This classic inferior to GoodFellas.

Rating: 9/10 (25 March 2001)

The Godfather Part I deserves to be seen for what it is, not what its reputation is or what Part II added to it. With that in mind, my review: The first 2 hours are rather aimless, shabbily edited to look like a discordant bunch of too-thoughtfully-crafted "moments" without a common center. The actors' portrayals, while very strong throughout the cast, frequently overshadow what they are talking about. I tend to think that the story is usually the most important and interesting part of films, but here it is put on the backburner by, dare I say, too rich character-development. Actually, is that what it was? I come away from it without any true understanding of Michael's motivations or concept of morals, or why he chose to totally ignore them in the pursuit of power. I often felt that Don Corleone himself, who is not in the film as much as one might expect, is also hidden behind his own famous mannerisms and the reputation that goes along with being the Godfather. Having said that, the last hour, with Michael as the new head of the family, finally gains a focus and becomes interesting. The cross-cutting of the christening and the murders was perfectly masterful and thrilling. However, how the film morphed into Michael's story (and how he himself morphed into the cold blooded killer) is rather abrupt and unconvincing, though I am grateful for the change in tone.
Most importantly, it is inferior to GoodFellas, and thus can't even stake a claim as the best film of its genre.