Spielberg, De Niro, Freeman praise Francis Ford Coppola as he accepts the AFI Life Achievement Award

LOS ANGELES — Steven Spielberg proclaimed “The Godfather” the “greatest American film ever made,” Robert De Niro teasingly bemoaned being cast in the sequel and not the original and Harrison Ford fought back tears reflecting on his role in the 1974 film, “The Conversation.”
At the center of it all was Francis Ford Coppola, who on Saturday received the AFI Life Achievement Award at a ceremony at Dolby Theatre that brought together legendary stars from a seemingly bygone era of cinema,

A founding AFI trustee, Coppola’s recognition from the organization was a kind of full circle moment for the “Apocalypse Now” director.

“When I was a kid there was the Oscars and that wa …