Brilliantly Haunting

Rating: 10/10 (6 July 2005)

To begin with, I had not seen the Godfather, nor its subsequent sequels, until about two years ago. I have only one thing to say about this: Why? Why did I not see this sooner? Francis Ford Coppolla creates a brilliantly haunting masterpiece, full of drama, and perfectly sets the mood, entrancing you frame by frame into the world of legalized crime. Marlon Brando shines in quite possibly his greatest performance ever as the Don Vito Corleone. While he may not appear to be a truly menacing figure, as the viewer you instantly respect him with the way he carries himself and his words. Brando's range of emotions, the way every line he speaks is with conviction of a man who is so wise, truly defines the character that I'm not sure anyone originally thought could be so strong. The next main cast standout is Al Pacino, who gives here a staggering performance as Vito's youngest son, Michael. The transformation of his character is absolutely incredible, from the mild-mannered Captain in the United States Marine Corps, to the future and eventual Godfather of the Corleone Family. Pacino completely grasps his role and takes on an entirely different life himself, to the point where we forget he is an actor. The rest of the cast is extremely superb, all the way down to the most minute character. Perhaps the two most touching scenes are 1) When Michael visit's his father in the hospital after the attempted murder at the hands of the Tattaglia family, and 2) After James Caan's character, Santino "Sonny" Corleone, is albeit brutally shot numerous times, and Vito Corleone asks the mortuary to "use all of his powers" to fix his son, because he "didn't want his mother to see him like this." This is truly a magnificent story, filled with betrayal, family loyalty, and eventual heartbreak. A marvelous masterpiece from both Copolla and Mario Puzo, who wrote the screenplay (and the later who wrote the novel). And to think that Paramount almost fired both Copolla and Pacino because they weren't the first choices! That would have been an insult! If that had happened, I would not be here, commenting on this movie, because it would not have been anywhere near as beautiful of a film. If you haven't seen this yet, see it now! Don't wait another minute! If you have, watch it again. And again. And again. Now, I'm going to end this review, and watch it myself.