Submitted by – Abhilash Mukherjee, B14001

The Godfather (1972) – Movie Review

Popularly viewed as one of the best American films ever made, the multi-generational crime saga The Godfather is a touchstone of cinema: one of the most widely imitated, quoted, and lampooned movies of all time. A true epic, its legacy within world cinema is well regarded and is undoubtedly the film that leads the way for other gangster films like Goodfellas and Scarface to come later.This 1972 film directed by the legendary Francis Ford Coppola stars an exquisite cast of phenomenal actors namely Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, James Caan, and Diane Keaton. Based on the book by Mario Puzo, the film tells the story of the patriach of a family mafia dynasty as he begins to transfer control of the organization to his hesitant son. The Godfather is a sprawling crime-drama epic lasting a breath-taking two hours and fifty-five minutes.

Rarely does a film tell as many diverse-yet-interconnected stories. Coppola opens the films with an interesting shot of a pitch black screen giving way to a desperate figure, an undertaker pleading to Mafioso patriarch Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) to revenge the savage beating of his daughter. It is the wedding day of the lone Corleone daughter Connie (Talia Shire), and no Sicilian can refuse a request, which Don Vito takes on with reason, while also subtlety enforcing his position as a man to be respected and feared.Playing the eternal role of “The Godfather” Don Vito Corleone is the brilliant and immortal Marlon Brando. He is simply mesmerizing and hypnotic as Corleone with his flawless depiction of his character's mannerisms and facial expressions. A memorable scene of Brando in the film is that in which his character, Don Corleone, confidently and calmly, assures a dear friend that his request will be fulfilled by uttering that most famous of lines: “I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse.” Here, Brando marvelously captures the wiseness and coolness needed by a patriarch managing and controlling a powerful mafia organization.

Plot wise, The Godfather begins with the attempted assassination of Don Vito from a rival crime family unhappy with his refusal to enter the narcotics trade. With the Don temporarily out of the picture, it is up to his sons to run the Corleone clan. There is hot tempered Sonny (James Caan), meek mild Fredo (John Cazale), adopted son of Irish ancestry Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall), and the fiercely independent Michael (Al Pacino).It would be Michael who comes through as successor, and as a result The Godfather is as much Pacino’s film as it is Brando’s, introducing himself with a revelation of a performance. My favorite scene of Pacino in The Godfather is the one that takes place in the restaurant, a pivotal point in the movie known as “the Sollozzo scene”, which displayed Michael’s true murderous, Machiavellian nature in his disposal of his father’s would be killer and corrupt police official.This is followed by Michael’s self-exile to Sicily, which sells the romantic nature of The Godfather, with the visuals of lush country side Italy coupled with Nino Rota’s hypnotically melodic score.Yet there is a darkness which protrudes form this romance. This is a film about the mafia after all, and death at its most sinister and intimate is featured throughout.

What I liked best about the movie is how, at heart, it’s the story of one man’s improbable rise to power. In the scope of the film’s influence and famous scenes, what almost gets lost is the basic story. Also, it is also more than a little disturbing to realize that characters, which are so moving one minute, are likely, in the next scene, to be blowing out the brains of a competitor over a white tablecloth. It's nothing personal, just their way of doing business as usual.The film can be viewed on many levels, with equal satisfaction awaiting those who just want a good story, and those who demand much more. The Godfather is long, yes - but it is one-hundred seventy minutes well-spent. When the closing credits roll, only a portion of the story has been told. Yet that

Submitted by – Abhilash Mukherjee, B14001

last haunting image of the movie, coupled with Nino Rota's mournful score, leaves a crater-like impression in your mind.