The best adaptation ever

Rating: 10/10 (27 May 2003)

While I'd probably rank "Vertigo" and "Citizen Kane" above it, I don't have any problem with "The Godfather" topping the list.
A lot has been made of the gorgeously classical style that Coppola uses, and it's proof that a director doesn't have to break new ground or reinvent film grammar, a la "Memento" or "Pulp Fiction" (both of which I love), to be creative and inventive.
The acting is brilliant, something that even the usually blind Oscars recognized, which caused a logjam in the Best Actor category. My favorite performance is one that often goes unnoticed: Robert Duvall's muted, pitch perfect Tom Hagen.
Perhaps the most neglected aspect of the film is how brilliantly Coppola and Puzo adapted the novel. If you read the book, you'll find that all the novel's strengths are on display upon the screen, while none of its weaknesses, or even interesting extraneous material, appear in the script. Since Coppola had recently written a great script for "Patton," a notoriously difficult feat considering the subject matter, and Puzo went on to co-write the unfortunately hilarious "Earthquake," I think most of the credit should probably go to Coppola.
This is simply one of the greatest movies ever made.