One from the heart (1981)

September 12, 2024 9:27 PM

A 1982 American musical romantic drama film co-written and directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Frederic Forrest, Teri Garr, Raul Julia, Nastassja Kinski, Lainie Kazan, and Harry Dean Stanton. Music by Tom Waits and Crystal Gayle. Set entirely in Las Vegas and made independently by Coppola's own Zoetrope Studios the film was a critical and commercial failure.

I watched the 'updated and restored' version that came out this year - it's on Criterion at the moment.

posted by latkes (14 comments total)

This movie! This was my first time watching so can't compare this 'restored' version to the original, but I can see why it was panned at the time: there is no chemistry between the leads - I was rooting for them to never speak to each other again and disappointed by the ending! And yet... Everything besides the actual main story of this film is just amazing and great. I love what a big swing this movie is. Gorgeous film, incredible sets (all shot on sound stage!), good songs, the choreography is by Gene Kelly!! Teri Garr is a treat and Raul Julia is to die for! Can't think of anything contemporary to compare it to except La La Land owes something to it.
posted by latkes at 9:31 PM on September 12 [3 favorites]

Also, the sexism and ethnic stereotyping is.. hard to watch! For the first 30 minutes I wondered if the whole movie would simply be a series of shots of Teri Garr taking her top off! And yet... this movie is also somehow great.
posted by latkes at 9:33 PM on September 12

Raul Julia giving foxy! And his whole set up is very Ken's Mojo Dojo with all the "Oriental" decor.
posted by Kitteh at 6:29 AM on September 13 [1 favorite]

OMG so accurate.
posted by latkes at 7:26 AM on September 13

I just watched this last weekend on Criterion as well. The thing that struck me big time was the thing feels like an 80s MTV video - but music videos had not actually taken over yet. I had to check the timeline: MTV started in August 1981, this movie came out early 1982. So that means it was being filmed before MTV took off. It's a complete premonition of the 1980s visual aesthetic; the neon colors, the artifice of the sets, the layering of visuals, the flow of camera movement... But it's also like a music video in that it's visually lavish but quite empty of much character or story. Like, whether they get back together in the end doesn't really matter, and I don't really care?
posted by dnash at 8:13 AM on September 13 [1 favorite]

I found the sets so fascinating but can totally see why studios balked at Coppola's vision. And this is also the movie where Tom Waits met his wife/writing partner Kathleen Brennan.
posted by Kitteh at 8:15 AM on September 13 [1 favorite]

The movie is such unadulterated eye candy! I've always loved it, despite the very real flaws. And, in this era where everything is CG to a fare-thee-well, watching this and understanding it's all in-studio practical work is really stunning.
posted by Thorzdad at 8:49 AM on September 13 [2 favorites]

(btw the post title when you open the thread (which I think is a Fanfare-generated thing but not sure?) gives the year as 2024.)
posted by trig at 11:40 AM on September 13

I watched in a theatre when it opened, and I've never forgotten when I read in a newspaper that the Las Vegas Strip scenes had not been filmed on location, but in a studio reconstruction. As had the scenes in the junkyard. And the suburban street with their house, and their house. It's all studio sets.

What
posted by kandinski at 5:30 PM on September 13 [3 favorites]

Trig it's linking to the film's reissue that Coppola released last year which apparently rearranged some scenes, removed some scenes, and added more. That's what's streaming on Criterion right now.
posted by latkes at 10:01 PM on September 13

Ah!
posted by trig at 11:28 PM on September 13

The soundtrack to this film might be my favorite album.
posted by chazlarson at 7:32 AM on September 14 [1 favorite]

I saw this maybe 15 years ago. I think it's 100% worth watching, but in the end it isn't great. So much of it is fascinating, and many parts of the overall movie are fantastic though. Better than most movies out there, and it's interesting to watch all the way through.
posted by SoberHighland at 9:18 AM on September 15 [1 favorite]

I have loved this movie since first I saw it.
posted by y2karl at 12:41 AM on September 21