Tucker: The Man And His Dream 1988 ****

Francis Ford Coppola is a director who has refused to go back on old glories (other than Godfather Part 3), instead ploughing an increasingly lonely but interesting furrow of personal films. The Tucker featured here is automobile manufacturer Preston Tucker (Jeff Bridges) and the story is about how his pioneering designs were quashed by the powers-that-be within the industry. For a film about broken dreams, Tucker has a lot of energy, with gleaming photography, great period detail and a barnstorming performance by Bridges. And the cars themselves are beautiful, with Coppola’s film attesting to the notion that the best don’t always finish first.