The Godfather (1972): Directed by Francis Ford Coppola

I’m going to try something a bit different over the next couple of weeks. Though each Godfather movie of the trilogy stands alone just fine, these three movies have to be seen as one whole piece of work in order to understand the Greek tragedy in the character of Michael Corleone. So we’ll begin with part I this week, move to part II next week, and finally close out the saga with Part III in two weeks.

As we meet Michael Corleone (Al Pacino), he has just returned from World War II a hero, and is joined by his girlfriend Kay (Diane Keaton) at his sister Connie’s (Talia Shire) wedding. But this isn’t any typical wedding—it’s the wedding of the daughter of Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando), the godfather of the most powerful Mafia family in New York. Also in attendance are Michael’s three brothers, Sonny (James Caan), Fredo (Paul Cazale) and Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall). The last is not a brother by blood, but was taken in by the Don when Sonny found him on the streets as a boy.

Michael is the only son who does not work for the family; Vito wants him to remain a civilian and work to a position of power the legitimate way. That’s fine with Michael, who doesn’t approve of his family’s business. Until later in the movie when another gangster, Virgil Sollozzo (Al Lettieri) attempts to have Vito killed for having refused to help him in a new business venture, narcotics. The assassination fails, but it brings Michael into the world of his family. A world which he won’t leave, but eventually takes over as the head of the family. The transformation from Michael as a fresh-faced WWII hero to the ruthless new Don of the Corleone family is what drives the film. It’s a fascinating, multi-layered character study, but alas, only the beginning of his story/plight.

There’s obviously much more to the plot, but like all great movies, you can’t explain it well enough. You just have to see it. There are so many great scenes, even for a three-hour movie: the tension in the scene where Michael meets Sollozzo and Captain MuCluskey; the brutality of the murder of Sonny at the toll booth; the shock value of the horse’s head in the Hollywood producer’s bed; the beauty of the wedding sequence of Michael and Appalonia; and of course the final murder montage at the end, crosscut between the actual murders and the baptism of Michael’s newborn nephew. There are flashes of brilliance in just about every scene, directly attributed to the acting, production design, editing and script. And who could ever forget that main theme of the score?

Brando, having the showiest role, is the obvious standout as far as performances go, but there’s not a dud in the bunch. All the actors bring their characters to life in such a fashion that you really believe they are a family. Their chemistry produces a dynamic that just cannot be faked. And, in a bold move, Coppola cast some not-actors in supporting parts, most notably Richard Castellano as Clemenza. Watch the scene in the basement between him and Michael before the Sollozzo/McCluskey meeting and you’d swear the guy had been acting his whole life. It’s hard to imagine now that the majority of these actors were unknown when Coppola cast them, save for Brando, who was known but miring in mediocrity after some poor career choices. Simply amazing.

And amazingly enough, The Godfather almost never came to be, at least as we know it. The studio didn’t want Pacino (unknown at the time, and Pacino himself didn’t even want the role until after endless coercing from Coppola), Brando (he had a reputation for causing trouble on the sets of past films he’d done), or even Coppola (also unknown, he only got the job because he was an Italian-American who could potentially lend authenticity to Italian-American customs). And speaking of Italian-Americans, the Italian-American Anti-Defamation League protested the movie before cameras even started rolling because they were afraid that Italians would be stereotyped as gangsters. Every aspect of this production was an uphill battle for the cast and crew, some of which were even considered being fired after production had begun. But Coppola and company somehow persevered, and the rest is cinematic history.

“I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse.”



Previous Movies of the Week:

#1: Gladiator
#2: The Passion of the Christ
#3: Cool Hand Luke
#4: Fight Club
#5: American Beauty
#6: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
#7: Goodfellas
#8: Boogie Nights
#9: American Psycho
#10: Dr. Strangelove
#11: Dog Day Afternoon
#12: Unforgiven
#13: 2001: A Space Odyssey
#14: Do the Right Thing
#15: Reservoir Dogs
#16: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
#17: L.A. Confidential
#18: Big Trouble in Little China
#19: Out of Sight
#20: The Shawshank Redemption
#21: The Waterboy
#22: Field of Dreams

Mods, can we get a poll this week (and the next two) for this trilogy? And, if possible, can one of the poll options be "My favorite Godfather film"? Because it's a triology, I'd like to see which installment people like best. Thank you.

i don't think any words i could come up with would do justice to how amazing this film is

we already know which one people like the least

yup

Excellent write up.

What I’m about to say will probably be considered blasphemy, but here it goes, I’ve never seen any of the Godfather films. I guess it’s because the movies have become such a part of our lexicon and culture that I feel like I have seen them.

get on it!

I know, it's one thing that I must do in the near future.

As usual, you write me the text of the poll, and I'll install it.

Best film in the history of motion pictures.

Great movie but I think it's grossly overrated.

How so, Jim? The pacing? Acting? Plot?

The Godfather is an amazing movie, and the only thing that beats it is The Godfather 2. I can't think of any other sequal that beats the original. Except maybe Empire Strikes Back, but Star Wars in general is incredible overrated.

yeah, humor us Jimmy. if you think Field of Dreams is a better movie we're not hanging out this weekend

2 stars. I felt like this was extremely overrated. The plot moves at such a slow pace, it really takes too long to develop for me.

I gave this 5* and Field of Dreams 3* so don't even start with me.

It's a great movie, don't get me wrong. I just find it pretty ridiculous that so many people automatically say that this is the best movie of all time.

Now I havent seen it in over 5 years, so don't get on me too much. I just never got the feeling that I was watching one of the best movies ever when I saw it. Reasons? The pace was slow, it reminded me of the first 45 minutes of the Deer Hunter, good acting but alot of boring going on. I just don't see what makes this movie the best ever.

edit:

On the other hand, I don't understand why Godfather III gets so much flack. I don't understand why people go on about how bad it was. I think it's the thing to say, GF 1 is the best movie ever and 3 was so horrible. It's the sheep mentality.

i'm pretty sure this review is illegal in at at least 23 states.

5 stars, no question about it.

5 Stars and far and away my favorite Godfather film. Part II is a great movie, but doesn't even approach the meaning this movie has for me. And III sucks pretty much through and through. The Godfather is vying for the top spot among my favorite movies, with Psycho, Pulp Fiction, and The Matrix all right there also.
What's so great about The Godfather for me? I'm not sure. But I can say that when trying to convince my girlfriend to see some of my favorite movies, I don't think of The Godfather. I tihnk that this is because it's a movie about male honor and resposibility and things like that, but pushed to sort of an extreme level to make it evident. Obviously, I don't go around living like a mobster, but this movie has taught me sort of lessons, sort of, about what it means to be a man. In a way. I really don't think that a woman can appreciate this film in the same way that a man can. That's why when I hear a girl say that The Godfather is her favorite movie, I have trouble believing it. And why, when Connie starts giving orders in Part III, and everyone follows along, it feels so wrong.
Plus, it's just a really well-made film, and the acting, as said before, is spot on perfect by everyone, especially all the brothers.

I've probably watched this movie and its sequel more times than any other, with the possible exception of Fear and Loathing. Stunning music, reserved, operatic pace, brilliant writing, and the acting! Pacino, my god, is that method? Did he draw upon his own emotions, or channel them from the heavens? I've never see anything like it. The scene where he slowly lays out to his brothers the idea of killing Solozzo and the police captain, that first time you see the cold calculation of his character, absolutely sends chills down your spine. So far apart from the raving lunatic he'd later become typecasted as in cinema.