Francis Ford Coppola has denounced Marvel superhero films as “despicable”, backing fellow director Martin Scorsese’s criticism of the genre, according to reports.
Speaking to journalists in Lyon, where he has just been awarded the Prix Lumiere for his contribution to cinema, the Godfather and Apocalypse Now director said he agreed with Scorsese’s comment that “Marvelpictures are not cinema “.
Scorsese’s spoke about the franchise in an interview with Empire, saying that “as well made as they are”, the superhero movies – which include Iron Man, Black Panther and the Avengers films – are more like “theme parks” than cinema.
“When Martin Scorsese says that the Marvel pictures are not cinema, he’s right because we expect to learn something from cinema, we expect to gain something, some enlightenment, some knowledge, some inspiration,” Coppola, 80, said. )
“I don’t know that anyone gets anything out of seeing the same movie over and over again.
“Martin was kind when he said it’s not cinema. He didn’t say it’s despicable, which I just say it is.”
Coppola is not the only one to have waded into the row, which has caused much debate on social media since Scorsese’s interview was published.
In an interview with Variety,Jennifer Anistonsaid she felt the superhero films were “diminishing” film roles and that she isn’t “really interested in living in a green screen”.
But other stars have been quick to defend the Marvel universe – not least Robert Downey Jr, who played Iron Man in the films.
He said that while he respected Scorsese’s opinion, his comments made “no sense”.
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Guardians Of The Galaxy director James Gunn responded to Coppola’s comments with a post on Instagram, saying that “many of our grandfathers thought all gangster movies were the same, often calling them ‘despicable’. “
He added:” Some of our great grandfathers thought the same of westerns, and believed the films of John Ford, Sam Peckinpah, and Sergio Leone were all exactly the same .
“I remember a great uncle to whom I was raving about Star Wars. He responded by saying, ‘I saw that when it was called 2001, and, boy, was it boring! ‘
“Superheroes are simply today’s gangsters / cowboys / outer space adventurers. Some superhero films are awful, some are beautiful. Like westerns and gangster movies ( and before that, just MOVIES), not everyone will be able to appreciate them, even some geniuses. And that’s okay. “
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