Contribution
Coppola's contribution to Crime fiction is indisputable. His crime fiction filmography lacks the breadth of directorial contemporaries yet his influence is profound and inimitable. Coppola's legacy is largely manifested through arguably his greatest film The Godfather. This film spearheaded a movement when subservient accordance to generic norms was dismissed.
Coppola's greatest contribution to crime fiction was his introduction of the interplay between personal, moral and humanist themes within characters, questioning the difference between, and definition of the "hero", and villain. This, in turn, forces one to question what divorces good from bad and who is truly "in the right". Never before had such impact been placed on the progression of characters within such a plot-driven genre.
The Godfather II was a character study on the impact of familial legacy. A father and son's journey's are canonised, the ensuing theme, the effects of worldly corruption on psychological realities. The cinematic portrayal of said point is an interesting visual contribution Coppola made to Crime Fiction. Instead of using close up shots to reveal human experience Coppola uses a wide shot in these moments to portray not only the characters response but also other characters responses and the physical scene itself providing context to the shot and thus the character.
The Conversationist's voyeuristic narrative served as a vehicle in which to explore moral dilemma's such as the compromise between acting practicality and honorable as well as investigating changes in culture such as the over saturation of technology and consequent influence of "the powers that be". The film borrowed elements from previous Crime Fiction Film such as Hitchcock's Rear Window as the protagonist is weak, obsessive and burdened by the inevitability of crippling guilt, a subversion of the typical intuitionist detective. Yet Coppola's contribution to Crime Fiction is that he introduces a character so consumed by paranoia that he ultimately crumbles and is unable to recover and grow from the experience. This highlights Coppola's distinctive concern with personal criticisms as well as contextual concerns which is a contribution to the genre as many Crime Fiction films of the time either concerned focused on character or overt contextual criticism.
Though it was The Godfather that was the zenith of Coppola's career. The Godfather pulls off the feat of being at the same time in the tradition of great classic sagas like Luchino Visconti’s The Leopard 1963 and totally in tune with the spirit of its time. Coppola is also able to continually transcend contradictions that he himself creates. The most clear is in Coppola’s manipulation of violence. Coppola transmutes the typical use of violence in crime fiction in that the violence itself is cold, dispassionate and occurs in stunted bursts, the scenes silent. For example when Vito is shot. The real concern of violence is the emotional reaction by Coppola’s characters whose responses are underscored by mournful laments which illicit empathy for morally duplicitous people. This is an important contribution because it supports Coppola's innovation of creating atypical heroes.
It is Coppola's creation of Michael Corleone that remains his most important contribution to Crime Fiction. The Godfather is at its core a romantic panorama of a Michael's life, his power, desires and excesses, rather than a purely critical treatment of the history of Coppola's time. Michael is a tragic figure. In the same vein of the Marlowe’s and Spade’s, his decisions weigh on him and a great sense of melancholy pervades his character. Coppola's character coincides with much of Chandler's view of the protagonist, a "complete man and a common man and yet an unusual man." Though it is Michael's tragic fall, rather than generic rise, that is so important as the focus on his characterisation.
Thus, we see that Coppola has challenged many aspects of the genre, using primarily The Godfather, to convey a number of deeply humanistic themes, radically contributing to the genre as he pushes its boundaries and redefines its norms.
Coppola's greatest contribution to crime fiction was his introduction of the interplay between personal, moral and humanist themes within characters, questioning the difference between, and definition of the "hero", and villain. This, in turn, forces one to question what divorces good from bad and who is truly "in the right". Never before had such impact been placed on the progression of characters within such a plot-driven genre.
The Godfather II was a character study on the impact of familial legacy. A father and son's journey's are canonised, the ensuing theme, the effects of worldly corruption on psychological realities. The cinematic portrayal of said point is an interesting visual contribution Coppola made to Crime Fiction. Instead of using close up shots to reveal human experience Coppola uses a wide shot in these moments to portray not only the characters response but also other characters responses and the physical scene itself providing context to the shot and thus the character.
The Conversationist's voyeuristic narrative served as a vehicle in which to explore moral dilemma's such as the compromise between acting practicality and honorable as well as investigating changes in culture such as the over saturation of technology and consequent influence of "the powers that be". The film borrowed elements from previous Crime Fiction Film such as Hitchcock's Rear Window as the protagonist is weak, obsessive and burdened by the inevitability of crippling guilt, a subversion of the typical intuitionist detective. Yet Coppola's contribution to Crime Fiction is that he introduces a character so consumed by paranoia that he ultimately crumbles and is unable to recover and grow from the experience. This highlights Coppola's distinctive concern with personal criticisms as well as contextual concerns which is a contribution to the genre as many Crime Fiction films of the time either concerned focused on character or overt contextual criticism.
Though it was The Godfather that was the zenith of Coppola's career. The Godfather pulls off the feat of being at the same time in the tradition of great classic sagas like Luchino Visconti’s The Leopard 1963 and totally in tune with the spirit of its time. Coppola is also able to continually transcend contradictions that he himself creates. The most clear is in Coppola’s manipulation of violence. Coppola transmutes the typical use of violence in crime fiction in that the violence itself is cold, dispassionate and occurs in stunted bursts, the scenes silent. For example when Vito is shot. The real concern of violence is the emotional reaction by Coppola’s characters whose responses are underscored by mournful laments which illicit empathy for morally duplicitous people. This is an important contribution because it supports Coppola's innovation of creating atypical heroes.
It is Coppola's creation of Michael Corleone that remains his most important contribution to Crime Fiction. The Godfather is at its core a romantic panorama of a Michael's life, his power, desires and excesses, rather than a purely critical treatment of the history of Coppola's time. Michael is a tragic figure. In the same vein of the Marlowe’s and Spade’s, his decisions weigh on him and a great sense of melancholy pervades his character. Coppola's character coincides with much of Chandler's view of the protagonist, a "complete man and a common man and yet an unusual man." Though it is Michael's tragic fall, rather than generic rise, that is so important as the focus on his characterisation.
Thus, we see that Coppola has challenged many aspects of the genre, using primarily The Godfather, to convey a number of deeply humanistic themes, radically contributing to the genre as he pushes its boundaries and redefines its norms.