Film Forum

U.S., 1969
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola
Screenplay by Francis Ford Coppola, based on his story, Echoes
Starring James Caan, Shirley Knight, Robert Duvall, Tom Aldredge, Andrew Duncan
Approx. 101 min.

“Coppola’s fourth feature, a fascinating early road movie made entirely on location with a minimal crew and a constantly evolving script. Shirley Knight is outstanding (in a superb cast) as the pregnant woman who runs away in quest of the identity she feels she has lost as a Long Island housewife, and finds herself increasingly tangled in the snares of responsibility through her encounters with a football player left mindless by an accident (Caan) and a darkly amorous traffic cop (Duvall). Symbolism rumbles beneath the characterisations (Caan as the baby she is running from and with, Duvall as the sexuality and domination she is trying to deny) but it is never facile; and the rhythms of the road movie (leading through wonderfully bizarre locations to a resonantly melodramatic finale) confirm that Coppola’s prime talent lies in choreographing movement.” – Time Out

Presented with support from The Ada Katz Fund for Literature in Film

Reviews

“Intense and affecting.”
– Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times

“Coppola, one of the most technically proficient of the new directors, proves himself, once again, a master of the visual cliche.”
– Molly Haskell, Village Voice