The Godfather, a review

Rating: 10/10 (12 December 2005)

Hailed by almost every film critic as a masterpiece this film is regularly voted as #1 in film polls, or at very least in the top 10. And if there was ever a movie which deserved it's place amongst the elite, this is it. Director Francis Ford Coppola had only made low-budget movies and enjoyed limited success as a director up until 1970 when he came to recognition with his screenplay for Patton. The screenplay won himand co-writer Edmund H. North an Oscar. He then began work on a screenplay for The Godfather with Mario Puzo, the book's author. The resulting film took the world by storm and won Coppola his second Oscar for writing. The film also won Best Picture and Best Actor (Marlon Brando) at the 1973 Academy Awards and was nominated for 8 others Oscars including three nominations for Best Supporting Actor (James Caan, Al Pacino and Robert Duvall).
The wealth of acting talent in the leading roles is unparalleled. Marlon Brando's Don has been copied and imitated in countless films and TV shows since it's release; the strength and memorable nature of his performance standing as a true testament to his acting ability. Al Pacino gives a career best performance as Michael, struggling to remain aloof of his family's criminal activities and maintain a happy relationship with his girlfriend Kay (played brilliantly by Diane Keaton) but eventually being dragged into the family 'business' by his father's failed assassination attempt. James Caan is superb as the hot-headed older Corleone brother, Sonny; subsequent acting roles have never quite given him the opportunity to shine as he does here. Robert Duvall's cool, calm and collected adopted brother character, Tom, is a marvellous addition to the family as he tries to diffuse situations with sensible advice (he is the family's lawyer and consigliore). However he too appears to have hidden, darker tendencies; the famous horse's head scene is apparently all his own doing. The whole Corleone family is played with perfect depth and emotion by all the actors; John Cazale as Fredo is the perfect example of the understated performancehe is not as prominent as Sonny, Michael and Tom but still an integral player and extremely memorable. The only aspect of the acting which seems to be less than perfect is the supporting actors in the smaller roles. Although there is nothing 'wrong' with their performances, one does feel at times that they are stereotypes i.e. the rotund chef / hit-man Clemenza, and the aging henchman still trying to break out into his own 'family' (Tessio).
This is without a doubt the most influential movie of the 1970s and whatever minor quibbles might exist about some of the stereotyping, the acting of the leading stars, the perfect direction and brilliant musical score (by Coppola's father, Carmine) cannot be faulted. The pacing and editing of The Godfather must also be commended because even with a runtime of almost three hours, it never feels boring and withstands repeated viewing. A true American classic, it spawned two sequels; The Godfather Part II, which is also hailed as a masterpiece and won numerous Oscars, and the lesser but still noteworthy Part III. Currently residing at #1 on the IMDb's Top 250 list, this has been firmly lodged there for some time.