Eleanor Coppola, a renowned documentarian herself, meticulously captured over 80 hours of behind-the-scenes footage during the filming of 'Marie Antoinette.' However, this extensive material remained largely untouched for years, unlike her celebrated work on 'Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse.' It wasn't until the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, when Sofia and her family resided at her parents' Northern California estate, that Eleanor expressed a strong desire to see the footage compiled into a finished documentary.

Following Eleanor's passing in 2024, Sofia Coppola took on the heartfelt task of realizing her mother's wish, transforming the raw footage into 'Making Marie Antoinette.' This endeavor proved to be a revelatory experience for Sofia. Revisiting her own past through her mother's lens, she admitted, "It’s really cringey to see myself as a baby director because it was 20 years ago and I’m not as confident about being assertive." The documentary vividly illustrates Coppola's early battles to assert her artistic vision, particularly her commitment to a female perspective that was often met with resistance at the time.

Coppola also reflected on the film's polarizing initial reception, particularly the critical backlash. She recalled finding a box of old reviews, noting, "I found a box a pile of bad reviews, and they’re just like one terrible review after the other… and they were all written by men." She surmised that the film's 'frilly and feminine' aesthetic led to its dismissal as 'fluff' by many male critics. Furthermore, Coppola addressed the infamous 'booing' incident at the Cannes Film Festival, clarifying it was an exaggerated reaction from a small group of English journalists, not a widespread condemnation.

The director also noted the surprising controversy surrounding her anachronistic soundtrack, which boldly incorporated 1980s post-punk and new wave artists like Siouxsie & the Banshees and New Order. While she embraced the rebellious spirit of the film, she found the outrage over the music unexpected, especially considering how common such artistic choices are in contemporary cinema today. 'Marie Antoinette' proved to be her most demanding project, with the logistical complexities of shooting at Versailles and managing elaborate costumes nearly leading her to abandon filmmaking altogether.

Perhaps the most poignant aspect of creating 'Making Marie Antoinette' was the insight it provided into Eleanor's own life. Through her mother's journal entries, read by actress Diane Lane in the documentary, Sofia discovered Eleanor's reflections on sacrificing her own creative ambitions for family in her youth. Eleanor expressed immense pride and encouragement in seeing Sofia successfully navigate both a demanding career and motherhood. This maternal inspiration extended to Eleanor herself, who, at 80, directed her first narrative feature film, 'Paris Can Wait,' a feat Sofia proudly recounts: "She made her first narrative feature film at 80, so she’s the oldest person on record to have made their debut film at 80, which is so cool. And she says that seeing me do my work was the inspiration."

Both 'Making Marie Antoinette' and a newly remastered version of 'Marie Antoinette' are now being released in theaters by MUBI, coinciding with the original film's 20th anniversary. The remastered edition will also be available from Criterion in November.