Coppola's Crime Family Classic

Rating: 10/10 (22 June 2018)

4/4 ESSENTIAL
The Godfather (1972) took many aspects essential to a film and pushed them past anything that had been done before. This movie takes the Corleone family, a mafia of sorts based out of NY, and creates for them an exclusive atmosphere. We get to see the Corleones in their criminal endeavors, interacting with the other crime families in NY, and working to make their family come out on top completely from their point of view. We never feel anything "civilian", nothing ever tugs at you that these people are evil. This is due in part to the phenomenal performances of (specifically) Al Pacino and Marlon Brando.
As far as script, any screenplay that can isolate your conscience and also entertain you is truly Grade A for a movie of this genre. Mario Puzo, of course, had experience with this story as it's based on his novel. That made him the obvious and excellent choice. These characters don't feel like actors at any point, they feel like family. Every member of the family has his own strengths and weakness that develop over the course of the movie, and they balance each other out perfectly. It's rare to find a movie with characters this real... nothing feels forced.
Coppola's keen attention to the smallest details makes this movie even more perfect. Look out for oranges appearing in the movie: they will always foreshadow a death in the Corleone family... He will always accompany the tone with lighting (a perfect example being the beginning sequence, which interchanges the mortician's visit to The Godfather and Connie's wedding with Carlos) and colors (darker shades of yellow and velvet are prevalent in most scenes with Don Corleone). Also, in The Godfather, there is a noticeable camera theme: fading drag-shots. Whenever these montages come up, they are accompanied by a very upbeat melody. Coppola borrows this tactic 11 years later when directing The Outsiders (1983).
The Godfather is a true classic, and my all-time favorite movie. It over-delivers and then some. Make a point to see this epic.