One from the Heart (1982)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Francis Ford Coppola

Writers:

Armyan Bernstein (screenplay) &
Francis Ford Coppola (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

6 August 1982 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

The Francis Coppola classic that audiences never had the chance to see [re-release]

Plot:

Hank and Frannie don't seem to be able to live together anymore. After a five-year relationship, lustful...

Plot Keywords:

Fourth Of July | Stockings | Marital Crisis | Stylization | Las Vegas Nevada

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Frederic Forrest	...	Hank
Teri Garr	...	Frannie
Raul Julia	...	Ray
Nastassja Kinski	...	Leila (as Nastassia Kinski)
Lainie Kazan	...	Maggie
Harry Dean Stanton	...	Moe
Allen Garfield	...	Restaurant Owner (as Allen Goorwitz)
Jeff Hamlin	...	Airline Ticket Agent
Italia Coppola	...	Couple in Elevator
Carmine Coppola	...	Couple in Elevator
Edward Blackoff	...	Understudy
James Dean	...	Understudy
Rebecca De Mornay	...	Understudy (as Rebecca de Mornay)
Javier Grajeda	...	Understudy
Cynthia Kania	...	Understudy

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby (35 mm prints) | 70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints)

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Australia:M | USA:R (No. 26579) | Finland:K-7 (DVD rating: 2003) | Portugal:M/12 | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | South Korea:18 | Sweden:7 | UK:15 | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

American Zoetrope Studios - 1040 N. Las Palmas Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Zoetrope Studios

Trivia:

Ever the pioneer, with this film Coppola was one of the first directors to use a live, from-the-camera video feed, instant playback, and, ultimately, using that video to enable rough cuts made of each scene shot by the next morning making this movie less of a film than a grand experiment and continuous, collaborative work-in-progress.

Quotes:

Hank: If I could sing, I'd sing. I can't sing, Frannie!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Le bourreau des coeurs (1983)

Soundtrack:

You Can't Unring A Bell

The end of the great Coppola

Many film fans are keenly aware of the circumstances surrounding Francis Coppola's "One From the Heart." It was the first film to launch his self financed Zoetrope Studios. He recruited many of the industries best and brightest for the production. It was Coppola's follow up to the legendary "Apocalypse Now." The film was supposed to mark a new direction for filmmaking as a whole. Zoetrope was to be a place where directors and storytellers could produce their films without studio interference. The artists would control the medium, not the business men. And with "One From the Heart", Coppola's dream came to a thundering halt after just one movie. Though not as well known, it stands along side "Heaven's Gate" as a film that proved that the wonder directors of the 70's would not be given the keys to the castle. "Heart" was that once in a decade disaster and it's not hard to see why it was such an ignored film. It turns out that this story behind the film is far more interesting to follow than the film itself.

"One From the Heart" is as stylized as films can come. Shot entirely on the sets at Zoetrope, "Heart" attempts to tell the story of Franny and Hank, a long together couple possibly nearing the end of their rope with one another. The couple calls it quits and they seek solitude in the arms of more adventuresome lovers for one night in an entirely reproduced Las Vegas. Coppola's decision to cast Frederic Forest and Teri Garr seems daring at first, almost brave. But casting two such down to Earth actors against the overwhelming design of "One From the Heart" leaves the two with nothing to do but drown under the neon cinematography. Garr and Forest give it a go, but their problems seem minor against the wave of the film itself. It's possible no two actors could've asserted themselves against this backdrop. Coppola has infused every shot in "Heart" with enough technique and design that he seems to have completely forgotten to add any element of genuine drama into the proceedings. The story never moves far beyond the 'will they stay together or break up' arc. It isn't without possibility, but it's more suited to a smaller more intimate scale, not the phantasmagoric, neon coated reality that constantly draws attention to itself that Coppola labors to construct. All the design is admirable and on occasion very gorgeous. But it won't take an astute viewer very long to see that "One From the Heart" is a film more intended to be looked at than actually watched. A technological achievement in filmmaking? Yes. A genuinely involving film? No.

Despite disliking the film I'm glad to see it's finally available on DVD in a watchable format. Viewers can finally see this much maligned film for themselves and decide about its merits. The film is also noted for it's songs and score by Tom Waits and Crystal Gail.