elegantly made mafia masterpiece

Rating: 7/10 (22 November 2017)

I cannot tell you how damn LONG I've been waiting to finally see this movie! It's taken multiple excuse-less years of avoidance for me to finally muster up the time and energy to consume this delight and, now that I've finally seen it, I'm happy to say that it IS indeed a brilliant, powerful, and borderline perfect masterpiece!
I viewed this film in its restored edition on a crisp, beautiful blu-ray disc and, honestly, that's probably the best way to watch this movie. Try and find the most visually pleasing copy of the film you can find and just sit back, relax, and watch! The cinematography is truly gorgeous, and probably some fraction of what makes this film so memorable and beloved to this very day. Every shot is a painting within itself...mundane actions now take on this otherworldly elegance only seen in the finest novels and most stunning works of art. Just staring at this film makes it well worth the three hour length.
The performances are also all spectacular, largely because of how fantastic the cast is. We all know about Marlon Brando's Oscar- winning performance, and how breathtaking that beautiful monologue of his towards the end is, as well as the fine acting efforts done by Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, and (in a much smaller role) the great Sterling Hayden, not to mention wonderful supporting performances from Abe Vigoda, John Cazale, Richard S. Castellano, and Talia Shire, among plenty others.
Nearly every scene is engaging and gripping, and the three hours are quite quick and the overall film flows like a steady stream of neverending goodness...there isn't much else to say about this one. While I may not think it is "the greatest movie of all time" as some others like to label, it is still a damn good (scratch that, I mean GREAT) one, and must be seen by all!