George Lucas and Steven Spielberg took to the stage at the AFI awards at the weekend to present the 50th AFI Life Achievement award, and whilst presenting the award, Spielberg made a bold claim.
The award was being presented to legendary auteur Francis Ford Coppola, and Spielberg claimed, “‘The Godfather,’ for me, is the greatest American film ever made. Many artists can and do take a bow from their work on a page, on a canvas, on a screen, but our applause for you, Francis, is from a different kind of audience. When we’re young, it’s our parents we want to make proud, and then it’s our friends, and then it’s our colleagues, and finally, it’s our peers, but you, sir, are peerless.”
It’s a big statement from someone who many would consider to have produced some of the greatest American films himself. For everyone who claims The Godfather is the best, you’ll have just as many listing one of the many groundbreaking films Spielberg made, from Jurassic Park to Schindler's List.
Spielberg and Coppola first met in 1967, and their relationship has grown since then. Coppola even showed Spielberg an early, five-hour-long cut of Apocalypse Now.
Spielberg continued to describe seeing the film with Coppola, stating: “When the film ended, you asked us to tell you what we saw, how we felt. You invited all of us in, so one by one, we told you where we were lost and where we were found, and I sat there in awe, learning that leaving yourself open and searching was, in fact, your superpower.”
George Lucas, who is the brain behind Star Wars and is prone to making a cinematic banger, too, described Coppola as his hero. He spoke about when they first met whilst presenting the award, “When I was 22, he taught me, don’t be afraid of jumping off cliffs. And I’ve lived with that the rest of my life, although I don’t go to the higher level that he does,” said Lucas.
As part of the award presentation, tributes were also given by numerous notable industry figures, including Adam Driver, Al Pacino, C. Thomas Howell, Diane Lane, Dustin Hoffman, Harrison Ford, Morgan Freeman, Ralph Macchio, Robert De Niro, Ron Howard, and Spike Lee.
If you’ve never seen The Godfather, you’re in luck as it's currently available to stream on Amazon Prime Video, Paramount+ and NowTV.
- If you're on the lookout for some classic screenings, BFI is showing a limited, one-time-only screening of the original Star Wars cut in June.
Main image via Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
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