The Godfather

Rating

Director

Francis Ford Coppola

Screenplay

Mario Puzo, Francis Ford Coppola (Novel by Mario Puzo)

Length

175 min.

Starring

Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Richard Castellano, Robert Duvall, Sterling Hayden, John Marley, Richard Conte, Al Lettieri, Diane Keaton, Abe Vigoda, Talia Shire, Gianni Russo, John Cazale, Alex Rocco

MPAA Rating

R

Review

The story of a powerful mafia family and the decisions that lead it towards the brink of ruin form the backbone of Mario Puzo’s crime classic The Godfather.

What passes before the viewer is a chronological tale of family, betrayal and revenge. It’s the saga of the Corleone family headed by mob boss Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando). He is a negotiator and is renowned among the other mafia families for being the most connected man in the business. Unfortunately for him, the business he created (which we learn more about in The Godfather, Part II) is a cutthroat operation and there are any number of rival families who would love to see Vito removed and his family consumed by their own.

We learn about his eldest son Santino ‘Sonny’ Corleone (James Caan), a hot head whose temper causes a great many conflicts after his father is shot and laid up in the hospital. Ten we’re introduced to the youngest Corleone, Michael (Al Pacino). At the opening party where his character is introduced, we learn that he’s a military man who served in World War II and had returned a hero. He isn’t part of the ‘family’ and thus is not a target for opposing families’ guns.

However, Michael knows his place within the family and can’t help but want to protect his wounded father and becomes heavily involved in the family’s ventures and ends up the salvation the family needs after a series of betrayals and deaths that leave it gasping for breath.

Francis Ford Coppola has crafted with this film and its sequel, The Godfather, Part II, one of the most impressive cinematic works of his generation. While his career virtually died after Apocalypse Now Coppola can be credited with a singular vision that made the crime genre what it is today. The Godfather is superbly acted, compellingly written and dazzlingly designed. There is nothing about the film that doesn’t deserve a fair amount of praise.

When it won the Oscar for Best Picture in 1972, The Godfather barely nabbed the honor from musical Cabaret which was hot on the heels of the musical dominance of the 1960s). But through a welcome twist of fate, the more famous film took home the top prize.

Though he refused his Oscar win for the film, Marlon Brando gives one of his best performances as the kindly titular Godfather. However, unlike many other films where one great performance outshines all others, Brando is only one aspect of the terrific cast. Al Pacino has rarely been better, James Caan can’t count a better performance among his filmography and Robert Duvall’s outstanding. It’s impossible to envision a more perfect ensemble.

Very few films can live up to the quality of The Godfather. It has a timeless quality and, even thirty years after its release, it still feels fresh and relevant. It is quite simply one of film history’s greatest achievements.

Review Written

November 28, 2006