A novel of images

Rating: 9/10 (9 October 2005)

Francis Ford Coppola, maybe, didn't think in 1972 that this film would have become a cinematic icon. It's like a show business fairy tale: the young director needed a hit, he had debts and Paramount commissioned him to direct a movie based on Mario Puzo's bestseller. Coppola hired a big forgotten star -Marlon Brando- and some young and relatively unknown actors -Pacino, Caan, Duvall and Diane Keaton. Federico Fellini's music composer (Nino Rota) wrote the soundtrack. The film was shot in Sicily, New York and California. The rest is history.
"The Godfather" is a novel about an Italian-American family and the relationships in the Mafia. It's not only a blockbuster, it is also a deep study of characters. Coppola says that "Godfather" is a metaphorical vision of power in America... We can see this especially in "Part Two", which is not just a sequel: it's another chapter, where Coppola shows more contradictions in US society -Mafia's reign talks more and more with the other social and political institutions. (Martin Scorsese, for his Mafia's movies, chooses a more neurotic way of telling stories, whereas Coppola prefer a more classical style for his tales and likes to novelize the events.).
"The Godfather" (1972): we know the Corleone's family and the way a clan keeps its power. There are rhythm, action, drama. And strong acting performances.
"The Godfather, Part Two" (1974): the story goes on. A more bitter trip into the power and the loneliness of a Boss. The highlight is the combination of two parallel stories -Robert De Niro is the young Vito Corleone, and Al Pacino is the established "Don" Michael in the Sixties. It's the best sequel ever realized, maybe better than the original film.
"The Godfather, Part Three" (1990): not as good as the two previous -actually it is much inferior to them, it was made too many years later. Some allusions to Italian mysteries (the death of businessman Roberto Calvi, the P2 lodge) are quite superficial. For the rest, the movie is well directed. Pacino is more Shakespearean -Coppola says like King Lear...
A must for the new Hollywood movies lovers. The first two chapters in particular.