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Timeless Classic Shocks Streaming Charts: Over 50-Year-Old Masterpiece Dominates Free Platforms

Published 6 hours ago2 minute read
Precious Eseaye
Precious Eseaye
Timeless Classic Shocks Streaming Charts: Over 50-Year-Old Masterpiece Dominates Free Platforms

Director Francis Ford Coppola's illustrious career has been marked by extreme fluctuations, from periods of immense wealth to financial struggles, a reality he openly acknowledges. However, his professional trajectory underwent a significant and irreversible transformation in 1972 with the release of his monumental adaptation of Mario Puzo's novel, The Godfather. This epic crime saga was an immediate and resounding success, maintaining its revered status more than five decades later. Its enduring popularity is such that, according to FlixPatrol, it was the top-ranking title on the free Pluto TV streaming service on October 8.

Featuring an iconic cast including Al Pacino, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Talia Shire, and James Caan, The Godfather is widely regarded as one of the most influential films ever produced, inspiring a diverse range of works from animated features by DreamWorks to children's picture books. Commercially, the film was a colossal success, grossing nearly $300 million globally against a reported budget of just over $5 million. Consistently ranked among the greatest films ever made by numerous publications, it notably secured the 12th position on Sight & Sound magazine's 2022 decennial list. Following this masterpiece, Coppola continued his streak of acclaimed classics, directing films such as The Conversation, Apocalypse Now, and The Godfather Part II.

More recently, Coppola embarked on another significant venture, releasing his passion project of over three decades, Megalopolis. The journey to bring this film to fruition was famously arduous, marked by considerable challenges in securing financing and distribution. Ultimately, Coppola resorted to selling a portion of his lucrative wine empire to fund the movie. Despite its substantial budget exceeding $120 million, Megalopolis garnered only around $15 million worldwide and received a highly divisive critical response. The film currently holds a 45% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics' consensus describes it as "More of a creative manifesto than a cogent narrative feature, Francis Ford Coppola's Megalopolis is an overstuffed opus that's equal parts stimulating and slapdash." A documentary chronicling the making of this film, titled Megadoc, was also recently released in theaters.

Both The Godfather and Megalopolis are available for home viewing, offering audiences a chance to experience the breadth of Francis Ford Coppola's unique cinematic vision.

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