Review of The Godfather (1972) by Fullmetalcowboy — 24 Jul 2014

Review Date: July 24, 2014. Movie Review #1: The Godfather.

If I ever get a job offer to write Movie Reviews and get paid for it, it is an offer I can't refuse. This movie is often quotable to those that have seen it and it is no surprise that this film affected pop culture to a certain degree. There was a time where it got a lot of dough and was a hit which in turn became the highest grossing motion picture at a time back in the 1970's when The Godfather succeeded in the box office. Times have changed and this film is no longer the highest grossing motion picture but still to this day, it still remains as a remarkable film. Is there anything that has not been said about The Godfather? Probably not, but that is not going to stop me from sharing my thoughts regarding Francis Ford Coppola's masterpiece.

The Godfather is a tale of a New York Mafia family and their struggle to protect their empire from rival families as the leadership switches from the father to his youngest son which carries a heavy weight.

This film often gets praised for its acting and that's no surprise there. Even though The Godfather ended up as a trilogy, Most of the cast may have left a huge impression in the second Godfather film but the first movie still has terrific acting throughout the entire film. Marlon Brando's performance as Don Corelone is very likely and arguably his best role in his film career. Even though the late Marlon Brando was a well-respected actor before and since The Godfather, He was not the only reason that The Godfather is a great film. The casting is a rather interesting one since it contains actors that either have been around for a number of years or actors that are quite new but had a couple roles. James Caan plays a hot-tempered Sonny, Robert Duvall has a great voice of reason in playing Tom Hagen, Diane Keaton plays her supporting role quite fittingly as Kay Adams, and Al Pacino's performance really makes Michael Corleone an intriguing character in the film and that carries on in the later films. The entire performance of every cast member feels natural even if there were a number of takes shot in the movie. Some may say that this movie has some of the greatest acting in the history of cinema, but I think that would be a bit of a stretch to make that claim. The entire cast makes all the characters believable and realistic in their portrayal. The Godfather might not be the most realistic portrayal of the Mafia, but it is certainly the most romanticized Mafia movie. However there are some realistic moments which is the brutality that The Godfather portrays, and Khartoum was the first example of this film's brutality. I also don't think that the brutality is a way of glorifying violence in the film, it is first and foremost a cinematic portrait of the Mafia, and it also serves as a thought provoking character study which carries on in the later films. It may be a romanticized portrait of the Mafia, and it may be a bit realistic in its brutal moments, but it doesn't feel out of place. Considering the film is set in the 1940's with the notion that it is a romaticized portrayal of the Mafia, there's a theme of moral ambiguity that allows the viewer to think and question about the character inside the movie, I find it strange that outside of the movie, it is possible that a viewer (and myself if I may add) finds the moral ambiguity fascinating in The Godfather. It carries on in the story that is told in the film.

One of the fitting touches is the music by Nino Rota and it's a bit predictable that it has that Italian sound but it is extremely fitting to the film. Like the film itself, Nino Rota's Film score to The Godfather is highly regarded as one of the greatest film scores in cinema, I can say it's hard not to like. It definitely has the Italian feeling and it compliments the movie perfectly. I should add an interesting additional note that Carmine Coppola (the father of Francis Ford Coppola) did compose some of the additional music I find this kind of interesting considering that the Father and Son relationship between Michael and Vito was intriguely written. If that isn't interesting enough, Francis Ford Coppola put his daughter Sofia in the movie too with a cameo appearance as a baby boy. Some members of the family may have been involved in this movie and even the later Godfather films, but family also plays a theme in The Godfather. Another nice element that gives the film its elegance is Gordon Willis' cinematography. The film is shot well, the movie looks like it is in the 1940's. The cars you will see in the movie were cars made in the 1940's and this movie was only made in 1972 so it wasn't too difficult to find vehicles like that. The design is fitting for this film because of its setting. Overall, The entire movie is shot extremely well. Even though this is an adaptation of Mario Puzo's novel of the same name published in 1969. Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola did write the screenplay, and regardless if the movie faithfully follows the book from the first page to the last, Francis Ford Coppola and Mario Puzo are contempt with the changes that are there from Book to Movie. Even though The Godfather is a considered one of the greatest movies ever made. I was very close in rating this film a 10 out of 10, but I noticed a couple hiccups in the film, even though they are small errors they are not influencing me to change my mind that I find The Godfather to be a terrific film, those who saw the movie at face value can unanimously agree that The Godfather is a great film. My philosophy of "The 10 rating" is that it is as great as it is ever going to get. They are not perfect because of a rating like that. There could be some mistakes, and some miniscule flaws that can be found but are excused. Even if that were the case, they don't ruin the movie whatsoever. There really is no such thing as a perfect movie. Francis Ford Coppola pulled the strings with the terrific acting, excellent cinematography, fitting music, believable characters, and an intriguing plot. It is not only one of Francis Ford Coppola's masterpieces, it is one of the masterpieces in cinema.

This film gets my Thumbs Up, it's a 5-star film.

My overall rating of The Godfather is a 9.9 out of 10, it is an excellent film.