By John Corrado

Update: The trailer has now been pulled by Lionsgate, due to the critic quotes at the beginning having been fabricated. It’s unfortunate that the studio passed this through without a fact check. More info on the whole situation can be found on Variety here.

The new, full-length trailer has just been released for Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis, the visionary filmmaker’s big, bold, self-financed swing for the fences that premiered to mixed reviews (to say the least) at this year’s Cannes. This fact is fully embraced in the trailer, which opens with pull-quotes from initial negative reviews of Coppola’s earlier films, including The Godfather, Apocalypse Now and Bram Stoker’s Dracula. It’s a stroke of marketing genius.

The suggestion seems to be that all of these films have now been critically reappraised (with The Godfather and Apocalypse Now being recognized as some of the greatest ever made), so perhaps a reevaluation of Megalopolis will also happen in due time. Adam Driver stars in the film as an architect trying to rebuild the futuristic City of New Rome. The trailer ends by calling it “A Fable.” It’s a passion project for Coppola, and certainly looks like the sort of bold, visually ambitious work from a filmmaker putting everything on the line (including millions of his own dollars).

I’m excited, and remain intrigued to see Coppola’s vision for myself. The film opens in theatres and IMAX on September 27th, and I’m planning to be there it when it plays at TIFF earlier in September. Full trailer and official synopsis is below. Please feel free to comment your thoughts if you have watched it!

“MEGALOPOLIS is a Roman Epic set in an imagined Modern America. The City of New Rome must change, causing conflict between Cesar Catilina (Adam Driver), a genius artist who seeks to leap into a utopian, idealistic future, and his opposition, Mayor Franklyn Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito), who remains committed to a regressive status quo, perpetuating greed, special interests, and partisan warfare. Torn between them is socialite Julia Cicero (Nathalie Emmanuel), the mayor’s daughter, whose love for Cesar has divided her loyalties, forcing her to discover what she truly believes humanity deserves.”