Masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (21 January 2003)

Unbelievable as it may sound, the first time I watched The Godfather I got too tired and we stopped the tape. After that I didn't forgive myself until I finally decided to rent it again. The second time around I made it to the end and I loved it. Of all the movies I've watched, I feel that this one has had the biggest impact on me. To me, being allowed to watch The Godfather is a gift. It's more than just watching a great movie: It's like observing a timeless piece of art by Leonardo Da Vinci.
The Godfather is a movie that tells the touching and invincible tail of the Corleones, an Italian family living in New York that is involved in the mafia affairs in the city. A drug lord named Virgil Sollozzo wants to start shipping drugs all over New York and asks Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) to help him with his affairs. Corleone does not approve of the idea and would rather stick to his own business. Angry with the rejection, Sollozzo sends two of his thugs try to kill him, but he survives. Michael (Al Pacino), the youngest of all the sons, wants to be the man to protect his father, although the other members of the family don't want him caught up in the affair. The plot rises in levels of drama and thrills as the film goes on, and it just gets better and better. Most of the scenes easily stand out as some of the greatest moments in movie history, such as:

The beginning. What else? No one could ever forget the thought provoking scenes with Brando stroking his cat and negotiating with his close friends and relatives.
Michael's assassination of the cop and Sollozzo at a small diner.

Michael being named the new godfather.
The killings of family enemies during the baptism.
Of course, these are not the only fantastic scenes in the movie. The Godfather also has an A++ cast, like almost everyone who has watched it will tell you. It practically made the careers of Francis Ford Coppola, James Caan, Robert Duvall, and of course, Al Pacino. Best of all, it has Marlon Brando at what could be his finest (I still haven't seen Apocalypse Now). I know it's been said many times, but I'll add my two cents anyway by saying that The Godfather is a classic and is pretty much flawless.

***** out of *****