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  1. #1
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    Rate The Godfather trilogy


    Release Date: March 14th, 1972
    Director: Francis Ford Coppola
    Writers: Francis Ford Coppola, Mario Puzo
    Starring: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Talia Shire, Diane Keaton, Sterling Hayden, John Cazale, Richard Castellano, John Marley, Richard Conte, Al Lettieri, Abe Vigoda, Gianni Russo, Rudy Bond, Morgana King, Richard Bright, Alex Rocco, Tony Giorgio, Vito Scotti, Julie Gregg, Angelo Infanti, Franco Citti, Saro Urzi, Sofia Coppola, Joe Spinell
    Studio: Paramount
    Genre: Crime, Drama
    Rated: R

    Francis Ford Coppola's classic Gangster movie is a film that contains, what I consider to be, the greatest opening in cinematic history. It's not the kind of big action sequence that would open something like a Bond film, nor is it a traditional gangster movie prologue where the main character narrates for you. No, the opening of The Godfather is much more memorable and more unique than that. It sees a man, a man who will seemingly become unimportant to the story as it progresses, and with a slow pan out from his eyes he utters the words "I believe in America..." As the scene progresses it becomes clearly evident that what this man meant to say was, "I believed in America", as he begins to describe how his daughter was brutally beaten when she tried to keep her integrity. How he went through all the right channels only to see the courts let these boys go. Just as he finishes describing these horrible events the camera pans out just enough to reveal another man in the room, a man he has now come to for help. The second man has a much more authoritative presence about him, and then we learn who he is. He is The Godfather, Don Vito Corleone, head of the local Mafia family. This is where the other man is forced to turn, he'd placed all his confidence in America and tried to live by their laws. However the American justice system failed him when he needed it most and so now it was only criminals who could grant him the justice he wanted to find.

    This scene is important because it sets the tone for the rest of the film. It's not a scathing judgement call designed to expose the realities of life in the mob, but rather it's a personal drama that deals with people who have decided to live in a different class of society. This very tone made sure that when it was released it caused a stir of controversy among people who claimed it romanticized life in the mob too much. Maybe that argument is not completely hollow though as the film certainly has a romantic atmosphere. It's the story of Anthony's fall from grace, showing him go from a man who tries to live a good life to a cold and calculating killer. Yet it's played out like a family drama, you feel like a member of that family and Anthony's fall from grace feels more like his acceptance of responsibility. Of course this was an essential approach due to the type of film that The Godfather is. It's a drama, and a character led drama at that. As such the enjoyment of the film comes from becoming involved in the characters. You have to at least feel like you're looking at people you like, because if you are going to care about what is happening to the characters then you must first care about the characters themselves. Thankfully though that is the case as right from the opening shot you find yourself completely absorbed into the story of the Corleone family.

    There are a number of factors involved that accomplish this, not least the cinematography by Gordon Willis that is uniformly excellent throughout. He intentionally softens the colors in each frame in order to really draw you into the period that the film is set, but this also has the effect of softening the story's harsher aspects. It helps to romanticize the entire Corleone family business so that even in moments where a man finds a nasty surprise in his bed, you still find yourself sympathizing with the man who gave the orders. This is backed up well by the movies score, particularly that classic theme song that is both romantic and sad in equal measures. Those two things are combined so perfectly throughout the film that they create an atmosphere that has remained unmatched in the 30 years since the film was first released. However the atmosphere is merely the surface gloss, it's the area that you immediately recognize after watching the film but it's not the only thing that has made the film one of the greatest movies ever made.

    The real emotion is through the story that forces you to care about it's characters, and the actors who play those characters. You see, we have to face facts here and admit that most of the characters in The Godfather are not good men. They're not even decent men, but rather they are the kind of scum that people protest about. They are the people who will bully you in order to get their own way, and will place you in danger if you try and refuse them. They may appear all friendly and loving when they are offering you a favour, but if you don't repay that favour then they'll give no second thoughts about killing you. That's the lives they've chosen to live and just because they refuse to deal in drugs doesn't make the Corleone's anything more than marginally better than any other Mafia family. However Francis Ford Coppola never shows you that side of their lives. Throughout the film we know that the Corleone's deal in women and gambling, but they're viewed as harmless vices. You never see a woman forced in prostitution, never see a man lose his family to a gambling addiction because the family heads never get directly involved in those things. What we see is the family, the drama's inherent in the family business and we quickly find ourselves becoming involved in that family. That's the beauty of the story that Mario Puzo originally crafted in his novel that the movie is based on. It's not the story of Gangsters, it's the story of a family business, and the eventual passing of this business from Father to son.

    Of course this means that, as a character based drama, the film needs the actors to be believable if it's to really succeed. Thankfully, and I don't know how Coppola has managed it, but he has gotten the perfect actor in every role. Even the relatively minor roles have been well cast, and even the actors who have done bad things in the past have been successfully directed to give just the right performance. Obviously in a film this epic I can't go into all of them but even to just scratch the surface of the direct family members reveals something special. James Caan spent some time with the real gangsters in order to get into the role of Sonny and it really shows through in his performance. You really believe that he is this experienced man with a weakness for being a little too hot headed and he adds weight to the films side story. Coppola's little sister, Talia Shire plays the daughter of the family, Connie, and she really shines. It's funny because her casting was originally made by Coppola who thought he was going to be fired, and so hired his own sister whom he thought was too attractive for the role. Well attractive or not there's not many people who could portray the vulnerabilities of Connie so well. The most memorable of the smaller family members is easily the adopted son Tom Hagen though. Robert Duvall was amazing at making a character who keeps a calm quiet demeanor one of the scariest roles in the film. Just see the scene where he has dinner with the Hollywood executive to see what I'm talking about.

    However the best cast roles are also the films more important roles. Marlon Brando in the role of The Godfather himself has created one of the most memorable performances in history. His performance is up there with Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca, or Anthony Hopkins in Silence Of The Lambs in terms of how often it's been imitated. It's strange to see now because when the film was being made Coppola was nearly fired by the studio's when they saw Brando's performance, and it was only quick wits on Coppola's part that kept them both in work. Brando is amazing though, he really does become Vito Corleone for the entire running time of the film. Not just because he was a relatively young man who was believable as an old experienced father of a gangster family, but because of the little things he did. A perfect example is found in the opening scene where the Don is seen stroking a cat, it was Brando who grabbed the cat believing it to be a perfect prop, and little things like that throughout the film are the things that make Vito Corleone such a memorable character.

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    The other main character is the son Michael who is ready to gain the family business. Al Pacino plays Michael, and in my opinion he gives the films best performance. He provides every layer needed for a character who is fooling himself into believing he isn't a part of the family. He provides a wide eyed innocence for Michael that fits the character who doesn't want to be a part of the family business. However the way he delivers the lines concerning what the family do is in such a routine, matter of fact manner that you know the character is just fooling himself. He brings a sense of bravery to a character who's experience in war has given him the courage to defend his fathers life, but quickly brings shock into the equation when the character contrasts the bakers fear to his own. He hold this right through to the end of the film where Pacino's delivery of his lines help to make the visuals you're seeing one of the most chilling scenes you could mention.

    Dare I say it? I'll have to, it's not something I've ever said before but The Godfather is perfect. The story of Michael Corleone's fall from a good man to a gangster head is absolutely gripping thanks to the fact that all the important elements fit so well together. I can see no major faults in the movie, it's one of the few genuine masterpieces in American cinema.
    *****




    Reviews for 2-3 coming soon, as well as an overall rating for the series.

  3. #3
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    You all going to scream when you'll read this but i have nerver seen any of the 3

  4. #4
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    Originally posted by Jedi Master
    You all going to scream when you'll read this but i have nerver seen any of the 3
    AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn."

  5. #5
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    Originally posted by Jedi Master
    You all going to scream when you'll read this but i have nerver seen any of the 3
    Dude, you defenitely should see the first 2.

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    Okey! it's on my Ğmust see movieğ list

  7. #7
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    Originally posted by Jedi Master
    You all going to scream when you'll read this but i have nerver seen any of the 3
    We should ban you right now!!!!

    The first two are what great films are all about, the third one - less so

  8. #8
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    Originally posted by Jake
    We should ban you right now!!!!
    That's a bold statement. By that rationale you'll have to say goodbye to a lot of the Forum members (particular the inactive ones or those who signs up for action/cult movie trailers)...

    My preferece always follows the order of films. Part III is worthy to see just for the climax: Michael's cry on the opera house's steps. It's one of those images that burns an impression on your head.

    "The idea was to be a symbol. editman could be anybody, that was the point."

    Trolls destroyed the Forum

    my DVD/blu-ray List

  9. #9
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    i will be punished for this one but i never seen any of the godfather movies just like jedi master....

  10. #10
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    You see!!! im not the only one!

  11. #11
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    he he we should make a stream video night for godfather @ movie list...with some virtual pop corn and nachos

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    Release Date:December 12th, 1974
    Director:Francis Ford Coppola
    Writers:Francis Ford Coppola, Mario Puzo
    Starring:Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Robert Duvall, Talia Shire, Diane Keaton, Lee Strasberg, John Cazale, Michael V. Gazzo, G.D. Spradlin, Troy Donahue, Bruno Kirby, Richard Bright, Dominic Chianese
    Studio:Paramount
    Genre:Crime, Drama
    Rated:R

    It's a rare thing in the movie world to find a sequel that lives up to the original, and an even rarer thing when you manage to come across a sequel that is widely accepted as actually surpassing it's heritage. Off the top of my head I can think of only 2 instances where a lot of people who have a knowledge of movies prefer the sequel. Though even then opinion is still largely divided between which of the 2 different styles people prefer. Example one is James Cameron's Aliens, which took the slow burning suspense of the original and made it into an adrenaline fueled action adventure. Yet even that didn't compare to the amount of people who prefer Francis Ford Coppola's sequel to his own gangster movie classic, entitled simply The Godfather Part II.

    It's very lucky then that things turned out the way they did, as Francis Ford Coppola was never interested in doing a sequel to The Godfather. His experience with the studio whilst making the original was so bad that he never wanted to direct for them again. He agreed to work on the film as a producer if a young director named Martin Scorsese was allowed to direct the film, but the studio's thankfully refused. They considered Scorsese's style to be detrimental to what The Godfather was, and so they begged Coppola to reconsider and thankfully he accepted it with a few terms. His main term being that he wanted complete control over the proceedings, and when he got that it gave him the freedom to take some risks. To make casting decisions that would have appeared suicidal but most daring of all he was able to give the film a non linear structure. He used The Godfather Part 2 to simultaneously tell 2 different story's that were set in 2 completely different periods.

    The first story, and the part that takes up about a quarter of the films running time is the story of Veto Corleone's rise from a poor young immigrant to the status we saw him in in the first film. It saw an extremely brave casting decision in Robert De Niro who was an unknown at the time, but was playing a role made famous by Marlon Brando. He proved his neysayers wrong though by giving one of the greatest performances in history. He may not be as imitated as Brando yet he gave the more layered performance. This is all because he takes on little things from Brando's performance, such as the mannerisms and calm whispery voice, but rather than be lazy and try to imitate Brando he has still very much made the role his own. The result is a character who comes across as a born leader. He has the authoritative presence required for a character who will build the crime empire we witnessed first time around, yet he does that without losing the characters humility.

    A much larger section of the film is in the story of Michael Corleone as he continues in the shoes of his father. This section of the film though feels very different to the first film. If the original caused controversy for romanticizing life in the mob, then the sequel is the story to open people's eyes to the harsh realities. If the original saw Michael hit the Rock Bottom of his humanity, then in the sequel he finds himself sinking into the sludge beneath the rocks. Becoming completely surrounded in the vile aspects of his life, to the extent of alienating him from everything else.

    Whereas the first film was a drama that depicted a family coming together through crime, Part 2 is a tragedy that see's the same family being torn apart by those crimes. Michael's wife Kay is frustrated by the lack of progress her husband is making towards the legitimacy he promised her. She's not Italian and doesn't like the old ways. She hates having the door shut whenever her husband speaks business, and when she is forced to stay in the family grounds after an attempted hit she decides she's had enough. She even goes so far as to have an abortion, to punish her own child for the sins of it's father. She knows that no one can touch Michael while his bodyguards protect him, but is so frustrated by him that she finds a way to get revenge. She knows the importance a second son holds to him, and she knows that by aborting the child and claiming it is a boy then she can take her revenge on the man who has closed her out for so long. This feeling of revenge is then used to hold all of the plot elements together.

    His brother Fredo is developed better than the first film where we saw very little of him. That little screen time was an indication of his involvement in the family and the effects of his neglect are explored in this film. He hates being pushed from one place to another without having a real part in the family business. He hates that he was passed up for the position of Godfather because of not being too bright, but worst off all he hates being given orders from his younger brother. In the end this pushes him to betray his brother to a rival Mafia family, something he ends up hating himself for.

    Yet my favorite of all these little family drama's is the one that's given the smallest screen time and the one that didn't even touch on revenge. It's all to do with the adopted brother Tom Hagen who was also passed up on for the position of Don. Unlike Fredo he's extremely intelligent and all the evidence shows that he would have been the best leader out of all the brothers. Yet because he was adopted, because he wasn't 100% Sicilian he lost out to Michael. Tom is never resentful of this though, he doesn't want power and never tries to betray Michael. All he wants is to be acknowledged as a Corleone He is upset that Michael never seems to recognize him as such yet he carries on working for Michael faithfully. The moment between the 2 of them when Michael finally acknowledges him is incredibly touching.

    Once again though these character drama's are held together thanks to the actors chosen to fill the roles. Diane Keaton plays Kay Corleone as a character who has been almost traumatized by her husbands life style. She really brings out the characters frustrations right off from the start when she questions Michael as to when exactly he will turn legitimate. Her performance subtly escalates this until you reach a point where her actions become believable. Even then though she seems to bring a subtle sense of remorse wasn't written in the script and ends up eliciting sympathy for the character despite the fact that she committed the worst offense in any of these films.

    John Cazale brings a sense of desperation to the character of Fredo so that you understand why he betrayed his brother, but mostly it's in the way the character reacts when he realizes it was a hit. He's horrified at himself for nearly causing the death of his own brother and he's terrified of what his brother will do. The fear in Cazale's performance came across as very real and he ended up making Fredo one of my favorite characters in the film.

    Once again though, the supporting cast is outshined all the way by Robert Duvall. He returns as Tom and gives another wonderfully subtle performance. He is required to grasp the characters tragedy and he does it wonderfully with the same calm demeanor as he used in the first film. Most actors seem to think that the only way to play sadness is to cry out loudly, but Duvall's quiet demeanor caused a far greater stir of emotion.

    However it's yet again Al Pacino who has to hold all of these together as Michael Corleone, the character at the center of all these events. He does wonderful things with a character who's continually struggling against himself. Seeing as how the first film ended with Michael taking bloody revenge on all of his enemies at once it wouldn't have made sense to make Michael a mirror of his fathers calm nature. Pacino plays Michael as a character brimming over with anger, but keeping it bottled up inside. For the most part he keeps it in the eyes so that you can believe this is a character that you wouldn't want to cross. Yet it's when he releases his anger that he really starts to impress. It doesn't happen often but when Michael Corleone shouts he dominates the screen. Thankfully Pacino resists the urge to overact when he shouts, something he himself has been guilty of many times before, and this has the effect of giving Michael even more of a towering presence than he ever had before.

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    Like the first film though, the sequel isn't a slouch in the technical department either. Again the cinematography is superb, using softer colors to enhance the feelings of the time the film is set in. This time though the scenes set in the 20's have to be accounted for and the cinematography bleaches everything with a yellow stain. It makes it look sort of like an old photograph, giving these scenes their very own style. It reminds you that you're seeing memories of a time gone by that are important to the events in the film. Plus it's once again backed up by the perfect score that captures the emotions it's supposed to.

    Since I described the first film as perfect I'm now a little stuck as the how to describe it's sequel. If The Godfather was perfect then The Godfather Part 2 can only be described as transcendent. It still perfect in it's technical area's of sound, cinematography, acting and story telling but this time it transcends even that experience thanks to the non linear narrative. No doubt there will be some who didn't like it, but I felt that watching the 2 stories side by side made them both better than they would have been on their own. Seeing Vito Corleone turn to crime to help his family is given a hopeless chilling feel by seeing those same crimes tare the family apart. At the same time though seeing how the crime family was set up makes their eventual fate even more chilling.

    *****


    JP my reviews don't fit into single posts. :angel"
    Last edited by carl; 07-31-2003 at 08:33 AM.

  14. #14
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    Originally posted by discostu
    he he we should make a stream video night for godfather @ movie list...with some virtual pop corn and nachos
    I'm in!!

    i'll probably watch it during my vacation who starts in 3 HOURS!!!!!!! :big grin:

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    i finally saw them as an adult .. finally

    last time i saw them i was too young, but know i fully apreciate this masterpiece !!!

    the 1st movie is PERFECT !!, it is flawless in terms of the cast, acting, plot, script... simply perfect !!!

    one thing i wanna say...

    i want to be DON Corleone !!! (Al Pacino)

    that guy is kick *** .. he is the REAL PUNISHER !!!
    i like how he simply wiped out all his enemies at the end of part 1 and part 2, even his brother !!!... not even the punisher can do that

    one thing really shocks me is that Corleone family is an evil family !!! , but the movie, this damn movie is soo well made that we have so much sympathy for them, that we wanna be them

    anyway highly recommend TRILOGY, even the last movie is a good movie by itself
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