The Magnitude Of "The Godfather" Achieves In Assisting One's Love Of Film To Grow Beyond All Measure

Rating: 10/10 (14 August 2007)

The majority of critics will cite the definitive "greatest film of all-time" as Citizen Kane, but other films are regularly mentioned in conjunction, one of those being The Godfather. Many argue it is the finest example of such a medium. Both The Godfather and The Godfather: Part II won Best Picture in the years of 1972 and 1974. The films spawned continuously growing numbers of so-called "gangster flicks", most of them not having the same delicate, operatic beauty of Francis Ford Coppola's classic. At present, and forever more, the film will consistently rank among the most flawless; perfectly illustrating an era when American cinema really was at the top of its game.
Charting the rise and fall of a ruthless family of high-class society members who have made their fortune through crime, The Godfather remains a story which enthrals and grasps the imagination of viewers from all generations. It is an essay of violence; nevertheless, some accuse the film of being a study of family, rather than of gangsters. Being that, technically speaking, the film uses "gangsterism" as a means of driving the film's key motifs, such as that of dedication and reliance to one's family. Kicking off with the wedding sequence the film details an Italian-American family's ascent into an intensifying success (and failure) through organised crime. After returning from the war, a reluctant Michael Corleone (played by Al Pacino) makes his best attempts at distancing himself from his Mafia ties. Unlike the rest of his brothers, he feels obliged to live a fruitful life as a law-abiding citizen, but due to obligations and regard for his family he soon becomes more inclined to "join the family" because of a number of pressing commitment and loyalty issues.
Arguably, the theme of "violence breeding violence" is one which has been wildly overdone throughout cinema history. Yet The Godfather is a work which uses the theme to the best of its extent. The depiction of cold-blooded brutality within the picture has not lost any of its raw and painful pragmatism. Indeed, it is the "matter-of-fact" nature of the film which makes it unquestionably powerful. Since the violence portrayed is not particularly graphic, but presented in a way which strikes the viewer due to the what seems like- prolonged nature of the appearance. Essentially, much of The Godfather oozes a sense of unequalled menace, not due to the violence, but the scale of operatic themes conveyed through such an awe-inspiring sensation of film-making splendour.
Every element participates in creating the finished version of a film, and The Godfather is a primary instance of even the most intricate details being perfected to a point of enabling the film to become entirely flawless. The masterpiece provides viewers with performances which remain unmatched in their scope, and rank among a league of their own. How the performers utilise their characters, while serving as a means of polishing the film is truly exceptional. Renowned actors, such as Marlon Brando, James Caan and Robert Duvall offer performances of such inconspicuous allure that they soon become almost unrecognisable from that of their character. To detail the performances would take a lifetime, being that there is such a considerable amount of material to analysis within career-defining performances, which offer more and more with each and every viewing. The performances are deliberately faultless so as to be valued and studied as each year goes by.
The legendary and widely celebrated baptism scene coveys editing in a manner unlike practically anything made prior and following the film. A sequence crafted on an acrimonious feeling of guilt; permitting the work to become even more emotionally engaging and terrifying in its momentum. Cutting from the "false" commitment of Catholic oath, to the hiring of vicious contract killings it conveys the deepest feeling of tentative regret and unholy guilt. Gordon Willis' foreboding cinematography is a genuine accomplishment of epic proportions. The cinematography is the kind which has evidently stood the test of time, letting viewers relish the profound and unique aura of the elegantly gracious camera work through long, ominous takes and fragile pull-backs. It is of such sophistication that The Godfather compels its viewers to feel the impression of being in the company of an auteur. Next up is the score, remaining one of the crucial tones to the picture. Composed by Nino Rota, the score enhances the emotive style that the film follows throughout the duration.
I have been watching The Godfather for many years now and it remains one of my unquestionably favourite films. Cinema has endured decades of revolution since The Godfather was first released, but The Godfather still stands tall above nearly all the gangster films which have followed in pursuit. A gangster predecessor which is slightly greater than that of The Godfather is Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas; nevertheless, that is still a debatable opinion of my own. I cannot begin to stress just how deserving The Godfather is of its appreciation, since it is a film which is deservedly identified and credited as a slice of perfection. To think that in 1979 Francis Ford Coppola released a film more superior than The Godfather (the film being Apocalypse Now); I believe this unmistakably puts his auteur status into glaring perspective. All this is much more than a fleeting glimpse of cinematic heaven, considering the viewer becomes just like one of the characters, a controlled puppet for a game, which -in the case of the film- does not manipulate, but engages.