Your Favorite Godfather

I've got the theme in my head; I have had all day. So, tell me, out of The Godfather Parts I, II and III, which do you prefer the most?

The reason I ask is because people always claim that the third is terrible [Sofia Coppola is not as bad as you think she is, get over it already] and there is always a very fine line between between the first two, with either one always taking it out by such a minute margin. But as the old tale goes, you can like them both, but you can't like them both equally. That and today someone told me that they found the first one boring, have no interest in the second, but are looking forward to seeing the third...

So. Which of the trilogy, perhaps the greatest trilogy of them all, do you prefer, and why?

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You're right; she's worse.

I think I prefer the second over the first...but not by much. It's a toss-up, more or less. The third is in a distant third.

Do you really think so?

Godfather II is my favorite...barely. I found that De Niro's story the best part of all the Godfather's. I didn't like III that much, because I'm not a very big fan of Andy Garcia. I don't think he's a bad actor, I just...I don't know. Sometimes I'm drawn to someone, and sometimes I'm repelled. Although I did like him in The Untouchables.

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"Today, war is too important to be left to politicians. They have neither the time, the training, nor the inclination for strategic thought. I can no longer sit back and allow Communist infiltration, Communist indoctrination, Communist subversion and the international Communist conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids."

I actually like the first one quite a bit more than the second one. There are several minor reasons that add upp to this: I Love the book, and of course there's more from it in part one. Sonny is such a bad ass . And so is Clemeza by the way. I'd hire him as a capo before Rocco any day. I also like the old Vito better than the young one. Plus, both nr 2 and 3 use kamikaze pilots, which I don't really like. You know, where one guy is sent to assassinate someone knowing he himself will be killed afterwards (the kamikaze mission in nr 3 is really stupid, kill him with his own glasses, pfft )

As I said, many small reasons that adds upp.

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Ride Johnny ride

The Godfather
Brando and Jimmy Caan give the original the edge in my book, despite the clever narrative complexity and great performances by Pacino and DeNiro in Part II.

Part III is still and will forever be a huge disappointment. As a final piece of the trilogy, it isn't unwatchable - thanks to Pacino anyway and the arc of Connie Corleone. But unlike Part II, it doesn't do ***** to stand on its own. Sofia Coppola is indeed that dreadful...or even worse, and that they cut Bobby Duvall out for no other reason than money (he rightly wanted a comperable salary to Pacino and Keaton's, they turned him down) only to replace him with the vacant Geroge Hamilton and a character with zero history was a waste. Watching Tom Hagen go toe-to-toe with the Vatican and finally get a chance to redeem himself as a wartime consigliere would have added so much to the end of the trilogy. Narratively it is a hollow and predictible retread mishmash of the first two groundbreaking entries.

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"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra

Well, when it comes to me, I don't know what I say: The Godfather and The Godfather Part II go so ridiculously neck and neck for me, I find it hard to choose. And they are such different films, different times, different places, different tales, same characters. I think the fact that you've got a wonderful paralell structure in Part II with De Niro in an outstanding performance [his assassination, burning towel and all, is classic] and Pacino dubbing himself one of my all-time favorite actors, these things may just push Part II into the number one slot for me. But I agree, there is so much that gives The Godfather the edge; Sonny and Vito in their original Caan and Brando embodiments are perfect. I like the inclusion of more Cazale in Part II also. Hell; all the polls count the films as the same one, so I think I will too.

I love them both.
And the theme, gotta love that theme.

I like the first one the most. I love both 1 and 2, but the second movie was kind of more of the same with regard to Michael turning to the dark side, so I found the first one to be much fresher.