It's The Little Things...

Rating: 10/10 (3 June 2006)

The Godfather casts a long shadow over every single film represented on IMDb, to a point that creates impossible expectations, and frequent accusations of "overrated". Let that very subjective criteria be measured against IMDb's very transparent ranking logic: average popularity. Much like the Oscars, the IMDb top 100 might not be ruled by your number 1 film, but by the film the greatest number of people ranked very highly. If you free The Godfather from this weighty title, it still deserves a 10 by any standard.
Let's rewind, and consider the insanity it took, back in 1971, to even contemplate giving a relatively novice director free reign to adapt a vast crime saga, in a costly period setting, and starring an "ethnic" nobody and a faded has-been. The Godfather is first and foremost a triumph of screen writing, Coppola's original forte, but the fine structure, character moments and dialogue could have been tarnished by a by-the- numbers treatment, and this where the film leaps from good to great.
What makes The Godfather one of the finest films ever made is how right all the individual pieces are, and how well they work in unison: the performances, all of them rich and credible, from Pacino's star-making turn to Brando's classic creation; the world of the story, rich and murky, in perfect service of the story; the look, courtesy of groundbreaking work from ace cinematographer Gordon Willis... But dig deeper and it's the small touches Coppola meticulously peppered his film with that make it unforgettable, be it a touching death in an orange grove, or hit men debating the perfect gnocchi recipe.
Ultimately, its rewards are double what you'd expect, because, by most accounts (though I still prefer this one), Part II is even better.
Unmissable!