When Lionsgate released the second trailer for Francis Ford Coppola‘s epic film “Megalopolis” on Wednesday morning, it began with a litany of pans of his past work from several renowned critics.
In quotes attributed to their reviews of “The Godfather,” the trailer cites The New Yorker’s Pauline Kael as calling it “diminished by its artsiness,” and Village Voice’s Andrew Sarris as criticizing the “sloppy self-indulgent movie.” Other quotes from critics such as Roger Ebert, John Simon, Stanley Kauffmann, Vincent Canby and Rex Reed similarly flash across the screen, offering harsh critiques of Coppola’s work on masterpieces such as “Apocalypse Now.” The idea being these movies stood the test of times — their initial reactions, not so much. “Megalopolis,” which premiered at Cannes, was dismissed by many critics as indulgent and muddled. The new trailer aims to position Coppola’s latest film, as a work of art that will age well, much like its predecessors from the famed director.
It’s an interesting point to make, but there’s a pretty significant hole in the trailer’s argument. The problem, and it’s a pretty massive one, is these quotes don’t actually appear in any of the cited reviews. As pointed out by Vulture and verified by Variety, none of the phrases can be found in the versions of the stories available online. It’s not clear at this time where any of the quotes originate from. Ebert’s quote calling “Dracula” a “triumph of style over substance” is actually pulled from his 1989 review of “Batman.”
Variety‘s own Owen Gleiberman is incorrectly cited as calling the 1992 film “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” “a beautiful mess” and highlighting its “absurdity” when he reviewed the film for Entertainment Weekly, where he worked at that time of its release.
“Even if you’re one of those people who don’t like critics, we hardly deserve to have words put in our mouths. Then again, the trivial scandal of all this is that the whole ‘Megalopolis’ trailer is built on a false narrative,” Gleiberman says of the trailer’s quotes. “Critics loved ‘The Godfather.’ And though ‘Apocalypse Now’ was divisive, it received a lot of crucial critical support. As far as me calling ‘Bram Stoker’s Dracula’ ‘a beautiful mess,’ I only wish I’d said that! Regarding that film, it now sounds kind.”
Some of the critics cited in the trailer really did hate Coppola’s early works. Reed, for instance, called “Apocalypse Now” a “gumbo of pretentious twaddle.”
As for “Megalopolis,” it may indeed be worthy of critical reassessment. In his review, Variety‘s Peter Debruge had a negative reaction to the film, writing that the “legendary director constructs a deeply personal, but sloppy allegory on his relationship to art,” adding, “Turns out, world-building — that invaluable tool of 21st-century Hollywood franchises — may not be in his wheelhouse.”
“Megalopolis” hits U.S. theaters on Sept. 27. Lionsgate did not immediately respond to Variety‘s request for comment. Reed, who still reviews for the Observer, also did not respond to a request for comment. Kael, Simon, Ebert, Canby, Kauffmann and Sarris are dead, which makes it hard to get their reaction.
