Cinema

Francis Ford Coppola turns 87: His film legacy and best movies

The director’s career has been full of highs and lows, yet he has always remained true to himself. That independence has brought him both extraordinary triumphs and some very public failures.

Cristian Sánchez Greg Heilman

Update: Apr 7th, 2026 09:30 EDT

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Francis Ford Coppola rose to prominence in the 1970s and went on to establish himself as one of the defining filmmakers of the New Hollywood era. His body of work is marked by both brilliance and inconsistency: genuine masterpieces, underrated productions, and others that fell flat.

Taken as a whole, his filmography reveals a remarkably versatile artist who repeatedly reinvented himself with imagination and ambition. He explored the Italian American mafia with uncommon depth, then moved through Dracula, comedy, family films, thrillers, and even horror.

Francis Ford Coppola‘s ten best films

To celebrate his legacy, we’ve gathered the 10 best films directed by Coppola, ranked from highest to lowest according to IMDb. Which one is your favorite?

The Godfather
The Godfather Part II
Apocalypse Now
The Conversation
The Godfather Part III
Bram Stoker’s Dracula
Rumble Fish
The Rainmaker
The Outsiders
The Rain People

The Godfather

Streaming on: Paramount+ and Hulu
Runtime: 2 hours 55 minutes
Year: 1972
IMDb rating: 9.2

Coppola’s masterpiece. Nominated for 11 Academy Awards, it ultimately won Best Picture, Best Actor for Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone, and Best Adapted Screenplay. It also took home five Golden Globes.

Did you know Brando famously declined his Oscar and sent a Native American activist to the ceremony in his place? The gesture was meant to protest Hollywood’s treatment of Indigenous people.

Another important piece of trivia: Coppola was not Paramount Pictures’ first choice to direct the film. Several directors had already passed on the project before he came aboard. Once production began, Coppola and Paramount clashed constantly, and he came close to being fired. Studio executives wanted a more violent gangster movie.

The Godfather Part II

Streaming on: Paramount+ and Hulu
Runtime: 3 hours 20 minutes
Year: 1974
IMDb rating: 9.0

The second installment in Coppola’s landmark trilogy. Out of 11 Oscar nominations, it won six Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director (Coppola), Best Supporting Actor (Robert De Niro), Best Adapted Screenplay (Coppola and Mario Puzo), Best Original Score (Nino Rota and Carmine Coppola), and Best Art Direction.

Apocalypse Now

Where to watch: Available to rent on Apple TV
Runtime: 2 hours 33 minutes
Year: 1979
IMDb rating: 8.4

Set during the Vietnam War, Apocalypse Now is widely regarded as one of the great cinematic achievements of the 20th century. The film won two Academy Awards, for Best Cinematography and Best Sound, and received six additional nominations, including Best Director, Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Robert Duvall), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Art Direction, and Best Film Editing. It also earned three Golden Globes and two BAFTAs.

The Conversation

Streaming on: Amazon Prime Video
Runtime: 1 hour 55 minutes
Year: 1974
IMDb rating: 7.8

This paranoid surveillance thriller was nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Original Screenplay, Best Sound, and Best Picture. It also won two BAFTAs in 1975, for Best Editing and Best Sound. Made on a budget of $1.6 million, it grossed about $4.4 million.

The Godfather Part III

Streaming on: Paramount+ and Hulu
Runtime: 2 hours 42 minutes
Year: 1990
IMDb rating: 7.6

The final chapter in The Godfather trilogy. Of the three films, this is the one that made the smallest impact with critics. Even so, it still received seven Academy Award nominations, though it did not win any. Released on Christmas Day 1990, it earned nearly $137 million worldwide.

Bram Stoker’s Dracula

Where to watch: Available to rent on Apple TV and Prime Video
Runtime: 2 hours 8 minutes
Year: 1992
IMDb rating: 7.4

Gary Oldman was deeply committed to the production. According to stories from the set, he immersed himself so fully in the role of Dracula that he barely slept or ate, and occasionally frightened his co-stars. Winona Ryder, in particular, reportedly did not appreciate some of those antics.

Incidentally, it was Ryder who brought the Dracula script to Coppola and pushed for him to direct it. The film was made on a $40 million budget, an unusually large sum for a horror film at the time, and went on to gross nearly $216 million worldwide. It won three Academy Awards: Best Costume Design, Best Sound Editing, and Best Makeup.

Rumble Fish

Streaming on: Amazon Prime Video
Runtime: 1 hour 34 minutes
Year: 1983
IMDb rating: 7.1

Adapted from the novel of the same name by Susan E. Hinton, Rumble Fish was nominated for Best Original Score at the Golden Globes, though it did not win. Set in the industrial city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, the story reflects themes that shaped Hinton’s writing: street gangs, adolescence, and the search for identity and purpose.

The Rainmaker

Streaming on: Paramount+ and Hulu
Runtime: 2 hours 15 minutes
Year: 1997
IMDb rating: 7.2

Based on John Grisham’s 1995 novel, The Rainmaker was produced on a budget of $40 million and earned about $46 million at the box office. In this legal drama, Coppola exposes abuses within the U.S. health insurance industry through a strong ensemble cast that includes a very young Matt Damon, alongside Danny DeVito, Claire Danes, Jon Voight, and Mickey Rourke.

The Outsiders

Where to watch: Available to rent on Apple TV and Prime Video
Runtime: 1 hour 30 minutes
Year: 1983
IMDb rating: 7.1

Based on the novel by S. E. Hinton, first published in 1967, The Outsiders is set in 1960s Tulsa, Oklahoma. The story follows the Greasers, a working-class teenage gang, and their rivalry with the wealthier Socs from the other side of town.

Released on March 25, 1983, the film was made on a $10 million budget and became both a box office and critical success, grossing more than $33 million. Several members of its young cast would later become major Hollywood stars.

The Rain People

Where to watch: Available to rent on Apple TV and Prime Video
Runtime: 1 hour 41 minutes
Year: 1969
IMDb rating: 6.9

This was the film Coppola made just before The Godfather (1972). With The Rain People, he won the Golden Shell at the 1969 San Sebastián International Film Festival. It was also the first movie he made through his production company, American Zoetrope.

A little-known road movie and a commercial failure at the time, it remains one of Coppola’s most intriguing and worthwhile films. Themes such as self-discovery, emotional isolation, and existential restlessness run throughout the story. The performances by Shirley Knight and James Caan are especially memorable.