30 Best Francis Ford Coppola Quotes

The essence of cinema is editing. It's the combination of what can be extraordinary images of people during emotional moments, or images in a general sense, put together in a kind of alchemy. – Francis Ford Coppola

I think that cinema, movies, and magic have always been closely associated. The very earliest people who made film were magicians. – Francis Ford Coppola

You have to really be courageous about your instincts and your ideas. Otherwise you'll just knuckle under, and things that might have been memorable will be lost. – Francis Ford Coppola

The way to come to power is not always to merely challenge the establishment, but first to make a place in it and then challenge and double-cross the establishment. – Francis Ford Coppola

Anything you build on a large scale or with intense passion invites chaos. – Francis Ford Coppola

I don't think there's any artist of any value who doesn't doubt what they're doing. – Francis Ford Coppola

I'm a firm believer in the theory that people only do their best at things they truly enjoy. – Francis Ford Coppola

The Godfather was a very unappreciated movie when we were making it. – Francis Ford Coppola

I've always felt that music is a very personal thing. It should be the director's final communication with the audience. – Francis Ford Coppola

My film is not about Vietnam, it is Vietnam. – Francis Ford Coppola

The most important single element in any film is the screenplay. It's the blueprint. – Francis Ford Coppola

To say a film is good or bad is like saying a piece of music is good or bad. It depends on what it does to you. – Francis Ford Coppola

I think that when you make a movie, you always have to be in a state of dreaming. – Francis Ford Coppola

An essential element of any art is risk. – Francis Ford Coppola

The only reason to make a movie is because you have an overwhelming passion for it. – Francis Ford Coppola

A great script is the most important thing, and if you don't have that, you've got nothing. – Francis Ford Coppola

I think that cinema is a language, and it can say things that are very complex. – Francis Ford Coppola

The power of the cinema is in its intimacy. – Francis Ford Coppola

Every great work of art has two faces, one toward its own time and one toward the future, toward eternity. – Francis Ford Coppola

I don't think you can make a good film without a good script. Without a good script, a good director can't possibly make a good film. – Francis Ford Coppola

Part of the problem with American cinema today is that the films are made by committees. – Francis Ford Coppola

I love the editing process. It's the only time you're able to be Frankenstein and put all the pieces together. – Francis Ford Coppola

The best kind of movie is one that you can watch over and over again and always find something new. – Francis Ford Coppola

I'm more interested in the truth than in the facts. – Francis Ford Coppola

You have to spend money to make money. – Francis Ford Coppola

A film is never really good unless the camera is an eye in the head of a poet. – Francis Ford Coppola

I think it's a mistake to think that because you're the director, you know everything. – Francis Ford Coppola

The most exciting thing is not the moment of success, but the moment before, when you're on the verge of success. – Francis Ford Coppola

I believe in the family, I believe in the home. – Francis Ford Coppola

The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary. – Francis Ford Coppola