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#1
11-25-2005, 02:38 AM
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100 films: The Godfather
 NOTE: Part 2 is coming in a few hours as part of my Thankgiving tradition of watching the entire series. starring: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, Richard S. Castellano, Talia Shire, and John Cazale written by: Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola, from the novel by Puzo directed by: Francis Ford Coppola R, 175 min, 1972, USA The great Shakespearian epic of our time, The Godfather series is perhaps the grandest accomplishment in the history of American cinema. It made stars of several actors and director Francis Ford Coppola, was nominated for a total of 29 Academy Awards, won Best Picture twice, and has inspired numerous entries in the popular lexicon. Part one tells the story of how Michael Corleone (Al Pacino), a civilian war hero, is trust into the family business he said he'd never join and ascends to the throne of the empire. In retrospect it's hard to imagine, but Paramount was not in favor of Coppola's cast choices for any of the major roles. Coppola set his sights on Brando and Pacino, in particular, early in the process and would not budge as the studio brought in essentially every "name" actor in the greater Los Angeles area to read for the parts[1]. The concern was that Brando was too far gone as an actor and that Pacino had no name recognition, but as usually happens in these scenarios, the director was right and both actors turned in fantastic performances. Brando's Vito Corleone would earn him a Best Actor Oscar[2], as well as inspire a littany of impressions with his raspy delivery. Al Pacino has the most difficult role in the film, as he must portray a transformation from a character with a basic sense of purity to a calculating monster who would have his godson's father murdered on the day of the christening. We see the first steps of this evolution when Michael visits his father in the hospital only to find the guards have been ordered to leave. He springs to action, moving his father and standing up to the corrupt police chief who tries to arrest him. The certainty of his actions speaks volumes about his nature, much more than the speeches he uses to convince himself he's not like his father. He cannot deny that this is part of who he is, it's too deeply ingrained to ignore, and from that moment on he is fully involved. In a memorable scene that may just be the finest moment of Pacino's career, he guns down the police captain and the man who tried to kill his father in a restaurant. Although he may spend the rest of the films striving to regain his legitimacy, his actions over the course of those two days seals his fate. Francis Ford Coppola is a man heavily steeped in the importance of family and the Italian way of life, and he uses those convictions to really give the film the proper dynamic. He understands how these large families operate, how the various relationships play off each other, and he employs his experiences to add a authentic feel to the proceedings. It's the small things, like adding wine to the pasta recipe, or the importance of operation a Sicilian courtship through the extended family, that sells large chunks of the film. The visual flair of the film is further defined by cinematographer Gordon Willis. The shots he composes are truly a thing of beauty. His is a name too often forgotten when discussing the great film artists. ************* [1] Including Robert DeNiro, who read for multiple parts and would later play the young Vito in The Godfather: Part II [2] It was his second win against 8 nominations (the last coming in 1989 for A Dry White Season). He famously sent Sacheen Littlefeather to the ceremony in his place to protest discrimination against Native Americans. Ironically, Littlefeather was just an actor. 
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#2
11-25-2005, 02:44 AM
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Re: 100 films: The Godfather
I liked it too. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
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#3
11-25-2005, 02:45 AM
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Re: 100 films: The Godfather
Very nice, I'm glad to see someone else watches these flicks on Thanksgiving. (Although I have not gotten around to it this year.)
This movie was confusing for me to follow the first time I watched it, but I was still able to appreciate how captivating the entire story is. I will probably watch it later tonight as I fall asleep.
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#6
11-25-2005, 07:09 AM
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Re: 100 films: The Godfather
Okay, I achknowledge Godfather and Godfather 2 are great movies, among the top, but I've cooled to them over time.
I could watch em over and over again, but I have a problem with them. I find them a little cold and a bit like a wonderfully-shot, beautifully-composed soap opera... There's so little energy in em, is the problem. Charisma and mood are there in abundance, but energy... nah! Only James Caan really brings force to the screen, and so much so he nearly topples the mood, but his shooting sorts that out. There's some energy and life from Diane Keaton too, but to a much lesser extent. De Niro is dynamic and obviously forceful in his quiet way too, but even he comes across as subdued. Pacino - great role and portrays the complexity of his character extraordinarily well - but too much thinking, not enough passion... Listen, I like these films a lot too, but only in the admiration/beautiful film making way - same with Citizen Kane. Like is the operative word here. I LIKE em. The difference is I LOVE Christmas Story, Groundhog Day, Aliens, Live and Let Die, Bride of Frankenstein, The Producers, Empire Strikes Back, Pulp Fiction, Lock Stock, Sleepy Hollow blah blah blah. Hell, I even love 'Plan 9 from Outer Space'. It's like loving your goldfish, I know, but love is love, right? Great film having said all that, great review as always.
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#7
11-25-2005, 07:54 AM
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Re: 100 films: The Godfather
Jeez, the whole shooting of the Turk and the police captain scene in the restaurant is nail-biting and very cool.
The scene where Brando handles the mortician who wants him to kill his daughter's rapist is full of tension and you can really feel the guy's pain and anger. The Don's processing of it and coming to a good solution was pretty cool and showed a lot of the competence with people and situations that let you know how this guy got this high in his world. And the scene in the hospital where Michael has to protect his father was brilliant to me. I was on pins and needles there. And his confrontation with the crooked cop outside the hospital definitely got me involved -- and pissed off! This was a really great passage, I thought. Granted, it was stolen from "M", but the ironic intercutting of the baptism with the murders was telling and fun. The horse's head in the bed thing was brilliant and people were talking about it all the time for the next 20 years. The shooting of Sony, and the old man's regret, was fantastic. His beating of Carlo was great -- it was even parodied on the Simpsons, it was such an icon of ass kicking. The scene were Luca Brasi gets his hand stabbed to the bar was outrageous! When consigliere Tom Hagen gets picked up off the street by the Turk after Brando gets shot and never really knows if he's going to be killed or not is very gripping. The lonely sadness of the execution by the side of the road while Pauli casually takes a piss in the cornfield and stares off into the distance was moving to me. What a way to go. Sheesh -- so many good scenes! And the family feel of it, the betrayal by Tessio, the beauty of Michael's virgin bride and her horrible death, the creepiness of Barzini...just so good, all of it. The only thing that bogged down for me was when Keaton was on screen. Her well-meaning but fairly flat well bred pallor was a sort of pacing between the higher voltage goings-on among all these more red-blooded crazies, so it served a dramatic purpose, but she didn't have a lot of screen dynamism. It was easy to see her as more and more irrelevant and unappealing, and the part I want to get past so I can get to the good stuff. Really, Coppola (with the help of Mario Puzo) creates a very rich world that feels very lived in and credible and interesting. I was definitely happily along for the ride the very first time I saw it, and every time since.
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#8
11-25-2005, 08:00 AM
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Re: 100 films: The Godfather
Hell, I know I'm in the minority here - we're all allowed our little quirks.
Well, I do like it lots and lots, but only as a friend. True Romance or similar, on the other hand, I'm all over like a rash [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]
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#9
11-25-2005, 08:04 AM
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Re: 100 films: The Godfather
I almost peed when you said you loved things like Empire Strikes Back and Sleepy Hollow, but not Godfather.
We each have our own things that grip others but somehow miss the mark with us, though. But liking Aliens better than Alien is still grounds for a verbal ass-whipping.
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#10
11-25-2005, 08:09 AM
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Re: 100 films: The Godfather
[ QUOTE ]
I almost peed when you said you loved things like Empire Strikes Back and Sleepy Hollow, but not Godfather. We each have our own things that grip others but somehow miss the mark with us, though. But liking Aliens better than Alien is still grounds for a verbal ass-whipping. [/ QUOTE ] Oh Blarg, love is love! You can't rationalise it, you just feel it. Okay? Okay! And from your statement, I think we agree on that. Oh, and I love Alien too. If I spouted off all the films I love off the top of my head, there'd be 2 consequences... 1) It would get really old really quick 2) I'd overlook something fabulous, and it would get jealous... [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]
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