In honor of my 5000th post, an epic review of the epic,
The GodfatherIn general, I don’t like mobster films. I don’t like seeing a movie where the point seems to be watching people murder, commit adultery and make excuses for themselves. But the Godfather films really are different. Not only are they amazing cinematic achievements, but they are also truly compelling characterizations. The ensemble of performers are perfect, as is the direction and cinematography. It is a remarkable achievement. If only there was redemption as well….
Technical—5/5—A masterwork. A marvel. From the very first few seconds right to the door being closed on Diane Keaton, this has to go next to Citizen Kane as one of the most amazing technical achievements ever. The editing of the wedding scene and the baptism scene, the way the blood slowly emerges in the horse head scene, the increased use of the musical theme as the movie progresses… it is all a wonder to behold.
Interest—5/5—I started watching at eleven at night. I said to myself, “I’ll just take a break around the middle and get some sleep.” Oh, what foolish thinking. I couldn’t bear to stop it at any point. Even as I see Michael’s moral self-destruction, I am compelled to watch.
Tension—5/5—Very tense, very powerful.
Emotional—3.5/5—All the characters were good, but I didn’t feel for everyone. Part of the problem is the number of characters we are introduced to. When the baptism scene happened, I couldn’t keep track of all those who were killed or why. I needed a scorecard. When a character like Moe is introduced in one scene and then killed in the next one he was in, how is that supposed to have any real impact? It honestly moved to fast to have much deep emotional impact. The one scene that really got me is the car exploding in Sicily.
Characters—5/5—Yes, they came and went fast, most of them. But every character was played perfectly. Pacino and Brando were stunning. But a number of the supporting characters were amazing as well. Lenny Montana as Luca Brasi, Al Lettieri as Virgil Sollozzo, Abe Vigoda as Tessio—these and many other performances were top notch. Just about the whole cast deserves Oscars.
Theme— 4/5 Honor above ethics.
Ethics—1/5 The most important idea in The Godfather is honor. Everyone is expecting “respect” and honor must be shown in every situation. A man’s life is not as important as his honor. This is an ancient idea and entire civilizations were built upon it, the Roman Empire not least. And here we have a movie that speaks of the corruption of honor, how honor can create a monster from a war hero. But we are supposed to step with Michael every bit of the way. As a war hero he is supposed to be taking the moral high ground, and that life is really what Kay represents. Not only does he reject that way of life, but he later puts on the façade of a moral, religious man but in the end allowing honor to corrupt him completely. We follow this progression, understanding and even agreeing with almost every step he takes. And this is the moral corruption of the film. We may not like what Michael has become by the end of the film, but what would we have done differently? The film doesn’t allow us to question that. We just find ourselves with Michael as a corrupt individual. This film is celebrating corruption and evil and just showing what it is. There is no judgment of it, no reconsideration. It just is what it is. And this, I think, is the greatest weakness of one of the most powerful films of all time.
Personal—1/5—I have no personal connection to this film at all.
And this is my dilemma. I find this to be one of the best made, most stunning film of all time, but ethically I find it extremely weak, and thus disturbing, even a little offensive. Because of the greatness of the film I might put it in my top 100, but it certainly won’t be as high as years past.
1. Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
2. In America
3. Rear Window
4. Amelie
5. The Red Shoes
6. Edward Scissorhands
7. Princess Mononoke
8. The Dark Knight
9. Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back
10. Tideland
11. The Brothers Bloom
12. I [Heart] Huckabees
13. I’m Not There
14. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
15. Dog Day Afternoon
16. Brick
17. District 9
18. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
19. Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl
20. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring
21. 50 First Dates
22. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
23. Rachel Getting Married
24. The Godfather25. The Son (2003)
26. Raising Arizona
27. Do The Right Thing
28. Adaptation
29. Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs
30. Scizopolis
31. Buckaroo Bonzai Across the Eighth Dimension
32. Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
33. *ucking Amal/Show Me Love
34. Three Kings
35. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
36. The Science of Sleep
37. Grizzly Man
38. Scarecrow
39. Fitzcaraldo
40. Zelig
41. Harold and Maude
42. Repulsion
43. Mister Roberts