man who reluctantly takes a young girl under his wing who turns out to be every bit the con artist that he is. Starring real life father and daughter Ryan and Tatum O'Neal, the film is a delightful comedy with Tatum stealing every scene and earning a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for her effort. Once again Bogdanovich had another hit, three of them in three years.

Then the bottom fell out. His next film was an adaptation of Henry Miller's costume romance "Daisy Miller," (1974), in which Bogdanovich foolishly miscast Cybill Shepherd (his then real life girlfriend) in the lead. Shepherd's one note performance sunk the film and not even those curious to see how bad she was turned out. "At Long Last Love," (1975), proved that Bogdanovich would stick to his guns no matter what as he cast Shepherd again in his homage to Hollywood musicals despite the fact that she and co-star Burt Reynolds couldn't sing a lick. His refusal to dub his stars turned the film into an embarrassment and it became a bigger bomb then "Daisy Miller." In 1976 Bogdanovich created "Nickelodeon," his homage to the early days of filmmaking.

Shepherd wisely passed on being in it to take a role in "Taxi Driver" so Bogdanovich hoped to re-ignite the success of "Paper Moon" by reteaming Ryan and Tatum O'Neal. Unfortunately Bogdanovich chose slapstick comedy as the main thrust of the film instead of telling a straight comedy or drama. The slapstick was totally out of place and the actors timing was off, a death knell to any slapstick comedy. Perhaps sensing the film was a failure the studio devised a clever marketing plan by having sneak previews around the country one week prior to its release and charging customers only $.05, the price of a movie in a nickelodeon machine in 1915, to get in. Despite this the film was critically savaged and it became the biggest bomb of the 1976 Christmas movie season. Now Bogdanovich had three failures in three years.

Sensing that perhaps he was working too quickly Bogdanovich took three years off before making his next film "Saint Jack," (1979), with Ben Gazzara in a character study of an ambitious and successful pimp in Singapore. Critical reaction was mixed (though Roger Ebert placed it on his ten best list) and the film was only limitedly released.

The 1980's were no kinder to Bogdanovich as he made only three movies the entire decade. "They All Laughed," (1981), was a quirky romantic comedy starring Audrey Hepburn, Ben Gazzara, John Ritter and featured a small role for Playboy Playmate Dorothy Stratten with whom Bogdanovich would fall in love with. Tragically Stratten would be murdered prior to the film's release (which would become the subject of the movie "Star 80") and the film was never fully distributed. In the few cities it did play it flopped. 1985 would see Bogdanovich's one and only return to his early career form with "Mask," starring Cher and Eric Stoltz in the story of a young boy whose face has been disfigured by a rare disease and his mother who fights to keep his life normal.

The film was warm and funny and Bogdanovich received the last great reviews of his career to this point. Despite some bad press prior to its release (Against Bogdanovich's wishes the studio removed all the Bruce Springsteen songs Bogdanovich had inserted and replaced them with songs by Bob Seger) the film was a hit. Bogdanovich then waited another three years before his next film, "Illegally Yours," (1988), with Rob Lowe in a screwball comedy. Despite Lowe's popularity among teenage viewers the film was barely released and looked upon as the low point of Bogdanovich's career.

Bogdanovich only directed three theatrical movies in the 1990's before taking his talents to television. "Texasville," (1990), was the long awaited sequel to "The Last Picture Show" which reunited the entire cast from the original (minus, of course, those who died in the original). Unfortunately Bogdanovich waited too long (19 years) to shoot it and the teenage audience was barely aware the film was even a sequel. The film received mixed reviews and died quickly at the box office. "Noises Off," (1992), was another slapstick comedy that barely received a theatrical release. "The Thing Called Love," (1993), is best known as the last film released before River Phoenix's untimely death.

This decade Bogdanovich has concentrated more on television movies including biographies of Natalie Wood and Pete Rose. His last foray into the theatrical world as director was "The Cat's Meow," (2001), a well received but little seen art film about a true life Hollywood murder mystery in the 1920's. Bogdanovich has also gotten into the acting business, most notably on "The Sopranos" where he has a recurring role as Lorraine Bracco's therapist. He is also a film scholar and the author of books on directors John Ford and Alfred Hitchcock. He also wrote a biography of Dorothy Stratten.

FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA - There is no director who was more successful in the 70's then Coppola. The decade started with him winning an Academy Award for co-writing "Patton" which lead to him directing four movies that are considered masterpieces and were all nominated for Best Picture. 1972's "The Godfather" is a landmark American movie that would earn 10 Academy Award nominations including Coppola's first for Best Director. The award would go to Bob Fosse for "Cabaret" which is still considered one of the biggest upsets in Academy history. The film would win 3 awards including Best Picture and Coppola's second Oscar for Best Screenplay.

Coppola's only misstep of the decade was adapting (but not directing) F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel "The Great Gatsby," which would become a notorious flop despite the star power of Robert Redford. Coppola took his earnings to help finance "The Conversation," (1974), starring Gene Hackman as an expert surveillance man who becomes too involved in his latest case. The film is a masterful art house thriller about every person's worst nightmare, invasion of privacy. Coppola wisely held out from making "The Godfather Part II," (1974), agreeing to make it only if Paramount would distribute "The Conversation." With "Godfather II" Coppola achieved the unthinkable by making a sequel that was equal (to some even better) then the original. "Godfather II" would also earn 10 nominations and this time the Academy honored Coppola for Best Director while also winning his third writing award.

His screenplay for "The Conversation" was also nominated and Coppola pulled off a rare feat of having both of his films nominated for Best Picture in the same year. Coppola later indicated the "Godfather" films hindered his dreams to make smaller, more personal films such as "The Conversation." Coppola's final film of the decade was "Apocalypse Now," (1979), which is as famous for its nightmare two-year production as the picture itself. "Apocalypse" was nominated for 8 Academy Awards including Coppola's third for Best Director.

Coppola's descent in the 80's is a little more peculiar then that of Bogdanovich or Friedkin. Unlike those two men Coppola worked regularly in the decade making eight movies that all either under performed or outright failed at the box office. His first film was "One From The Heart," (1982), a love story set in Las Vegas in which Coppola oddly chose to recreate on a soundstage instead of shooting on location. The budget went through the roof causing Coppola to have to put up his studio, Zoetrope, to help complete the project. Bad press haunted the film for months prior to release and the critical reaction confirmed that Coppola's dream project was a mess. The film bombed and nearly bankrupted Coppola.

In late 1982 a group of high school kids were reading S.E. Hinton's popular novel "The Outsiders" and decided to take a poll as to who should direct a film version. Coppola was the overwhelming choice and the students proceeded to send Coppola a letter with a copy of the novel. So touched was Coppola that he immediately agreed to direct it and another of Hinton's books, "Rumblefish." Despite the popularity of the book "The Outsiders" was not as well received as expected though the film has achieved cult status in the years since. "Rumblefish" was a more experimental film for Coppola and its dark tones turned off the intended teenage audience and the film flopped. 1984's gangster musical epic "The Cotton Club" starring Richard Gere was besieged with bad press for over a year before its release due to alleged mob ties in the financing of the film and a gangland murder that some claim was tied to the production. The film was not well received by critics and failed at the box office.

Many believe Coppola returned to form in 1986 with the whimsical comedy "Peggy Sue Got Married" starring Kathleen Turner and Nicolas Cage (Coppola's nephew) but the film didn't perform up to expectations despite good reviews and Academy Award nominations for Turner and the film's script (not written by Coppola). "Gardens of Stone," (1987), was a strong military film with James Caan that met with mixed reviews and failed at the box office. Coppola's next film was "Tucker: The Man and His Dream," (1988), that yet again met with mixed reviews and poor box office. Coppola's last work of the decade was a segment of "New York Stories," (1989), three short films directed by Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese and Coppola. It was universally agreed that Coppola's segment was the weakest of the three and the film was a major flop.

Depending on how you feel about "The Godfather Part III," (1990), would determine when the bottom truly started to fall for Coppola. Derided by many and not as loved as the first two films, "Godfather III" was a minor hit at the box office but did receive 6 Academy Award nominations including Best Picture and Coppola's fourth as Best Director. Interestingly the film's screenplay was not nominated which may indicate Hollywood's rewarding Coppola for simply being able to pull the film off. Next up was 1992's "Bram Stoker's Dracula" which was his last box office hit despite very mixed reviews. Since then Coppola has been unable to direct projects he has envisioned and had to become a director for hire for the first time in his career with his next two films.

1996's "Jack" was an abysmal comedy starring Robin Williams as a 10-year-old boy who grows at ten times the normal speed of a normal human being. While Williams was perfectly cast it was Coppola's more serious treatment of the story that hinders the film. The results were a kid's film that was too serious for kids and an adult film that was too redundant. It is generally believed "Jack" is the nadir of Coppola's career. The next year Coppola made "John Grisham's 'The Rainmaker'" which was a standard legal thriller well beneath Coppola's capabilities.

Since then Coppola has been virtually absent from directing. In 2000 he did some uncredited reshooting on a science fiction thriller called "Supernova" that quickly disappeared from theaters. For the last seven years there have been rumors of Coppola making a futuristic thriller that he has been planning for over two decades, but as of yet it hasn't come to fruition. Coppola has spent a lot of time producing movies and owning a very successful winery in San Francisco.

WILLIAM FRIEDKIN - Friedkin's apparent career collapse is made all the more remarkable by the fact that he created two landmark films in the early seventies. After directing three small, mostly forgotten films (Good Times; The Birthday Party; The Night They Raided Minsky's) Friedkin began the decade with another small, art house film called "The Boys in the Band," (1970), based on a landmark play by Matt Crowley. "Boys" tells the story of a birthday party with nine men in attendance, eight of who are gay and the ninth that insists he is not. The film's themes were potent at the time and despite very strong critical notices the film failed to find an audience most likely due to its subject matter.

In 1971 Friedkin directed the first of two remarkable films in a row with "The French Connection" starring Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider. Nominated for 8 Academy Awards and winning 5 including Best Picture and Friedkin for Best Director, "Connection" is most well known for its sensational chase scene with Hackman in a car pursuing a killer who is riding on an elevated train right above him. The film was a sensation with critics and audiences alike and certified Gene Hackman (Best Actor winner) as a major movie star. Most directors have a tough time measuring up to a success such as "The French Connection" but two years later Friedkin did the unthinkable and actually topped himself with "The Exorcist," (1973).

Based on William Peter Blatty's frightening novel of a child possessed by the devil, Friedkin crafted what might well be the most frightening movie ever made. Reports of people fainting in the aisles and having to leave the theater to be sick enhanced expectations which were more then met by the film. Moviegoers reportedly waited hours in line to see the movie, which would become the highest grossing film of the decade up to that point with a gross of $89 million. "The Exorcist" would earn 9 Academy Award nominations including Friedkin's second for Best Director and would win two.

Movie fans and Hollywood insiders waited breathlessly for what Friedkin had in store next but it would be four years before his next feature. Oddly enough Friedkin chose to remake a classic 1953 film called "The Wages of Fear" and called his version "Sorcerer." "Sorcerer" tells the story of four men, each of whom is on the run for various reasons, hiding out in a Latin American town that are selected to drive two trucks filled with nitroglycerin to an area to help extinguish an oil fire. Of course the roads they take are bumpy and dangerous and, in one masterful scene, they have to cross a bridge that seems destined to collapse at any moment. Aided by a terrific musical score by Tangerine Dream, "Sorcerer" is a slow moving but compelling drama that failed to find an audience.

The studio mistakenly promoted the film as a thriller "from the director of 'The Exorcist.'" The mostly negative critical response (though Roger Ebert, again, put this film on his ten best list), due largely to the fact that Friedkin had dared tamper with an already classic film, didn't help and the film was a huge flop. The next year Friedkin switched gears and made a light, pleasant period comedy called "The Brinks Job" starring Peter Falk, Warren Oates and Peter Boyle, chronicling the events that lead up to the biggest armored car heist in history up to that time. Critics were indifferent to the film believing it to be watchable but not much of a challenge to Friedkin. Once again audiences stayed away and Friedkin had his second flop in a row.

Much like Bogdanovich, Friedkin's work load lightened in the 1980's as he made only four movies with only one living up to expectations (coincidentally it was in 1985, the same year as Bogdanovich's "Mask," the one film that had lived up his previous works). His first film was 1980's "Cruising" starring Al Pacino as a detective who goes undercover in the gay community to track a serial killer. Controversy swirled around the film while it was still shooting as gay activists condemned the film for its portrayal of homosexuals. By the time the film was released many theater chains refused to show it due to its violent and controversial subject matter.

For once controversy on a film prior to its release did not increase interest in it. "Cruising" was universally derided as trash and became Friedkin's third flop in a row. "Deal of the Century," (1983) seemed an odd choice for Friedkin. This dark comedy about gunrunners starred Chevy Chase, Sigourney Weaver and Gregory Hines who were saddled with a disjointed, muddled script. Critics attacked it and audiences avoided it in droves. Friedkin returned to form with 1985's "To Live and Die in L.A." about secret service men working undercover in a counterfeiting scheme. Friedkin recalled the grittiness and action of "The French Connection" and even included another incredible chase scene that involved driving the wrong way down a freeway during rush hour. While critics hailed Friedkin's return the film was only a minor success at the box office. 1988's "Rampage" was a complicated and violent legal thriller that the studio shelved upon completion and would barely see the light of day four years later.

The 1990's were no more kind to Friedkin then the 80's were. Having difficulty making the movies he wanted, Friedkin also would direct some films for television including an acclaimed remake of "12 Angry Men," (1997), with Jack Lemmon and George C. Scott. Theatrically Friedkin would only direct three movies in the decade. The first was 1990's "The Guardian," which was Friedkin's return to the horror genre for the first time since "The Exorcist." "The Guardian" told the story of a young couple who hire a nanny to care for their child and soon realize there is something seriously wrong with her. The story soon turns ludicrous as a tree becomes part of the horror and Friedkin unwisely fails to inject any humor into the proceedings. Needless to say critics tore the film apart and Friedkin suffered yet another flop. 1994's "Blue Chips" starred Nick Nolte as a college basketball coach who decides to look the other way when recruiters attempt to buy the best talent available for the upcoming season.

The film started out as a compelling look at college sports and the lengths of which some will go to win but the film then degenerates into a routine sports movie. Critical reaction was decidedly mixed but the film disappointed at the box office. 1995's "Jade" was billed as a sexy thriller from the writer of "Basic Instinct" and "Showgirls," whose disaster at the box office was so great that it tainted this film even before its release. Critics were licking their chops to get a look at the film and their reviews were relentless finding the film neither thrilling nor sexy. Friedkin did show his brilliance at handling another chase scene but it was the only bright spot in the film. Yet again Friedkin had another box office flop on his hands.

The current decade has not started off well for Friedkin but there might be some good news in the offing. In 2000 Friedkin made the courtroom thriller "Rules of Engagement" with Samuel L. Jackson and Tommy Lee Jones. Surprisingly routine and lacking little punch it appeared as if Friedkin was just doing it by the numbers. Critics and audiences agreed. In 2003 Friedkin helmed the action thriller "The Hunted" with Tommy Lee Jones and Benicio Del Toro and once again it appeared Friedkin was just phoning it in, an unfortunate albatross burdening Friedkin after his early success with "The French Connection."

Friedkin's newest film is called "Bug," (2006), due to be released at the end of the year, and tells the story of a paranoid, unhinged, war veteran who sees insects everywhere and holes up with a lonely woman in a spooky Oklahoma motel room. The advanced word on the film has been extremely positive with talk that Friedkin may have earned another trip to the Oscars, which would be his first in 33 years.

Film fans hope that all three of these directors return to the greatness they once achieved