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Francis Ford Coppola ‘embarrassed’ The Godfather is Boris Johnson’s favourite film

Oscar-winning director ‘feels badly’ that ‘modern history’s most brutal figures’ love his gangster classic

Jacob Stolworthy
Friday 13 September 2019 11:22 EDT
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(Paramount Pictures)

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Francis Ford Coppola isn’t happy that Boris Johnson is a fan of The Godfather, because he’s about to “bring the UK to ruin”.

In July, the prime minister told the Daily Mail that his favourite film scene was “the multiple retribution killings at the end” of Coppola’s 1972 gangster classic, which stars Marlon Brando, Al Pacino and Diane Keaton.

The director has since responded to Johnson’s revelation and said he was embarrassed it’s a favourite of “modern history’s most brutal figures, including Saddam Hussein, Muammar Gaddafi and others”.

He told MarketWatch: “I feel badly that scenes in a gangster film might inspire any activity in the real world or [provide] encouragement to someone I see is about to bring the beloved United Kingdom to ruin.

“I love the United Kingdom and its many contributions to humanity, ranging from our beautiful language and Newtonian physics to penicillin, and am horrified that it would even consider doing such a foolish thing as leaving the European Union.”

The former PM Theresa May named Casablanca, The Fugitive and Bond film You Only Live Twice as three of her favourites when asked by the Mail on Sunday.

Last week, TV host John Oliver branded Johnson a “clown” after a disastrous parliamentary debate.

This isn’t the first time Johnson has been targeted by Oliver. Five days after Johnson was announced as Theresa May’s replacement, Oliver said: “Unfortunately, the UK is about to be completely f***ed.”

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