When Lionsgate released the second trailer for Francis Ford Coppola’s epic “Megalopolis” on Wednesday morning, the trailer kicked off with a series of critiques of his previous work from several prominent critics.
In quotes attributed to their reviews of “The Godfather,” the trailer quotes Pauline Kael of The New Yorker as saying the film “weakens by its artistry,” and Andrew Sarris of The Village Voice as criticizing “the film’s complacent, self-indulgent nature.” Other quotes from critics like Roger Ebert, John Simon, Stanley Kaufman, Vincent Canby, and Rex Reed are also on screen, offering scathing critiques of Coppola’s work on masterpieces like “Apocalypse Now.” The idea is that these films have stood the test of time—but their initial reactions were not. Many critics dismissed “Megalopolis,” which premiered at Cannes, as indulgent and confusing. The new trailer aims to position Coppola’s latest as a work of art that will stand the test of time, just like the director’s previous films.
It’s an interesting point, but there’s a huge hole in the trailer’s argument. The problem, and it’s a huge one, is that these quotes don’t appear in any of the reviews mentioned. The eagle pointed at her. This has been verified by diverseNone of these phrases can be found in the versions of the stories available online. It is not clear at this time where any of these quotes came from. Ebert’s quote describing “Dracula” as “a triumph of style over substance” is actually taken from his 1989 review of “Batman.”
diverseOwen Gleiberman is incorrectly cited as describing the 1992 Ram Stoker’s Dracula as a “beautiful mess” and highlighting its “absurdity” when he reviewed the film for Entertainment Weekly, where he was working at the time of its release.
“Even if you’re one of those people who don’t like critics, we don’t deserve to have words put in our mouths,” Gleiberman says of the trailer’s quotes. “On the other hand, the petty scandal of all this is that the entire Megalopolis trailer is built on a false narrative. Critics loved The Godfather. Apocalypse Now, while divisive, received a lot of critical support. As for me, I called Bram Stoker’s Dracula a ‘beautiful mess.’ I wish I could say that! As for this movie, it now seems nice.”
Some critics mentioned in the trailer really hated Coppola’s early work. Reed, For examplewhich some have described as “Apocalypse Now” is “a plate of pretentious nonsense.”
As for the movie “Megalopolis”, it may indeed be worthy of a critical re-evaluation. In his review, diversePeter Debruge of The Hollywood Reporter had a negative reaction to the film, writing that “the legendary director constructs a deeply personal, if unsubtle, allegory about his relationship with art,” adding, “It turns out that world-building—that prized tool in 21st-century Hollywood movies—may not be his specialty.”
“Megalopolis” will open in U.S. theaters on Sept. 27. Lionsgate did not immediately respond to a request for comment. diverseReid, who still reviews the Observer’s work, did not respond to a request for comment. Kyle, Simon, Ebert, Canby, Kaufman and Sarris are all deceased, making their responses difficult to obtain.
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