It’s crazy because quite a few people walked out of my theatre, and many others were having such a good time. And I think I share sentiments with both parties haha there was a lot I loved like the blend of architecture between Ancient Rome and New York, Adam Driver’s performance, Aubrey Plaza’s line delivery, many of the visuals, a lot of the comedy, and just how epic and ambitious the whole thing felt. But on the flip side, the visual effects were really cheap-looking on such a high budget, the dialogue often feels dull and awkward, and the major themes don’t get as much depth or focus as I wished. A very up and down experience for me haha but I don’t regret seeing this at all, I’m always happy to see something this bold in a movie theatre
I think this movie is BOTH wayyyy overstuffed (like 250% as many ideas as it can fill in its runtime) yet also very extremely intentional and well done in a lot of ways. I could go into it and just rant for paragraphs and paragraphs but the stuff about Cesar-as-Coppola (and generally representing all creators' mission to create in the face of opposition) and the way characters and plot weren't "normal" characters and plot, but more like a fable, with characters being mouthpieces for philosophical opinions and sometimes straight up reciting poetry and literature really clicked FOR ME. I understand why most audiences would HATE this and find it boring though.
@@lucasblue20 The visual effects were perfect. As someone who has been watching movies for almost 40 years and works in the field we need to stop caring about 'the effects were bad' in the same way you don't really care if the print is smudged in a paperback. It's a media product, a vessel for a message, stop caring about the packaging and start caring about what's in said package.
Yep, WOW 'fer sure, and this is probably the most helpful of all the reviews have read so far... Grazie! Coppola's humanistic ideal kinda reminds me of that quote by Stewart Brand, creator of the Whole Earth Catalog... “We are as gods and might as well get good at it".
Great analysis and a masterpiece of a film! Francis Ford C is a genius and this film will definitely go down as one of his best works. So appropriate for the times that we live in, very disjointed society, with leaders who care more and themselves than the people. Thank you for a wonderful recap and analysis.
I went through the film realizing there was a LOT I wasn't understanding. This wasn't disappointing. It was exhilarating knowing that there were so many mysteries for me to uncover. I feel sorry for those who saw this film and didn't have the strength to admit "I don't understand this." It is just so much easier to call something you don't understand stupid.
When teachers (or filmmakers) rely on overly complex language or concepts to impress rather than to communicate, they risk obscuring the material. This can make it challenging for students (or audiences) to understand essential ideas, ultimately diminishing their ability to be influenced by the content. Truly exceptional filmmakers focus on making an impact.
@@gamezswinger The problem with condensing concepts into easily digestible packets is that it tends to leave the learner feeling as though they thoroughly understand the subject. IMO, the world would be a much better place if people came down off of Dunning-Kruger's "Peak Stupid" and started living in the "Valley of Despair".
First of all, Lucas, I must say your analysis was really, well there’s no other word for it…brilliant. Having such a comprehensive knowledge of the source historical material really put more of a logical spin on the film. I went to see it (before I watched your video obviously) and got lost in the spectacle. It didn’t matter to me that I fully grasped the story. The abstraction of it all was hypnotic. The visuals, it goes without saying, were beyond eye candy. Still, I wanted to understand more about it because a second and possible third viewing is definitely in the plan. Your breakdown will have me enjoying it on a whole different level the next time I see it. People are getting in such a twist about whether or not it’s good or a dud but, look, Coppola paid for the entire thing and it’s his vision. For those who said he got it wrong, I’m sorry, but that’s just arrogant. It’s his vision…hello? He doesn’t owe us anything.
I really love your breakdowns. How you uncover the deeper meanings and interweave the intentions of the film makers through their own words. I get so tired of reviewers who hate on a movie just because it's not fed to them like infant formula. I'm so glad there continues to be a few visionary directors who take great personal risk in order to bring thought provoking art to cinema.
This is so kind and I’m super thrilled you enjoy the filmmaker quotes because I too love to hear from them, thank you! And totally agree, whether I love the film or am mixed on it, it’s always a pleasure to see a vision this ambitious in the theatre
It's a masterpiece, just as "Kiss Me Deadly" was purported to have been the first film of the Atomic Age, Megalopolis is the first film of the Collapse of the American Empire. Disjointed, fragmented, manic, cartoonish, a mirror of our society. This is the film of a culture utterly bereft of meaning and mythology. I loved it!
Not true. A lot of films in the past have tackled the fall of the American Republic/Empire or are allegories/metaphors about the same topic. Films like Southland Tales, Revenge of the Sith, most of the Living Dead films, Us, Alex Garland’s Civil War, American Psycho, Olympus Has Fallen, The Purge films, Vice, The Manchurian Candidate, Watchmen, and even Coppola’s two earlier films touch on these themes in The Conversationalist and Apocalypse Now.
@@moonriseking1099 Most of the listed films are at best tangentially related, often entirely unrelated, but more to the point, just as 'Kiss Me Deadly' wasn't literally the first film to feature the nuclear element while holding the title, as it were, of the first of the Age, 'Megalopolis' is the first to "get it right," to give full expression of the posthuman TicToc era, capturing the sheer banality and insanity of a culture with utterly dead myths, unable to generate new ones, a culture so deeply in decline that when a mirror was held up against it (Megalopolis), all it could do was to say, "When is the new Marvel movie coming out?"
Magnificent movie! On so many levels. Great analysis; this conversation can continue due to the richness of the movie’s content, acting, themes, and messages. Highly recommend. Many parallels to America today. Such a brilliant use of color schemes. Inspiring. I teared up with hope when reading the last tenet posted in the movie. The acting is stellar-especially Adam Driver and Aubrey Plaza. So many messages are in sound bite movie quotes. This has become one of my favorite movies. That’s not happened in a long, long time. I have to see it again and again.
I LOVED this film although I was greatly perplexed after the first viewing, after the second viewing it started coming into focus and this explanation just crystallized most of it for me. Visually this film is stunning and needs to be seen in IMAX. I LOVE your analysis, thank you so much.
thank you for this, the film feels so much clearer now; you gave it the context i needed to help place it and hence find meaning! i also appreciated your eloquence and diction ^^ will keep an eye out for your other analyses~
Thank you so much for this. So many "reviews" slamming the movie are obtuse and miss the entire point of the film. It was an absolutely stunning masterpiece and that speech at the end had me in tears. So beautiful.
Sometimes, audiences overlook flaws in a film due to their admiration for the director, leading them to accept or excuse poor craftsmanship in favor of their affection for the director’s previous works or persona. 🤔
Thanks for the analysis. Coppola put his all into this film, you can feel his passion, so people ought to check their cynicism enough to appreciate that at least. I believe this movie will gain cultural favor with time.
I got home from watching it and I searched on youtube and found a load of negative looking reviews, I skipped past those and found yours. Aside from the intellectual aspect which I must confess I know little about, I found this film to be extremely uplifting! Most films try to evoke the emotions of fear or desire out of their audience both of which are somewhat painful. This film instilled some real positive sentiment inside of me. What surprised me most was that I was entertained the whole way though. Usually I get restless and start hoping for the film to finish but the pacing of this film was perfect. Thanks for providing some meaning behind what I just watched. I expect there's tons more and I look forward to seeing it again.
Thank you so much for this breakdown because I was so lost the whole movie. This was the best breakdown I’ve seen by miles and I’ve watched alot of them on this movie
Thanks for the thoughtful discussion! Most other reviewers seemed very angry about this movie and didn't even try to apply any analysis whatsoever. I don't think it was great, but I really appreciated seeing something fresh and different.
The movie needs to be seen many times. When I first watched it, I had to remind myself many times that this is art, not a commercial product. It strays from the formulaic recipe, which can be repulsive to some people. I wonder if there will ever be an extended cut.
I just saw the film today, and was quite impressed with it. Your analysis helped me appreciate some of the things I found confusing about the story. I'm looking forward to seeing the film again.
Fantastic analysis 🎉🎉🎉🎉 I would only add that Coppola was also inspired by the film Metropolis (1927) , which connects to the Tower of Babel, human-god connection etc. I saw a video that delved into this influence on UA-cam
Please can you do a breakdown and review of Caddo Lake- I just watched it and was so pleasantly surprised, it was great so I’d love to hear what you have to say
Thanks for this great review, by far the best I’ve seen. Absolutely this was about the Roman Republic, not the empire. All the main characters are based on participants active in Rome during the period of the Cataline Conspiracy. Being a history fanatic, I recognized this and had no problem grasping what was going on and I loved the film. I can fully understand how most people walking in without that knowledge would be lost. Too bad they didn’t see this video before attending.
Great analysis. I watched the film last night. I'm sitting with it a bit before my analysis. Most of it I got, I just felt there was too much pontificating when actions could have taken place. I don't mind having to do research after a film but I need the film to make me feel something more. The lofty intellectual ideas were too all over the place. I don't mind a big swing like this-- I admire it--but it was a bit all over the place for me. A coherent unifying theme would have been better and that ending...I know it's hopeful but life is not hopeful, it is ultimately tragic or at the very least ironic. Love your videos.
After watching that juvenile slop called 'DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE', 'MEGALOPOLIS' is an artistic revelation. Coppola catered to this vision for the last 25 years plus and it showed. It was bold, audacious and in some parts psychedelic. Yes, it was a long in certain sections but the overall creative arc was outstanding. Yes, it's not for the masses because sublimely it touches upon The Tower of Babel, Greed, Lust, Anarchy, Power and The Architecture of the Mind,...so believe me, not everyone is going to get into this movie. However, what Coppola and that cast and crew conveyed was that art, commerce, culture and creativity can be used to hopefully uplift and elevate the human mind and thinking and by creating and financing 'MEGALOPOIS' on his own, FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA has certainly done that. - James D. Watkins, artistic director of PHOENIX PRODUCTIONS.
I thought it was a good movie I think people are so accustomed to blockbuster schlock and aren't open to anything else. Artistic vision is supposed to be saved for streaming services and smaller productions they're looking to see a simple movie in theaters that they can just turn off their brain and not engage with it. It's not a perfect movie and certainly not the Godfather but it's refreshing to see directors make the movie they want to make and not based purely on returns.
Wow I'm 78 years old and I'm impressed by this Lucas blue And I'm not easily impressed I'll tell you that I worked with Coppola I know Francis And I am not saying the film yet will probably within a week or 2 cause it's on my cable But I've heard all the criticisms and the negative stuff and I really want to see it for my stuff but the way Lucas blue in this video breaks it all down and analysis and symbols Again I was very very impressed and I can't wait to see the movie and once again I feel that genius genius Often feel flies over the heads A regular Ordinary people
Power structures versus ideation. Ideation wins eventually in this movie. It's a great message. Highly recommend the experience. Future cult film. Wonderful dimensions
I just came out of the movie so confused and this helped me a lot. My only experience with ancient cultures being interspersed with modern day was the percy jackson universe and this was very much not that 😂
I just wrote an analysis on "A Different Man" and it's sooo long (the analysis, not the movie haha) and I don't have enough footage sadly, so I'm gonna wait until it hits VOD and drop like a 20-minute video from start to finish. It's actually my favorite movie of the year (10/10) so I just had wayyy too much to say, can't wait to share it all! And thank you for putting it on my radar!!
@lucasblue20 I genuinely cannot wait. It is also in my partner's too five movies of all time (I loved it, it just gave me so much anxiety 🤣)This movie sent me spiraling onto the internet and reading interviews by the director. Love your takes and analysis, so genuinely cannot wait for your video!
@courtneythomas9468 the movie just hit VOD yesterday! I'll upload my video this Friday at 4:30 PST. Super excited to share and hear what you think, can't wait!
@courtneythomas9468 sorry, sudden change of plans, I'll be uploading Saturday morning at 8 PST. I think it's a little better of an upload time. But nonetheless, I just finished it and can't wait for you to see!
I'm willing to give this movie another chance, but on first watch I found it to be as deep and full of itself as a Neil Breen film with equivalent writing
The irony of actually having to think when you go to the movies! You mean that the lowest common denominator is not the only way to assess a movie???? Well! What nerve!
I enjoyed the movie and this was an amazing breakdown but the only thing that bothers me about the movie is how Caesar is rich… it’s not relatable… it’s like Coppola is unintentionally saying you have to be rich and have an open heart/mind to change the world. You can’t just have an open heart/mind.. and that’s stupid to me… like how would he know how bad human suffering is if he lives in his millions of dollars condo ?
Anyone have idea thoughts on this still image: @11:23 ... Looks like they're in a screen of some sort. in one Ceasar's speeches, he mentions consciousness. Was Megalopolis a virtual world?
the 'selflessness' is something you came up with personally. It wasn't part of the film. Have a read of Ayn Rand to understand the evil of selflessness
The movie uses the method of Elliot's The Wasteland and Joyce's Ulysses throught it's incorporation of hundreds of literary, historical, and cinematic allusions to knit together a worldview of human society. It is both beautiful and confusing. It is especially confusing for those who don't know the references and thus flounder in the plot.
can you explain why he add Ceaser to the protagonist name before Catalina if Ceaser was a dictator and Catalina was selfless democratic politian? I got lost in this double referencial name and it's significance within the history
Good catch. I thought that was the weakest part of this otherwise excellent breakdown. It is way more complicated than that but you could say it had times when it was more republican and democratic and times when it was more authoritarian and oligarchic.
Films that rely heavily on abstract symbolism or intellectual puzzles can sometimes be perceived as pretentious, appealing only to those with certain educational or cultural backgrounds. “Megalopolis” isn’t a case of artistic expression triumphing over broad appeal-it’s simply a poorly crafted film that fails to achieve either.
I appreciate you digging out the symbolism, but as I understand the vision the film tries to pinpoint, it was really poorly put together and because of that it does not convey the depth it was trying to have and that you are prescribing it in your analysis.
I think it would have worked better as a limited series. Too much ideas and concepts thrown everywhere without the possibility of development. I applaud Coppola's vision and optimism, although I find it a bit naive. I have a somewhat more cynic vision and don´t think humanity will ever achieve the status Coppola dreams of. Hope I'm wrong though.
@@michaelroseagain a couple of times Catilina resembles Kali, time itself, with his foot on Wow, she's saying she wants to be the "man" in the relationship. He gets 8 arms during a fever dream and he gets several faces to resemble Brahma the creator, with his new eye. Losing an eye is ofcourse a Odin who sacrificed his eye down the well of mimer to gain precognition. I can go on...
Regarding the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire…in its final years the Republic was a Republic in name only. It was more like an oligarchy, and it was also incredibly corrupt. The Roman Empire under Octavian saw the Pax Romana, 100 years of relative peace. While a lot of Emperors were unimpressive and quite a few sucked, there were a few good emperors. The Roman Empire was complex and shouldn’t be viewed as “evil” and neither should the Republic be viewed as “good” lest we forget that the Republic scorched Carthage to the ground. The Republic was just as imperialistic as the Empire. They made a desert, and called it peace. Comparing America to Rome is rather…juvenile. Rome lasted for almost a thousand years and depending on which historian you asked, maybe lasted for a bit longer because its legacy endures. One of its greatest legacies is the Catholic Church.
Your analysis definitely helps to understand the meaning behind many scenes but it doesn't make the film any more interesting. The dialogues and the acting are so woody that a group of young viewers could not stop laughing throughout and it may be the only way to make it bearable.
I watched your review to see if there was something I was missing about this movie. There was not. They put a bunch of quality ingredients together and made a mud pie. So disappointing.
yeah no matter how many vids i watch on it, i realize there is no hidden meaning behind the film that isn’t accessible to dumb people (me). it’s just not very good.
No offense, but I'm convinced you haven't seen the movie based on this review. You got SO many details wrong, pronounced all the names incorrectly, retold the story entirely out of order... I'm half sure this was written by AI. The movie was a pretentious pile of crap.
Наскільки б геніальні ідеї не закладались у основу фільму, все руйнує один єдиний беззаперечний факт, це погане кіно. Всі відсилки, мудрі думки, все це не з'єднано у єдину картину, тому це полотно неможливо назвати геніальним. Це тупо погане кіно.
I was only saying What the Fuck to myself about every 7 minutes so in that so bad its funny to laugh AT film, sure For the last song of Coppola's career, its a disaster Its a 100 million dollar Neil Breen film...project...thing. Don't gaslight people into tricking them for not understanding
Hiya, I'm considering seeing this film, can you please explain why it's bad? A good number of critiques seem to orbit around not being exposed to surrealism much in film and tv OR completely, overwhelmingly in love with it? Additionally what were the last couple of films you enjoyed watching?
@@JoeChillton Okay, so why, in your opinion, are the two exclusionary? Can't a person enjoy both simple and surreal? It seems foolish to recreate the same issues you're calling out Is your dislike purely its narrative structure or what?
No, they just march bravely forward into a new Utopia of hope and light and flower buildings. This film unfortunately doesn’t actually have anything insightful to say.
@@joshmangamer255I don’t know if it’s takes the crown for worst movie of the year… it is quite ambitious, visually compelling at times, and the wardrobe department did some very good work (and I also haven’t seen a ton of new movies this year). But it is Genuinely impossible to find a cohesive plot, character motivations, or even a message behind the madness. I think part of what makes art worthwhile is its communication of meaning it stands for, and this movie struggles to communicate anything beyond single-word themes like “Depravity” and “Time”. And the nail in the coffin is that, as Coppola’s decades long vision, I think he was homing to communicate things through it, and he ultimately failed. I was pretty excited for this, and purposefully avoided opinions on it until I saw it myself, and my honest rating would be 3/10. I’d like to say I’ll probably put it on once it’s free to watch in 4 or 5 years, but as I think more about it, the less likely it feels that I ever watch it again. I’d recommend waiting to watch it on streaming in a couple months with a couple of people you can laugh at it with, because there is very little humor to get you through the ride.
@@joshmangamer255Yes, there is a crater from the impact, and it seems like it did some damage. But it never really affects the plot or the characters, and there is never a sense of impending apocalyptic doom.
Fascism is a reactionary (extreme right wing and extreme traditionalist) ideology that is motivated by a belief in a national mythology whereby a nation was once great but has been corrupted by “other” groups (usually racial and religious minorities, immigrants, and leftists) and needs militaristic authoritarian rule to bring the nation back to its mythologized greatness. Fascism was initially a European movement started in Italy in the wake of WWI by battle hardened veterans who were lead by Benito Mussolini on the idea that Italy was screwed over despite being on the winning side of the war and that it was part of a great heritage that was being undermined by urbanization, modernization, and the general ascendancy of leftism. They started as street thugs who were used by corporations to bust unions and intimidate protesters before gaining power. The Nazi Party in Germany was the most infamous fascist movement, which was built on war grievance and opposition to socialist and communist movements that were challenging the unstable liberal democracy that was the foundation of the interwar government, with their violent rhetoric and actual violence most acutely focused on Jews. It’s a complicated answer, but it’s a complicated subject that too many people talk about without knowing what they’re talking about (that’s not to be taken as a slight against anyone in particular, just a general observation).
I hated it. it was interesting to hear your discussion and see how it was related to real historical events, but it was just so “disjointed” as you said. I never cared for a single second about any of the characters. I would say I kind of got into the first one or two minutes of the film and then after that, I was basically just waiting for it to end and rolling my eyes at how self- important and ridiculous it was. The actors were not directed well at all in my opinion and I didn’t even think that the special effects were that great. It’s appalling to me that FFC sold part of his own vineyards and put up like $120 million of his own money to make a film that I just see as a complete piece of forgettable garbage. If you check out the review by “ the awards contender” also here on UA-cam, that is a good description of what my reaction was as well.
Yeah even though I enjoyed it more than you, I somehow don’t disagree at all with your criticisms, it’s certainly unhinged to a fault haha I’m gonna check out the Awards Contender review cuz I’m loving the different opinions, glad you enjoyed the video though! Thank you!!
This was a brilliant concept however it is better suited as a tv serial and not a movie.If most of the public do not get what it is about then it has failed.I did wonder whether the characters are stuck in some kind of Pergatory which explains Caesars motivations.
Even if all these symbols and meanings were attempted in the film, a movie should make those messages available to understand within the context of its own film and Megalopolis failed at that miserably
This video and comment section is just bathed in soft yellow gaslight. You’ve pointed out a handful of historical connections and explained several elements of symbolism in the film. But the fact that I think everyone here knows but is too pretentious to admit is that this is just a batshit crazy flaming pile of steaming hot garbage that you can’t even form a plot through. And you’ve left out a number of key elements, namely the existence of Caesar’s first wife, because they’re literally impossible understand, let alone to fit them into a cohesive narrative. I’m going to digress, because it’s honestly not worth my time. Just because something is cerebral doesn’t mean it’s intelligent. The Emperor has no clothes. We don’t all have to pretend like we don’t notice. Ironically, the wardrobe was easily the best part of this “film”.
Easily one of the most polarizing films of the year, so I knew I had to do an analysis, and I’m super curious to hear how you feel, lemme know below!
did you like it? (:
It’s crazy because quite a few people walked out of my theatre, and many others were having such a good time. And I think I share sentiments with both parties haha there was a lot I loved like the blend of architecture between Ancient Rome and New York, Adam Driver’s performance, Aubrey Plaza’s line delivery, many of the visuals, a lot of the comedy, and just how epic and ambitious the whole thing felt. But on the flip side, the visual effects were really cheap-looking on such a high budget, the dialogue often feels dull and awkward, and the major themes don’t get as much depth or focus as I wished. A very up and down experience for me haha but I don’t regret seeing this at all, I’m always happy to see something this bold in a movie theatre
This is the most polarizing film of all time.
I think this movie is BOTH wayyyy overstuffed (like 250% as many ideas as it can fill in its runtime) yet also very extremely intentional and well done in a lot of ways. I could go into it and just rant for paragraphs and paragraphs but the stuff about Cesar-as-Coppola (and generally representing all creators' mission to create in the face of opposition) and the way characters and plot weren't "normal" characters and plot, but more like a fable, with characters being mouthpieces for philosophical opinions and sometimes straight up reciting poetry and literature really clicked FOR ME. I understand why most audiences would HATE this and find it boring though.
@@lucasblue20 The visual effects were perfect. As someone who has been watching movies for almost 40 years and works in the field we need to stop caring about 'the effects were bad' in the same way you don't really care if the print is smudged in a paperback. It's a media product, a vessel for a message, stop caring about the packaging and start caring about what's in said package.
Note the hanging upside down of Clodio mirrors the the death of Mussolini
wow this is a great breakdown. best one I've seen on this movie so far.
Wow Platinum...I mean, just Wow Platinum.
Yep, WOW 'fer sure, and this is probably the most helpful of all the reviews have read so far... Grazie!
Coppola's humanistic ideal kinda reminds me of that quote by Stewart Brand, creator of the Whole Earth Catalog... “We are as gods and might as well get good at it".
This is the only analysis of this film that is needed. It is perfection - what you have shared here.
Great analysis and a masterpiece of a film! Francis Ford C is a genius and this film will definitely go down as one of his best works. So appropriate for the times that we live in, very disjointed society, with leaders who care more and themselves than the people. Thank you for a wonderful recap and analysis.
I went through the film realizing there was a LOT I wasn't understanding.
This wasn't disappointing. It was exhilarating knowing that there were so many mysteries for me to uncover.
I feel sorry for those who saw this film and didn't have the strength to admit "I don't understand this." It is just so much easier to call something you don't understand stupid.
That's pretentious horseshit
When teachers (or filmmakers) rely on overly complex language or concepts to impress rather than to communicate, they risk obscuring the material. This can make it challenging for students (or audiences) to understand essential ideas, ultimately diminishing their ability to be influenced by the content. Truly exceptional filmmakers focus on making an impact.
@@gamezswinger The problem with condensing concepts into easily digestible packets is that it tends to leave the learner feeling as though they thoroughly understand the subject.
IMO, the world would be a much better place if people came down off of Dunning-Kruger's "Peak Stupid" and started living in the "Valley of Despair".
Fantastic overview. Also shows that it is not as incoherent as people say it is
Francis did say on the daily stoic that he wants it to be similar to Finnegan’s Wake. If you know what that is it makes A LOT more sense lol.
First of all, Lucas, I must say your analysis was really, well there’s no other word for it…brilliant. Having such a comprehensive knowledge of the source historical material really put more of a logical spin on the film. I went to see it (before I watched your video obviously) and got lost in the spectacle. It didn’t matter to me that I fully grasped the story. The abstraction of it all was hypnotic. The visuals, it goes without saying, were beyond eye candy. Still, I wanted to understand more about it because a second and possible third viewing is definitely in the plan. Your breakdown will have me enjoying it on a whole different level the next time I see it. People are getting in such a twist about whether or not it’s good or a dud but, look, Coppola paid for the entire thing and it’s his vision. For those who said he got it wrong, I’m sorry, but that’s just arrogant. It’s his vision…hello? He doesn’t owe us anything.
I really love your breakdowns. How you uncover the deeper meanings and interweave the intentions of the film makers through their own words. I get so tired of reviewers who hate on a movie just because it's not fed to them like infant formula.
I'm so glad there continues to be a few visionary directors who take great personal risk in order to bring thought provoking art to cinema.
This is so kind and I’m super thrilled you enjoy the filmmaker quotes because I too love to hear from them, thank you! And totally agree, whether I love the film or am mixed on it, it’s always a pleasure to see a vision this ambitious in the theatre
It's a masterpiece, just as "Kiss Me Deadly" was purported to have been the first film of the Atomic Age, Megalopolis is the first film of the Collapse of the American Empire. Disjointed, fragmented, manic, cartoonish, a mirror of our society. This is the film of a culture utterly bereft of meaning and mythology. I loved it!
Glad someone likes it
@@ChiTown2k69They’re not alone.
Not true. A lot of films in the past have tackled the fall of the American Republic/Empire or are allegories/metaphors about the same topic. Films like Southland Tales, Revenge of the Sith, most of the Living Dead films, Us, Alex Garland’s Civil War, American Psycho, Olympus Has Fallen, The Purge films, Vice, The Manchurian Candidate, Watchmen, and even Coppola’s two earlier films touch on these themes in The Conversationalist and Apocalypse Now.
@@moonriseking1099I'd add The Dark Knight
@@moonriseking1099 Most of the listed films are at best tangentially related, often entirely unrelated, but more to the point, just as 'Kiss Me Deadly' wasn't literally the first film to feature the nuclear element while holding the title, as it were, of the first of the Age, 'Megalopolis' is the first to "get it right," to give full expression of the posthuman TicToc era, capturing the sheer banality and insanity of a culture with utterly dead myths, unable to generate new ones, a culture so deeply in decline that when a mirror was held up against it (Megalopolis), all it could do was to say, "When is the new Marvel movie coming out?"
Magnificent movie! On so many levels. Great analysis; this conversation can continue due to the richness of the movie’s content, acting, themes, and messages.
Highly recommend.
Many parallels to America today.
Such a brilliant use of color schemes.
Inspiring. I teared up with hope when reading the last tenet posted in the movie.
The acting is stellar-especially Adam Driver and Aubrey Plaza.
So many messages are in sound bite movie quotes.
This has become one of my favorite movies. That’s not happened in a long, long time.
I have to see it again and again.
I LOVED this film although I was greatly perplexed after the first viewing, after the second viewing it started coming into focus and this explanation just crystallized most of it for me. Visually this film is stunning and needs to be seen in IMAX. I LOVE your analysis, thank you so much.
thank you for this, the film feels so much clearer now; you gave it the context i needed to help place it and hence find meaning! i also appreciated your eloquence and diction ^^ will keep an eye out for your other analyses~
Excellent summary of relevant historical references and of your own thoughts about the meanings in this movie.
Very eloquently describe I truly enjoy your breakdown of the film.
Whoa. Great, sensible analysis. Very helpful
This is a masterclass in sane washing but I will admit it did fill in some gaps for me. Thanks!
Thank you so much for this. So many "reviews" slamming the movie are obtuse and miss the entire point of the film. It was an absolutely stunning masterpiece and that speech at the end had me in tears. So beautiful.
Sometimes, audiences overlook flaws in a film due to their admiration for the director, leading them to accept or excuse poor craftsmanship in favor of their affection for the director’s previous works or persona. 🤔
Thanks for the analysis. Coppola put his all into this film, you can feel his passion, so people ought to check their cynicism enough to appreciate that at least. I believe this movie will gain cultural favor with time.
Francis said on daily stoic that it’s supposed to be like Finnegan’s Wake.
Excellent review!
Bravo! Megalopolis is all heart, I’m sure we will learn to appreciate it over time
Very well done! I'm always SO happy when a young brother really "gets it!" 🙏🏾
I got home from watching it and I searched on youtube and found a load of negative looking reviews, I skipped past those and found yours. Aside from the intellectual aspect which I must confess I know little about, I found this film to be extremely uplifting! Most films try to evoke the emotions of fear or desire out of their audience both of which are somewhat painful. This film instilled some real positive sentiment inside of me. What surprised me most was that I was entertained the whole way though. Usually I get restless and start hoping for the film to finish but the pacing of this film was perfect.
Thanks for providing some meaning behind what I just watched. I expect there's tons more and I look forward to seeing it again.
You explained the movie BETTER than the movie did itself. 👍
Now I want to see this film. Very impressed by your analysis and breakdown
Thank you so much for this breakdown because I was so lost the whole movie. This was the best breakdown I’ve seen by miles and I’ve watched alot of them on this movie
Thanks for the thoughtful discussion! Most other reviewers seemed very angry about this movie and didn't even try to apply any analysis whatsoever. I don't think it was great, but I really appreciated seeing something fresh and different.
Very good job with the interpretations.
Great deep in depth review of this new movie
Brilliant analysis!
The movie needs to be seen many times. When I first watched it, I had to remind myself many times that this is art, not a commercial product. It strays from the formulaic recipe, which can be repulsive to some people. I wonder if there will ever be an extended cut.
AMAZING review thanks so much bro! I just watched this picture yesterday and level it. You gotta feel it like surrealism. I did...❤🎉
I just saw the film today, and was quite impressed with it. Your analysis helped me appreciate some of the things I found confusing about the story. I'm looking forward to seeing the film again.
Fantastic analysis 🎉🎉🎉🎉 I would only add that Coppola was also inspired by the film Metropolis (1927) , which connects to the Tower of Babel, human-god connection etc. I saw a video that delved into this influence on UA-cam
Thanks for this! We have the capability of creating a better future but it can only happen with a shared vision of a new way.
Great breakdown 😁
Honestly, this made me feel pretty dumb. I’ve seen it twice and I didn’t get that Julia could stop time with him lmao. Thanks man!
Great insight.. i haven't seen it yet but can't wait ☺️
Please can you do a breakdown and review of Caddo Lake- I just watched it and was so pleasantly surprised, it was great so I’d love to hear what you have to say
Thanks for this great review, by far the best I’ve seen. Absolutely this was about the Roman Republic, not the empire. All the main characters are based on participants active in Rome during the period of the Cataline Conspiracy. Being a history fanatic, I recognized this and had no problem grasping what was going on and I loved the film. I can fully understand how most people walking in without that knowledge would be lost. Too bad they didn’t see this video before attending.
I must say you are amazing at analyzing movies!
how in hell i just find your channel!!!!!
One of the coolest movies I’ve seen , now 1 and 1/2 times.
Great analysis. I watched the film last night. I'm sitting with it a bit before my analysis. Most of it I got, I just felt there was too much pontificating when actions could have taken place. I don't mind having to do research after a film but I need the film to make me feel something more. The lofty intellectual ideas were too all over the place. I don't mind a big swing like this-- I admire it--but it was a bit all over the place for me. A coherent unifying theme would have been better and that ending...I know it's hopeful but life is not hopeful, it is ultimately tragic or at the very least ironic. Love your videos.
After watching that juvenile slop called 'DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE', 'MEGALOPOLIS' is an artistic revelation. Coppola catered to this vision for the last 25 years plus and it showed. It was bold, audacious and in some parts psychedelic. Yes, it was a long in certain sections but the overall creative arc was outstanding. Yes, it's not for the masses because sublimely it touches upon The Tower of Babel, Greed, Lust, Anarchy, Power and The Architecture of the Mind,...so believe me, not everyone is going to get into this movie. However, what Coppola and that cast and crew conveyed was that art, commerce, culture and creativity can be used to hopefully uplift and elevate the human mind and thinking and by creating and financing 'MEGALOPOIS' on his own, FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA has certainly done that. - James D. Watkins, artistic director of PHOENIX PRODUCTIONS.
Thank you so much for this!! What about the parallels to Metropolis?
love the videos
I thought it was a good movie I think people are so accustomed to blockbuster schlock and aren't open to anything else. Artistic vision is supposed to be saved for streaming services and smaller productions they're looking to see a simple movie in theaters that they can just turn off their brain and not engage with it. It's not a perfect movie and certainly not the Godfather but it's refreshing to see directors make the movie they want to make and not based purely on returns.
Wow I'm 78 years old and I'm impressed by this Lucas blue And I'm not easily impressed I'll tell you that I worked with Coppola I know Francis And I am not saying the film yet will probably within a week or 2 cause it's on my cable But I've heard all the criticisms and the negative stuff and I really want to see it for my stuff but the way Lucas blue in this video breaks it all down and analysis and symbols Again I was very very impressed and I can't wait to see the movie and once again I feel that genius genius Often feel flies over the heads A regular Ordinary people
I subscribed. Love u stuff.
A little correction, Catalina is monologueing, but the Hamlet lines that he quotes are from a soliloquy.
Power structures versus ideation. Ideation wins eventually in this movie. It's a great message. Highly recommend the experience. Future cult film. Wonderful dimensions
I just came out of the movie so confused and this helped me a lot. My only experience with ancient cultures being interspersed with modern day was the percy jackson universe and this was very much not that 😂
Ugh need to watch this. Hoping you do an analysis of "A Different Man"
I just wrote an analysis on "A Different Man" and it's sooo long (the analysis, not the movie haha) and I don't have enough footage sadly, so I'm gonna wait until it hits VOD and drop like a 20-minute video from start to finish. It's actually my favorite movie of the year (10/10) so I just had wayyy too much to say, can't wait to share it all! And thank you for putting it on my radar!!
@lucasblue20 I genuinely cannot wait. It is also in my partner's too five movies of all time (I loved it, it just gave me so much anxiety 🤣)This movie sent me spiraling onto the internet and reading interviews by the director. Love your takes and analysis, so genuinely cannot wait for your video!
@courtneythomas9468 the movie just hit VOD yesterday! I'll upload my video this Friday at 4:30 PST. Super excited to share and hear what you think, can't wait!
@courtneythomas9468 sorry, sudden change of plans, I'll be uploading Saturday morning at 8 PST. I think it's a little better of an upload time. But nonetheless, I just finished it and can't wait for you to see!
that's great
I'm willing to give this movie another chance, but on first watch I found it to be as deep and full of itself as a Neil Breen film with equivalent writing
The irony of actually having to think when you go to the movies! You mean that the lowest common denominator is not the only way to assess a movie???? Well! What nerve!
Lucas - can you download the megalopolis anthem that is written in black and white near the end of the film
"It insists upon itself"
😂😂 classic, same director too
I enjoyed the movie and this was an amazing breakdown but the only thing that bothers me about the movie is how Caesar is rich… it’s not relatable… it’s like Coppola is unintentionally saying you have to be rich and have an open heart/mind to change the world. You can’t just have an open heart/mind.. and that’s stupid to me… like how would he know how bad human suffering is if he lives in his millions of dollars condo ?
Anyone have idea thoughts on this still image: @11:23 ... Looks like they're in a screen of some sort. in one Ceasar's speeches, he mentions consciousness. Was Megalopolis a virtual world?
the 'selflessness' is something you came up with personally. It wasn't part of the film. Have a read of Ayn Rand to understand the evil of selflessness
You are mispronouncing the name Cicero
The movie uses the method of Elliot's The Wasteland and Joyce's Ulysses throught it's incorporation of hundreds of literary, historical, and cinematic allusions to knit together a worldview of human society. It is both beautiful and confusing. It is especially confusing for those who don't know the references and thus flounder in the plot.
can you explain why he add Ceaser to the protagonist name before Catalina if Ceaser was a dictator and Catalina was selfless democratic politian? I got lost in this double referencial name and it's significance within the history
Calling the Roman Republic "democratic" and the Roman Empire "fascist" is just ridiculous.
Good catch. I thought that was the weakest part of this otherwise excellent breakdown. It is way more complicated than that but you could say it had times when it was more republican and democratic and times when it was more authoritarian and oligarchic.
Films that rely heavily on abstract symbolism or intellectual puzzles can sometimes be perceived as pretentious, appealing only to those with certain educational or cultural backgrounds. “Megalopolis” isn’t a case of artistic expression triumphing over broad appeal-it’s simply a poorly crafted film that fails to achieve either.
Fall of Rome : 476
Founding of America : 1776
13 centuries, don't ask the Freemasons what that means 😶🤫
I saw this movie in a cavernous movie theater with only 3 other paying viewers. I loved it but understand why people think it's a mess.
I appreciate you digging out the symbolism, but as I understand the vision the film tries to pinpoint, it was really poorly put together and because of that it does not convey the depth it was trying to have and that you are prescribing it in your analysis.
I think it would have worked better as a limited series. Too much ideas and concepts thrown everywhere without the possibility of development. I applaud Coppola's vision and optimism, although I find it a bit naive. I have a somewhat more cynic vision and don´t think humanity will ever achieve the status Coppola dreams of. Hope I'm wrong though.
I quite like the movie, which i saw in IMAX.
You're the next Morgan Freeman, When it comes to Narrating A movie... 🎬
~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~
Why is nobody talking about all the references to hindu mythology?
Cool, I haven't seen the film . Please tell us more :)
Go on then…
@@michaelroseagain a couple of times Catilina resembles Kali, time itself, with his foot on Wow, she's saying she wants to be the "man" in the relationship. He gets 8 arms during a fever dream and he gets several faces to resemble Brahma the creator, with his new eye. Losing an eye is ofcourse a Odin who sacrificed his eye down the well of mimer to gain precognition. I can go on...
Thanks for the summary, I won't waste my time seeing it.
Was with Paul just now homie
Regarding the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire…in its final years the Republic was a Republic in name only. It was more like an oligarchy, and it was also incredibly corrupt. The Roman Empire under Octavian saw the Pax Romana, 100 years of relative peace. While a lot of Emperors were unimpressive and quite a few sucked, there were a few good emperors. The Roman Empire was complex and shouldn’t be viewed as “evil” and neither should the Republic be viewed as “good” lest we forget that the Republic scorched Carthage to the ground. The Republic was just as imperialistic as the Empire. They made a desert, and called it peace.
Comparing America to Rome is rather…juvenile. Rome lasted for almost a thousand years and depending on which historian you asked, maybe lasted for a bit longer because its legacy endures. One of its greatest legacies is the Catholic Church.
Have you ever heard of metamaterials?
Watch Titus
Your analysis definitely helps to understand the meaning behind many scenes but it doesn't make the film any more interesting. The dialogues and the acting are so woody that a group of young viewers could not stop laughing throughout and it may be the only way to make it bearable.
seems he misread sullust almost entirely
I watched your review to see if there was something I was missing about this movie. There was not. They put a bunch of quality ingredients together and made a mud pie. So disappointing.
So doing hand choreography and lip syncing to recordings of your own voice is a thing now? 11 yr old me would have been a superstar.
HUGE SIMP MOVIE WEEEEEE OH HOW PASSÈ
yeah no matter how many vids i watch on it, i realize there is no hidden meaning behind the film that isn’t accessible to dumb people (me). it’s just not very good.
I'm tired of old Italian men glorifying ancient Rome.
Did you see the movie? It glorifies ideas (some ideas) and not Rome (in fact it’s quite scathing of most of Old Rome and its echoes in New Rome)
DONATEEE TO HEALING HUGGSSSS
😂😂 this made my day, you have my support
@@lucasblue20😂😂😂
No offense, but I'm convinced you haven't seen the movie based on this review. You got SO many details wrong, pronounced all the names incorrectly, retold the story entirely out of order... I'm half sure this was written by AI.
The movie was a pretentious pile of crap.
Why is no one talking about how ugly it was
Наскільки б геніальні ідеї не закладались у основу фільму, все руйнує один єдиний беззаперечний факт, це погане кіно. Всі відсилки, мудрі думки, все це не з'єднано у єдину картину, тому це полотно неможливо назвати геніальним. Це тупо погане кіно.
I was only saying What the Fuck to myself about every 7 minutes so in that so bad its funny to laugh AT film, sure
For the last song of Coppola's career, its a disaster
Its a 100 million dollar Neil Breen film...project...thing.
Don't gaslight people into tricking them for not understanding
Hiya, I'm considering seeing this film, can you please explain why it's bad? A good number of critiques seem to orbit around not being exposed to surrealism much in film and tv OR completely, overwhelmingly in love with it?
Additionally what were the last couple of films you enjoyed watching?
@jehorigby8778 that'll do it
Well it's an abhorrent mess and I enjoy Transformers One and Beetlejuice last time I checked
@@JoeChillton Okay, so why, in your opinion, are the two exclusionary?
Can't a person enjoy both simple and surreal?
It seems foolish to recreate the same issues you're calling out
Is your dislike purely its narrative structure or what?
Does the city of megalopolis gets destroyed in the movie or not really.
No, they just march bravely forward into a new Utopia of hope and light and flower buildings. This film unfortunately doesn’t actually have anything insightful to say.
@@acooldude3164 So nothing got destroyed in the movie Megalopolis.
@acooldude3164 By the way how would you rate Megalopolis And would you say this is one of the worst movies of the year.
@@joshmangamer255I don’t know if it’s takes the crown for worst movie of the year… it is quite ambitious, visually compelling at times, and the wardrobe department did some very good work (and I also haven’t seen a ton of new movies this year). But it is Genuinely impossible to find a cohesive plot, character motivations, or even a message behind the madness. I think part of what makes art worthwhile is its communication of meaning it stands for, and this movie struggles to communicate anything beyond single-word themes like “Depravity” and “Time”. And the nail in the coffin is that, as Coppola’s decades long vision, I think he was homing to communicate things through it, and he ultimately failed.
I was pretty excited for this, and purposefully avoided opinions on it until I saw it myself, and my honest rating would be 3/10. I’d like to say I’ll probably put it on once it’s free to watch in 4 or 5 years, but as I think more about it, the less likely it feels that I ever watch it again. I’d recommend waiting to watch it on streaming in a couple months with a couple of people you can laugh at it with, because there is very little humor to get you through the ride.
@@joshmangamer255Yes, there is a crater from the impact, and it seems like it did some damage. But it never really affects the plot or the characters, and there is never a sense of impending apocalyptic doom.
You dont understand what fascism is
Fascism is a reactionary (extreme right wing and extreme traditionalist) ideology that is motivated by a belief in a national mythology whereby a nation was once great but has been corrupted by “other” groups (usually racial and religious minorities, immigrants, and leftists) and needs militaristic authoritarian rule to bring the nation back to its mythologized greatness. Fascism was initially a European movement started in Italy in the wake of WWI by battle hardened veterans who were lead by Benito Mussolini on the idea that Italy was screwed over despite being on the winning side of the war and that it was part of a great heritage that was being undermined by urbanization, modernization, and the general ascendancy of leftism. They started as street thugs who were used by corporations to bust unions and intimidate protesters before gaining power. The Nazi Party in Germany was the most infamous fascist movement, which was built on war grievance and opposition to socialist and communist movements that were challenging the unstable liberal democracy that was the foundation of the interwar government, with their violent rhetoric and actual violence most acutely focused on Jews.
It’s a complicated answer, but it’s a complicated subject that too many people talk about without knowing what they’re talking about (that’s not to be taken as a slight against anyone in particular, just a general observation).
I hated it. it was interesting to hear your discussion and see how it was related to real historical events, but it was just so “disjointed” as you said. I never cared for a single second about any of the characters. I would say I kind of got into the first one or two minutes of the film and then after that, I was basically just waiting for it to end and rolling my eyes at how self- important and ridiculous it was. The actors were not directed well at all in my opinion and I didn’t even think that the special effects were that great. It’s appalling to me that FFC sold part of his own vineyards and put up like $120 million of his own money to make a film that I just see as a complete piece of forgettable garbage. If you check out the review by “ the awards contender” also here on UA-cam, that is a good description of what my reaction was as well.
Yeah even though I enjoyed it more than you, I somehow don’t disagree at all with your criticisms, it’s certainly unhinged to a fault haha I’m gonna check out the Awards Contender review cuz I’m loving the different opinions, glad you enjoyed the video though! Thank you!!
This was a brilliant concept however it is better suited as a tv serial and not a movie.If most of the public do not get what it is about then it has failed.I did wonder whether the characters are stuck in some kind of Pergatory which explains Caesars motivations.
Well, bless yore heart!
Disjointed, like our Social Media feeds, we spend hours a day looking at?
Even if all these symbols and meanings were attempted in the film, a movie should make those messages available to understand within the context of its own film and Megalopolis failed at that miserably
This video and comment section is just bathed in soft yellow gaslight. You’ve pointed out a handful of historical connections and explained several elements of symbolism in the film. But the fact that I think everyone here knows but is too pretentious to admit is that this is just a batshit crazy flaming pile of steaming hot garbage that you can’t even form a plot through. And you’ve left out a number of key elements, namely the existence of Caesar’s first wife, because they’re literally impossible understand, let alone to fit them into a cohesive narrative. I’m going to digress, because it’s honestly not worth my time. Just because something is cerebral doesn’t mean it’s intelligent. The Emperor has no clothes. We don’t all have to pretend like we don’t notice.
Ironically, the wardrobe was easily the best part of this “film”.