like new every time

Rating: 10/10 (20 May 1999)

Glowing reviews are pretty much universal for The Godfather, and nothing I can say here could even significantly ad to the mountain of (well deserved)acclaim given to this masterpiece. The acting is superb: Brando is breathes subtle grace into the title role, Pacino gives an epic performance, Caan would never be this good again, nor would Talia Shire, Cassavettes is unflinching, and the constant analysis of every angle running behind the eyes of Robert Duval absolutely makes the film. Coppola, as always, is given to the grandiose, but here it fits like the proverbial glove, and he guides smoothly from ultimate tension (the "gun-in-the-toilet" scene leaves me dry-mouthed in fear even after the umpteenth viewing)to ultimate calm. The score is by now a classic, but like the entirety of this work, never satisfies merely on the memory of what it WAS but always fresh with what it still is. Overwhelming every time.