One from the Heart (2024)

Good idea lost in the noise

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Watching Coppola's "One From The Heart" feels more like a selection of cheesy 80s music videos put behind Tom Waits decent soundtrack instead of a film. The plot is very strange and doesn't really go anywhere.

One from the Heart is from American Zoetrope, a studio created by Francis Coppola. A creative studio by artists for artists.Coppola would learn the hard way, their are good reasons you have money men and studio heads.One from the Heart has a cultish following. Its an obscure film made by an award laden director at his creative peak. The reason it is not well known is because it was a critical and financial flop. Coppola has never really recovered from it. I guess the reason why he made Tucker: The man and his dream, was to show what happens when someone dares to take on the system.The film is a musical drama. Unfortunately the songs were written and sung by Tom Waits. He might be a talented troubadour but he would not be my first choice for an expensive film musical. The songs which in effect drive the story on are dull as dishwater.The film based in Las Vegas was all shot on a sound stage. Ironic now that Fremont Street looks artificial since its gone undercover. With all the effort gone to recreate this version of Vegas the story is flimsy as a card counter in a casino.It has been five years since Hank (Frederic Forrest) and Frannie (Teri Garr) but on July the 4th celebrations they are on the verge of splitting up and meet other people who they develop a romantic attachment with.Nothing really much happens in the film, some of the dialogue is just banal, the song and dance scenes are without any dazzle. The actors are floundering in a film that offers so little.Yet it is not without interest. Technically there is a lot going on in the film from the opening titles to the the grandeur of the art direction and set design. This is a curious film from Coppola and I am sure this is not the film he intended to make. I guess if he had made this for Paramount under Robert Evans this film would had been a different beast and better regarded.

It is American myth that "Apocalypse Now" drove Francis Coppola to the brink of insanity (see "Hearts of Darkness") and he has never been the same. One From the Heart was made following his Boy Gang trilogy, which has also confused many as to "why?" the creator of the Godfather saga would go so far afield.Creative masters simply are different. Sometimes their egos and force of will create incredible works of art which also manage to achieve commercial success and mass appeal. Often times their works succeed as art, but fail at the box office.One From the Heart is homage to the lavish musicals of the 30's, and an expression of Coppola's love of Theater. The sets and effects are beautiful on a large screen. The craft and technical skill is apparent in each shot and throughout the film. Terri Garr and Frederic Forrest are the "everyman" antithesis of Astaire and Rogers. The mix of simplicity and grandeur is not for everyone.I loved the movie. I also understand why most do not. Viewers go to a lavish musical to escape and be entertained. Coppola wants one to view the movie and appreciate his vision and his life, and perhaps experience some of his romantic notions of times gone by. Most people do not want to spend money and opportunity for such notions.

Since it opened on Valentine's day, 1982, One From the Heart was among my top 10 flicks. Indeed, I kept an old Betamax alive for years simply so I could view my tape copy. For a decade, I've eagerly anticipated a definitive re-mastered DVD release.I'm still waiting. As other reviewers have noted, the DVD contains only a directors cut -- without even the option to view the original release -- that utterly undermines everything exciting and magical about the movie. Ten years of waiting turned into ten frustrating minutes of watching before I ejected and junked the disc.The 1982 release of One From the Heart was universally considered a disaster because, supposedly, its theatrical run closed after only a week. Had Coppola instead circulated the directors cut version on the 2004 DVD, it would have shuttered in a day.If you've got a One From the Heart "jones," buy the Tom Waits/Crystal Gayle soundtrack. But, at least until Coppola returns to the original version, stay clear of the DVD.