Monumental Film-Making and Arguably the Greatest Movie Ever.

Rating: Null/10 (24 March 2004)

"The Godfather" is so smart, so well written (an Oscar winner for Best Adapted Screenplay) and so well performed that it would have succeeded under the very worst of circumstances. Marlon Brando (Oscar-winning, even though he refused the award) gives the performance of a lifetime as the head of a Mafia family that will do anything and everything to dominate organized crime in post-World War II New York City. However, the face of crime is quickly changing and other syndicates are targeting Brando to eliminate him as competition. What no one figured was that youngest son Al Pacino (Oscar-nominated) may be even more ruthless and maniacal than his father. Robert Duvall and James Caan both received Oscar nominations for their roles in the wicked mix. Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, Abe Vigoda and John Cazale all do arguably the best work of their respective careers. "The Godfather" is epic film-making which ended up being the first true picture to deal with the topic in a non-film noir style. It is an amazing achievement which is probably the best movie produced in the 1970s (that is saying a whole lot by the way) and quite possibly the greatest motion picture of all time. An excellent movie from every cinematic angle imaginable. 5 stars out of 5.