32. Coppola Cast 14: The Godfather Saga (1977)

What would it be like to watch The Godfather Parts I and II in chronological order? We found out! We tracked down the hard to find The Godfather Saga, the TV miniseries which edits both Godfather films together in chronological order and includes additional scenes. It originally aired on NBC in 1977 and has aired on various TV stations since. We discuss what it’s like viewing the two films as one, things we overlooked the first time like ominous oranges, driveway scenes, and a Roger Corman cameo, and which new scenes work and which don’t. This episode’s Coppola wine was Francis Coppola Diamond Collection Red Blend 2017.

#21: Coppola Cast 3: Dementia 13 (1963)

Still working for Roger Corman, Francis Ford Coppola writes and directs his first film not cobbled together from other films: Dementia 13 (1963). This low budget horror film was meant to cash in on the success of Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960) but still satisfy the exploitation movie market. A.J. and Bryan discuss what sets Dementia 13 apart from other low budget horror films, wonder why rich people don’t have giant paintings of themselves over fireplaces anymore, and brainstorm an idea for an Eric Roberts movie. This episode’s Francis Coppola wine was: Diamond Collection Emerald Label Pinot Grigio.

#20: Coppola Cast 2: The Haunted Palace (1963) & The Terror (1963)

…And we’re back! After a longer than expected hiatus, Bryan and A.J. return to the discuss the early work Francis Ford Coppola did for legendary B-movie king Roger Corman. Coppola was still attending UCLA when he became Corman’s “ace assistant” doing various jobs on different movies including even writing and directing low budget horror movies. Coppola rewrote the screenplay for The Haunted Palace, starring Vincent Price, and worked for a few days (3 or 4 or 11 depending on the source) as director for the notorious B-movie The Terror, starring Boris Karloff and Jack Nicholson. We praise Vincent Price and Roger Corman, try to figure out just what the hell is happening in The Terror, and wonder how you forget to copyright a movie. This episode’s Coppola wine was: Francis Coppola Diamond Collection Ivory Label Cabernet Sauvignon 2016.

#19: Coppola Cast 1: 3 Early Francis Ford Coppola Films

Now that we’ve watched all the Shyamalan movies there are to watch, we begin working our way through another director’s filmography: Francis Ford Coppola. To start discussing Francis Ford Coppola’s filmography we have to go to the exploitation drive-in. Long, long before The Godfather and just as he was finishing UCLA’s film program, Francis Ford Coppola began his career in the exploitation film genre. For our first Coppola Cast episode we take a look at 3 films he directed but not in the traditional sense. First he was recruited to work on two “nudie cutie” films, The Bellboy and the Playgirls (1962) and Tonight For Sure (1962). Then he was picked by legendary B-movie producer Roger Corman to work on Battle Beyond the Sun (1959/62). It’s a peculiar start to a very notable career and just the right way to start a new series.