Francis Ford Coppola

Known for: The Godfather (1972), Apocalypse Now (1979)

Francis Ford Coppola directed The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather Part II (1974), which together established a new standard for the Hollywood crime film and earned him Academy Awards for directing and writing. Apocalypse Now (1979) — a production that famously collapsed and then recovered over years of filming in the Philippines — is among the most discussed American films of the 1970s. He has continued producing and directing independently since the mid-1980s.