Review of The Godfather (1972) by Mattd. — 21 Feb 2007

One of the best movies ever along with Godfather II, and other classics...Marlon Brando shows off his range and acting versatility by transforming from being a '50s American actor to a convincingly Italian mafia man.

I first thought he was Italian, and I was surprised how un-italian he was prior to his role. So good, that he would adopt this speech into his everyday talk for the rest of his life. That man was a legend.

Pair him up of Al Pacino, who was a budding star, and now legend (though he has plateaued ever since Scent of a Woman, when he won an Oscar for saying Huah!, when it really should've been for this role, or as Tony Montana in Scarface, in Dog Day Afternoon, in Carlito's Way, or other).

Pacino is startling brilliant as a seemingly normal young man who reluctantly joins the mafia, but then takes over the family business and runs it like his own after it was passed down from Brando. James Cahn was absolutely phenomenal as the hotheaded Sonny Corleone, and Jon Cazale as the weak-minded brother Fredo.

This movie changed the gangsta movie landscape giving a third dimension to previous cop-bad guy, go kill movies, and really gives an insight of what they are about, that being loyalty, trust, bonding, and later turns into power, corruption, greed, and eventually the downfall of Michael Corleone.

None of them are the typical good guy, but all of them are interesting as characters and it engages you wholly into the film and thrusts you into the dialogue, making you never want to take a bathroom break.

This is what makes a classic, and if you don't understand the concept of this, than you don't know movies.