Tucker: The Man and His Dream

Tucker: The Man and His Dream
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Francis Ford Coppola
Written by	Arnold Schulman David Seidler
Produced by	Fred Fuchs Fred Roos
Starring	Jeff Bridges Joan Allen Martin Landau Frederic Forrest Mako Dean Stockwell
Narrated by	Bob Safford
Cinematography	Vittorio Storaro
Edited by	Priscilla Nedd-Friendly
Music by	Joe Jackson
Production companies	Lucasfilm Ltd. Zoetrope Studios
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date	August 12, 1988 (1988-08-12)
Running time	110 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$22–24 million[1][2]
Box office	$19.7 million[3]

Tucker: The Man and His Dream is a 1988 American biographical comedy-drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, starring Jeff Bridges as inventor Preston Tucker. The film recounts Tucker's story and his attempt to produce and market the Tucker 48, which was met with scandal between the Big Three automobile manufacturers and accusations of stock fraud from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Joan Allen, Martin Landau, Elias Koteas, Frederic Forrest and Christian Slater appear in supporting roles. For his performance, Landau was nominated for the Academy Award and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor.

In 1973, Coppola began development of a film based on the life of Tucker, originally with Marlon Brando in the lead role. Starting in 1976, Coppola planned Tucker to be both a musical and an experimental film with music and lyrics written by Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. The project eventually collapsed when Coppola's American Zoetrope experienced financial problems. Tucker was revived in 1986 when Coppola's friend, George Lucas, joined as an executive producer.

The film received positive reviews from critics, despite underperforming at the box office. Tucker: The Man and His Dream produced a spike in prices of Tucker 48s, as well as a renewed appreciation for Tucker and his automobiles.