‎Tucker: The Man and His Dream (1988) directed by Francis Ford Coppola • Reviews, film + cast • Letterboxd

Tucker: The Man and His Dream

1988 Directed by Francis Ford Coppola

When they tried to buy him, he refused. When they tried to bully him, he resisted. When they tried to break him, he became an American legend. The true story of Preston Tucker.

Based on a true story. Shortly after World War II, Preston Tucker is a dynamic engineer and an enthusiastic showman who envisions the car of the future. Against mighty odds he manages to build a fleet of them - only to have his factory shut down by Detroit's Big Three automobile manufacturers. They took away his car - but nobody could take away his dream.

Jeff Bridges Joan Allen Martin Landau Frederic Forrest Mako Christian Slater Nina Siemaszko Elias Koteas Don Novello Dean Stockwell Lloyd Bridges Corin Nemec Marshall Bell Jay O. Sanders Peter Donat Patti Austin Scott Beach Sofia Coppola

110 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by Mike Thorn ★★★★★ 1

Seems deceptively light when in fact it's one of Coppola's densest, constantly working on multiple levels. In remembering the woozy dream of early capitalism, Coppola opts for unapologetic nostalgia: the domestic scenes especially evoke images by the likes of John Phillip Falter, Richard Sargent, and of course Norman Rockwell. This idealist aesthetic is boosted to levels of obvious self-consciousness, driven by Storaro's exuberant camerawork and the frenetic Joe Jackson score... but Coppola never opts for simple "subversion," understanding instead that there's romance in this dream just as readily as he understands that by 1988 (the year of the movie's release), capitalism's hangover had visibly arrived. The domineering presence of military interest is there, and by the conclusion it becomes clear…
Review by Scumbalina ★★★

This movie appeared on John Waters' list of top 10 underrated films. I was pretty into it in my early 20's. Tucker's Jimmy Stewart-like optimism and tenacity was endearing. Everything is so shiny and Rockwell-Esque. While it's certainly a great technical achievement it's a little too squeaky clean for my taste today. But it borders on self-parody, which is why I think Waters took to it. Maybe it is a little underrated but it's still a Coppola film. I always feel a little cold after watching Peggy Sue Got Married, and I get it a little bit of that from watching this too. Some kind of detachment and an "I don't care" sensation. Maybe I'm just getting tired of men and their dreams.
Review by Jake Cole ★★★★

Not just a freewheeling non-musical musical but, as is common with FFC's '80s work, gently keyed in to the darker side of the time period it rhapsodizes. The recurring bits that acknowledge Tucker's hiring of a Japanese-American worker have a bit of Fulleresuqe bluntness to them when Tucker flies into defensive monologues in the face of whispers over internment, adding a dimension to the film and protagonist that could eaily have been missed.
Review by Matthew Saponar ★ 2

in marketing, we had the choice between THE SOCIAL NETWORK, (an edited version of) WOLF OF WALL STREET, or this.

what the fuck happened.

this is so fucking bad i completely despise this on all levels fuck you francis ford coppola
Review by TylerHarris ★★★★½

Make this twice as long and throw some more of those classic in-camera effects in and you’ve got yourself a bonafide, epic masterpiece. I’ll settle for this, though, as a great precursor to Scorsese’s The Aviator, similarly focusing on a man, his mechanical ambitions, and the circumstances that caused them to crash down around him. The color palette Coppola uses echoes the nostalgic sentiments of Norman Rockwell, while the subtexts at play very casually tear down any and all grandiose ideas about post-WWII America. America, here, is a place where ambitions grow and eventually die in a sea of litigation and corruption. If the ambition is good-willed enough, it will eventually get swallowed whole by the “free” market machine, only…
Review by Robert Motherwell ★★★★

Wonderful kind of Americana story from Francis Ford Coppola is a sumptuously photographed production from start to finish.
Jeff Bridges plays the real life man Tucker who tried to bring a new and better car to US manufacturing shortly after WWII.
Although the story becomes an obvious sort of David vs Goliath symbol-it continues to grow on the viewer with its savvy and smart storytelling.
May not have the punch of other grittier dramas from Coppola, but in the end it has an incredibly powerful message about dreams and individual determination.
Incredible cast includes: Jeff Bridges, Joan Allen, Martin Landau, Christian Slater, and Elias Koteas.
Good showcase for Coppola at an underrated time of his career-he seems to share many similarities with Tucker the man.

Recent reviews

Review by Benjamin Jensen ★★

I was very interested in this movie that I had never heard of when I saw that it stars Jeff Bridges and was directed by Francis Ford Coppola. From the start the movie and Bridges portrayal of car designer Preston Tucker is quite slap sticky and everything about his 'idea' family seems to be super exaggerated and over the top. This light-heartedness is then contrasted by the ultimate antagonist of the film, the government and the Big Three car companies. The movie does look good from a cinematography aspect and Bridges, as well as Martin Landau and Joan Allen, give nice performances. Overall, the film has a very uneven tone and detracts from the enjoyment. I read that Coppola planned…
Review by Christopher Lutz ★★★★

Such a great flick. Francis Ford Coppola and George Lucas, both mavericks in the world of filmmaking, team up to tell the story of Preston Tucker and his steadfast desire to see his dream car and it’s innovations become reality. Anyone who knows anything about Coppola and Lucas can see the similarities of their story and his. People who dared to challenge the established system to make the medium better, while at the same time idolizing what came before. Of course they’d be interested in such a film project. The genuine passion is evident from the word go with the opening credits themselves a homage to the 1948 film advertisement for the Tucker company. I love seeing faithful recreations of…
Review by Adryon Thomas ★★★★

Francis Ford Coppola's underrated passion project about a man who makes his American Dream come true despite all of the obstacles and the red tape...
Review by Billy Fragkos ★★★

Common narration and form, overall feelgood and charming. Landeau and Bridges are dynamite. Also, young Koteas makes a brief appearance in this, I could recognize his voice from miles.
Review by FlorgusDorchami ★★★★

Has some really great stylistic techniques that are very simple and effective. Really loved the look and feel and staying in such a positive realm. That being said, it does somewhat tonally flatline somewhere in the middle third. I appreciate what they are going for but some more dynamics in the narrative would have been welcome.
Review by Varghese Eapen ★★★★

Francis Ford Coppola did not have a great decade in the 80s to be frank. But i believe this to be an underrated film. An astute character study on a system hell bent on quashing the dreams of the common man. Jeff Bridges is excellent in depicting a real life person. Kudos also to legendary cinematographer Vittorio Storaro who makes every color literally pop in front of our eyes. Sure,it's the same ol' shtick of David vs Goliath but it resonated with me deeply because of its honesty. There is a poster of Tesla during one of the shots,which I thought would come up during the final monologue instead of Edison (his rival) whose name is mentioned. None the less this is still a film worth checking out as it shows how the car manufacturing process takes place right down to its nuts and bolts.
Review by TM2YC ★★★★

I rewatched this lesser known Francis Ford Coppola/Lucasfilm biopic of the Car entrepreneur Preston Tucker, via the new 30th Anniversary blu-ray. One of the most gorgeous looking films you are likely to see with a nice image upgrade over the old out-of-print DVD and the film is now in it's correct Theatrical aspect-ratio (lots more info left and right). A totally magical film celebrating the American Dream, with a hard dose of the reality too.
Review by TylerHarris ★★★★½

Make this twice as long and throw some more of those classic in-camera effects in and you’ve got yourself a bonafide, epic masterpiece. I’ll settle for this, though, as a great precursor to Scorsese’s The Aviator, similarly focusing on a man, his mechanical ambitions, and the circumstances that caused them to crash down around him. The color palette Coppola uses echoes the nostalgic sentiments of Norman Rockwell, while the subtexts at play very casually tear down any and all grandiose ideas about post-WWII America. America, here, is a place where ambitions grow and eventually die in a sea of litigation and corruption. If the ambition is good-willed enough, it will eventually get swallowed whole by the “free” market machine, only…
Review by ii ★

a couple shots continue some of the fun stylistic stuff from one from the heart, like the in-set scene transitions. weirdly has almost exactly the same tone, unbearable characters and broad, dumb satire as the worst coen brothers movies. jeff bridges plays the lead like an even more charmless tom hanks. the scene with dean stockwell as howard hughes is magnificent though. there's some great lighting. whatever. yabba dabba doo