One of the leading directors of the American New Wave, Francis Ford Coppola (b.1939) came to prominence with The Godfather in 1972 and The Conversation (1974), and consolidated that success with a string of films in the 1970s culminating in Apocalypse Now (1979). Acclaimed for its objectivity, Cowie's portrait of the director examines the influences that shaped his ground-breaking films and the creative and financial turmoil involved in their production.