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The Godfather (1972) - Directed by Francis Ford Coppola
"You come into my house on the day my daughter is to be married and you ask me to do murder."
For my first review on this site, I'll take on what I believe is the greatest movie ever made: The Godfather. Yes, I'm aware it's a very cliche choice. It's pretty much the same thing as saying The Empire Strikes Back, Blade Runner, Pulp Fiction, 2001 or The Shawshank Redemption is the top-slot choice. And while I haven't seen every movie on earth, The Godfather is unique.
For a long time, I was very nit-picky about perfection. I would get annoyed at tiny things like, "Mufasa's eyes were white for a frame" or "You can see the camera rail in Citizen Kane." Although I don't feel that way anymore and believe those tiny mistakes can be made up for, I didn't notice any tiny mistakes in this one. Not only that, it has a level of character and realism that I have a hard time finding in most movies. This isn't a movie about a guy doing the impossible, it's about a bunch of people working together to do the improbable.
The film centers around two notable characters: Vito Corleone, Don of one of New Yorks Five Families of gangsters, and his youngest son, Michael, a returned soldier. As they both get involved in plots against them for Vito's refusal to share in the narcotics business, events that put the whole family in danger change lives for the family forever, and change Michael from a family man who wants nothing to do with the family "business" to a man bent on revenge for the tiniest things.
Watching Don Corleone show his keen sense of honor despite his position is pretty eye-gripping alone, mostly for Marlon Brando's performance. But the real socket-stealer is Michael's transformation throughout the movie. And his relationships with most of his family are changing as well (if you look). But my favorite thing about the movie is not the cinematography, not the horsehead that became a meme, and not even Al Pacino's performance. It's the twists the movie takes throughout all three hours, and are perfectly paced at Francis Ford Coppola's direction. For example, the movie begins with Michael's sister's wedding, and ends in her... um, anolement. That's an unexpected way to plan a beginning and ending for a couple of characters who are only in the movie as much as is necessary.
It's strange. A part of me wishes I'll never find a movie as good as The Godfather due to it having a special place in my heart. But I know I'd be a fool to act that way, so I'll keep this special place in my heart for as long as I can until some lucky movie off the streets beats it. I'm still a bit inexperienced in terms of quantity of films. But I can recognize a masterpiece when I see one, and I'm glad Francis Ford Coppola was the one to make a movie out of Mario Puzo's novel. Incredible cinematography, excellent pacing, and perfect casting choices are only a small part of what makes this movie so good.
In the end, The Godfather is a reminder of the stresses that those responsible for crime go through, and takes a straight shot into their hearts and souls to find that there's something their fighting for, even if it's through the wrong deeds. And it's something that people can take examples from, for better or for worse. I choose not to live like Michael Corleone, and remember what hell he went through to get to the hell he willingly put himself into near the end of the movie, and the sequels.
"You come into my house on the day my daughter is to be married and you ask me to do murder."
For my first review on this site, I'll take on what I believe is the greatest movie ever made: The Godfather. Yes, I'm aware it's a very cliche choice. It's pretty much the same thing as saying The Empire Strikes Back, Blade Runner, Pulp Fiction, 2001 or The Shawshank Redemption is the top-slot choice. And while I haven't seen every movie on earth, The Godfather is unique.
For a long time, I was very nit-picky about perfection. I would get annoyed at tiny things like, "Mufasa's eyes were white for a frame" or "You can see the camera rail in Citizen Kane." Although I don't feel that way anymore and believe those tiny mistakes can be made up for, I didn't notice any tiny mistakes in this one. Not only that, it has a level of character and realism that I have a hard time finding in most movies. This isn't a movie about a guy doing the impossible, it's about a bunch of people working together to do the improbable.
The film centers around two notable characters: Vito Corleone, Don of one of New Yorks Five Families of gangsters, and his youngest son, Michael, a returned soldier. As they both get involved in plots against them for Vito's refusal to share in the narcotics business, events that put the whole family in danger change lives for the family forever, and change Michael from a family man who wants nothing to do with the family "business" to a man bent on revenge for the tiniest things.
Watching Don Corleone show his keen sense of honor despite his position is pretty eye-gripping alone, mostly for Marlon Brando's performance. But the real socket-stealer is Michael's transformation throughout the movie. And his relationships with most of his family are changing as well (if you look). But my favorite thing about the movie is not the cinematography, not the horsehead that became a meme, and not even Al Pacino's performance. It's the twists the movie takes throughout all three hours, and are perfectly paced at Francis Ford Coppola's direction. For example, the movie begins with Michael's sister's wedding, and ends in her... um, anolement. That's an unexpected way to plan a beginning and ending for a couple of characters who are only in the movie as much as is necessary.
It's strange. A part of me wishes I'll never find a movie as good as The Godfather due to it having a special place in my heart. But I know I'd be a fool to act that way, so I'll keep this special place in my heart for as long as I can until some lucky movie off the streets beats it. I'm still a bit inexperienced in terms of quantity of films. But I can recognize a masterpiece when I see one, and I'm glad Francis Ford Coppola was the one to make a movie out of Mario Puzo's novel. Incredible cinematography, excellent pacing, and perfect casting choices are only a small part of what makes this movie so good.
In the end, The Godfather is a reminder of the stresses that those responsible for crime go through, and takes a straight shot into their hearts and souls to find that there's something their fighting for, even if it's through the wrong deeds. And it's something that people can take examples from, for better or for worse. I choose not to live like Michael Corleone, and remember what hell he went through to get to the hell he willingly put himself into near the end of the movie, and the sequels.