Movie Stats:
Released 1972 (USA)
American, in English (some translated Italian & some
non-translated Italian)
Director – Francis Ford Coppola
Stars – Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall,
Diane Keaton
Plot Summary:
It’s the story of mafia boss Vito Corleone (Brando), his
sons Sonny (Caan) and Michael (Pacino), and his adopted son Tom Hagan (Duvall).
Keaton co-stars as Michael’s girlfriend, Kay Adams.
Warnings:
Extreme violence (including toward an animal & toward a
pregnant woman) and brief female nudity.
Bad Stuff:
It’s pretty long, coming in just under 3 hours.
I’m not normally one to complain about violence. Violence
that I know is fake doesn’t tend to bother me. But there are some violent scenes
in this film that made me very uncomfortable. I guess maybe they were a bit too
realistic.
Good Stuff:
My favorite thing about this movie is that it showcases good
storytelling. Watching Michael go from the one Corleone child destined to
remain out of the “family business” to heir-apparent is fascinating. Even
though you know the Corleones are “bad” people, you find yourself rooting for
them to succeed nonetheless. To me, that’s the embodiment of great filmmaking,
when moviemakers can make you feel what they want you to feel, perhaps even in spite
of yourself.
There are some scenes that are so fraught with tension that
it’s thrilling. I sat there, heart pounding, thinking to myself, “Oh, that guy’s
gonna get it!” I knew it was just a movie but it sucked me in anyway.
All the actors did a great job, but I particularly enjoyed
the performances of Brando and Duvall.
The Verdict:
I saw all three Godfather movies about 18 years ago or so
but had never watched any of them again. I remembered liking the first two
& hating the third (mostly because of Sofia Coppola’s horrible acting).
Anyway, since it had been such a long time, I wasn’t sure that I would still
like it on second viewing.
I’m happy to report that I enjoyed it thoroughly. I’m not
sure that I would recommend it to anyone who can’t stomach violence, but if you
can get past that, this is truly a fine piece of filmmaking. There are some
movies that you see just to say you’ve seen them. This isn’t one of them. You
should see it because it’s good.
I give it 4.5 stars.
2 comments:
I saw that movie for the first time at the Laurelhurst and was blown away. Not necessarily because it was so good, (though it was) but because I had never seen all those people look so young, at least not on a screen that big. It was kind of eerie, to the point I couldn't really identify the actors and had to wait for the credits. Oh. That _was_ Diane Keaton! I said to myself. And repeated it for pretty much everyone. Duvall, Pachino, etc.
I read the book in college and it is also much more spectacular than one might think.
Keaton was definitely the big surprise for me. I've seen a lot of the movies she starred in in the 70s, but she just looks SO YOUNG in this one.
It's been the weirdest, most unanticipated part, of this whole project: seeing actors/actresses I've always thought of as "old" when they were young.
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