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Francis Ford Coppola movies in order

Four films between 1972 and 1979 that nobody has matched, and fifty years of everything else.

Updated 6 August 2026 · 23 titles tracked

Only the Godfather films connect, and those run in order — the Godfather page covers that. Everything else stands alone.

The thing to understand about this filmography is the shape of it. Between 1972 and 1979 he made The Godfather, The Conversation, The Godfather Part II and Apocalypse Now. Two Best Picture wins, a Palme d'Or and one of the most difficult productions in film history, in seven years. Nothing before or after is on that level, and that is not a criticism so much as arithmetic.

Coppola films, in a suggested starting order

An entry path rather than release order. Toggle on the filmography page.

  1. 1The Godfather1972 · Major work
  2. 2The Godfather Part II1974 · Major work
  3. 3Apocalypse Now1979 · Major work
  4. 4The Conversation1974 · Major work
  5. 5Bram Stoker's Dracula1992 · Major work
  6. 6Rumble Fish1983 · Major work
  7. 7The Outsiders1983 · Major work
  8. 8The Godfather Part III1990
  9. 9Tucker: The Man and His Dream1988
  10. 10Peggy Sue Got Married1986
  11. 11Megalopolis2024
  12. 12The Rainmaker1997
  13. 13The Cotton Club1984
  14. 14The Rain People1969
  15. 15Tetro2009
  16. 16One from the Heart1982
  17. 17Youth Without Youth2007
  18. 18Gardens of Stone1987
  19. 19You're a Big Boy Now1966
  20. 20Finian's Rainbow1968
  21. 21Dementia 131963
  22. 22Jack1996
  23. 23Twixt2011
Open the full Francis Ford Coppola filmography

Start with The Godfather

He was thirty-two, was nearly fired several times during the shoot, and had to fight the studio over Brando, Pacino and the lighting. It won Best Picture.

The Godfather Part II followed two years later and became the first sequel to win Best Picture — a prequel and a sequel at once, which had not really been done.

The one people miss

The Conversation (1974) came out between the two Godfathers and won the Palme d'Or. A surveillance expert becomes convinced he has recorded a murder being planned, and cannot stop listening to the tape.

It is 113 minutes, made small and fast between two enormous productions, and it may be the best-directed film of the four.

Apocalypse Now

Sixteen months in the Philippines. A typhoon destroyed the sets, Martin Sheen had a heart attack at thirty-six, Brando arrived overweight and without having read the book, and Coppola mortgaged everything he owned to finish it. It won the Palme d'Or.

Two longer versions exist — Redux (2001) and Final Cut (2019). The 1979 theatrical version is still the one to start with.

The two teen films, back to back

The Outsiders and Rumble Fish were shot consecutively in 1983 with overlapping casts. The Outsiders is the famous one and is full of actors nobody had heard of yet. Rumble Fish is stark black-and-white, far stranger, and the better film.

The later career

Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) did every effect in camera on purpose and was the last real hit he had. Jack (1996) is the low point by common agreement.

Since 2007 he has self-financed everything. Tetro (2009) is the best of those. Megalopolis (2024) took forty years of development and around a hundred and twenty million dollars of his own money, and opinion on it is not close to settled.

Common questions

What order should I watch Coppola movies in?

The Godfather films run in order — I, II, then III. Everything else stands alone. Start with The Godfather, then Part II, The Conversation and Apocalypse Now.

Which Coppola film should I watch first?

The Godfather. If you have seen it, The Conversation (1974) is the one most people have missed and is arguably his best-directed film.

How many films has Francis Ford Coppola directed?

Twenty-three features, from Dementia 13 (1963) to Megalopolis (2024).

Should I watch The Godfather Part III or The Godfather Coda?

Coda. It is Coppola's own 2020 re-edit of Part III with a different opening and ending, and it is a noticeably better film.