Sofia Coppola Reveals Her All-Time Favorite Films
Sofia Coppola has revealed some of her favorite films, and her choices show exactly where her creative style comes from.
Speaking with The Guardian a few years ago the director explained why certain movies have stayed with her through the years and how they shaped the way she approaches her own work.
She began with Rumble Fish, a 1983 drama directed by her father, Francis Ford Coppola. The movie stars Mickey Rourke as a former gang member looking to leave behind his violent past, while Matt Dillon plays his younger brother who dreams of following in his footsteps.
Though not a box office hit at the time, Rumble Fish was praised for its striking black-and-white visuals and its bold, experimental style.
Critics have since called it one of Coppola’s most daring works, and it has grown into a cult classic. Sofia explained why she treasures it: “I love that it’s an art film about teenagers. I just love the way that it’s shot — I love those old lenses, those Zeiss lenses; they have a softer feel. Roman (her brother) and I are just sentimental about film.”
Her next pick is the French New Wave landmark Breathless, directed by Jean-Luc Godard in 1960. The film follows a small-time criminal on the run, played by Jean-Paul Belmondo, and his relationship with a young student, played by Jean Seberg.
The film shocked audiences at its release with its fast cuts, handheld camerawork, and jumpy edits, but it quickly became a defining film of the New Wave movement. It was widely praised for its energy and its willingness to break the rules of traditional cinema.
Coppola admitted that it had a big influence on her: “The Godard version, such as the moving car jump cuts. I guess I was going through that whole New Wave thing… coming from a documentary background.” She later used some of these techniques in her own film Somewhere in 2010.
Coppola also included Sixteen Candles, John Hughes’ 1984 teen comedy, as one of her personal favorites. The movie tells the story of a girl whose family forgets her 16th birthday while she secretly longs for her crush.
While Sixteen Candles has been criticized in later years for dated stereotypes, it was a huge success in the 1980s and is still seen as a defining teen film of its time. Coppola shared how much it meant to her: “That was one of my favourite films when I was growing up, and I’ll still watch it every time it’s on.”
For Coppola, the film’s focus on a teenage girl resonated with her own work. She explained: “I never felt like I had to fit into the majority view. Maybe growing up with so many strong men around me meant I felt, I don’t know, closely connected to being feminine.”
She went on to describe why she makes movies that center on young women: “In my first movie, I felt like making something for teenage girls. I looked at the movies they made for teenage girls and thought: why can’t they have beautiful photography? Why shouldn’t we treat that audience with respect? That was something I missed when I was that age: I wished the movies weren’t so condescending. So I guess I’ve always just made the films that I’d have wanted to see.”
Sofia Coppola’s favorite films show both her influences and her mission as a director: to bring style, artistry, and respect to stories about women and youth. Her choices connect personal taste with cinema history, reflecting how she found her own voice by looking at the work of others.
- Rumble Fish (Francis Ford Coppola, 1983)
- Breathless (Jean-Luc Goddard, 1960)
- Lolita (Stanley Kubrick, 1962)
- Sixteen Candles (John Hughes, 1984)
- The Last Picture Show (Peter Bogdanovich, 1971)
- Tootsie (Sydney Pollack, 1982)
- The Heartbreak Kid (Elaine May, 1972)
- In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar-Wai, 2000)
- Let the Right One In (Tomas Alfredson, 2008)
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