A Film About Succession Is A Masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (29 August 2017)

"The Godfather" is about the Corleones - an organized crime family better known as the mob or mafia - that tells a great story of succession of the leadership of the crime family from an aging Don Vito Corleone to his reluctant and youngest son,Michael Corleone.
This film directed by Francis Ford Coppola that was based on the novel of Mario Puzo stars legendary actor Marlon Brando and Al Pacino,an up-and-coming young actor back then who just happened to appear on his only second major film role.The cast also includes talented actors and actresses such as James Caan, Robert Duvall,Diane Keaton,John Cazale and Talia Shire.
The story starts during the wedding of Don Vito Corleone's daughter Connie.In it,we get meet the members of the Corleone family such Don Vito's oldest son Sonny and his adopted son as well as the consigliere Tom Hagen together with the different henchmen like Tessio and Clemenza as well as different people who are obtaining favors from Don Vito who is also known as the godfather.Then,we get to meet Michael and his girlfriend Kay.It was evident that Michael has no intentions of joining his father's business.But several events happen such as Don Vito getting shot,Sonny getting killed and the other rival members of the Five Families trying to overthrow the Corleones power and influence as Don Vito does not want to be part of the illegal drugs trade.Then,it became clear that the only son who should replace Don Vito,who is getting older and weaker as he approaching near his death,as the leader of the family is reluctant Michael.After Don Vito died,Michael made moves to retain the family's power and influence by killing the leaders of the rival families and getting rid of the traitors of among family.It ended with Michael succeeding and becoming the new godfather.
This epic film definitely is the greatest film ever made.We have great performances coming from Marlon Brando,who won an Oscar as Don Vito,the upstart Al Pacino and the rest of the cast.We also have a great story involving the Corleones as we get to see the transition of the family's leadership from Don Vito to Michael.The characters of the story are definitely far from one-note and they can be as complex evoking humanity.We are also treated to great production set designs, memorable musical scores coming from Nino Rota, a superb script coming from Puzo and Coppola, and a magnificent direction coming from Coppola.With that said,it has become a benchmark for excellence in film and has for many years remained relevant despite being initially released 45 years ago when this review is written.Overall,it is simply a masterpiece.