Simply the Greatest Movie Ever Made ...

Rating: 10/10 (28 April 2011)

In the beginning, a young war hero tells his future wife, how his father helped a successful crooner in his career, by making his manager an offer he couldn't refuse : basically threatening him to death with a gun on his head. Through a true story, he was revealing a secret that showed how menacing is his family, and how different he is. At the end, not only did he threaten his brother in law, but he killed him, and when asked by his wife, if it was true, he answered: 'no', concluding one of the most fascinating characters' arcs in a movie. What happened in between is just the greatest cinematic metamorphosis, pure magic.
This is not the story of a pure soul being corrupted, but the story of a soul whose only choice in order to protect someone dear was to become like him and therefore to realize that the crime that inhabited his father's life, not only could be justified, but ultimately, was the only destiny that could allow him to succeed. This is the irony of the American Dream, of a man who parodied the capitalism to underline its own limits, the same limits that ultimately built his power. An irony that inherited his youngest son, who lost his soul for the sake of blood loyalty: losing principles for the sake of mightier principles.
The fact is that some principles transcend the conventional ones, and if the father didn't want to be a puppet, he had to be the one who pulls the strings, like Presidents who don't pull the trigger, to be the ones to declare the war. More than an iconic cinematic allegory, the strings symbolize the tight frontier between being a legitimate politician and a respected criminal, in other words, being Vito Corleone. Being the master who gives you protection, in exchange of loyalty, letting you act knowingly that everything is under control. That's the point, with Vito, everything is under control. When he promises that the two thugs who brutalized a poor undertaker's daughter will get their comeuppance, we know he'll do it. Now, the question asked in the beginning is : which of his three sons will succeed to this exceptional man?
The answer relies on one scene. Michael kisses his father's hand, in danger in the hospital, and tells him respectfully: "I'm with you, Pop" and a tear runs in Vito's face. His son is protecting him and for some reason, we're almost sure that his father will survive, just like with the undertaker. The only man who inspired the same level of confidence than Vito is his son, Michael, who's (ironically again) the civilian, the non criminal. Not because the other sons were not meant to be Dons, the older one was Sonny, hot headed, good hearted, the other was as good hearted but weaken minded, both were criminals in a way or another. Michael was the one because he had to be. More than a story of succession, it's a story of destiny.
And "The Godfather" is one of the greatest evolutions that ever enriched the silver screen. Mainly because of this story that everyone could relate to, one who loved his family and whose only choice was to corrupt his soul to protect it. It's not about crime, it's about the very necessities that make crime, not legitimate, but justifiable. It's not about crime; it's about its roots. It's not a crime or gangster movie, it's a movie where the crime setting highlights some principles like blood loyalty, friendship, or family that would have been meaningless in a more legitimate world. This is the thought provoking genius of "The Godfather", that made it so universally appealing, because people from every cultures respect values like courage, loyalty, family, and respect itself.
The nature of the story is just one of the pillars on which the greatness of "The Godfather" has built its legend ... and I focused on this because the rest has not to be proved: the acting, the direction, the music, the quotes, the characters, the cinematography  every analyzable element is a living proof of the movie's closeness to perfection. Why should I develop this? If you read these lines, you know what I'm talking about, so let's keep this prudish and not try to be too enthusiastic. How ironic that the movie was based on a kind of pulp fiction novel  How ironic that the direction that made the movie with such confidence was so imperceptible
Indeed, Coppola makes us feel as part of this family, of the Corleones, they are criminals, yes, but the intimacy helps us to root for them  But another irony is that the direction is still present by these little details that gave the film its legendary feeling, every single death occurring has a little something that makes it memorable, from Khartoum's decapitation, to Sonny's ambush, from the restaurant to the baptism scenes, not to forget the two strangulations that opened and concluded the human deaths' series. The details are everywhere, in the script that enriched the cinematic language with so many iconic quotes, from delightful culinary parallels to other fishy metaphors  a script that transcended the novel, and made the film even more legendary.
When it comes to defend "The Godfather", I'm the most passionate fan you'll ever find, but I prefer to prevent this review from an overdose of superlatives. I know the movie is the greatest, not because it's my personal belief, but because I can't see another movie to top it, whatever cinematic category I use : story, acting, casting, writing, scoring, editing, direction  I can find a movie better in every element but not in all of them, and beyond all this technicality  it's just a movie that grows on you, after so many viewings, that shines cinematic respect in every single frame. The greatest