The Father of Cinema.

Rating: 10/10 (5 February 2006)

The Godfather (1972)
Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, Richard S. Castellano, John Cazale, Sterling Hayden, Al Lettieri, Abe Vigoda, Gianni Russo, John Marley. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola.
Spoilers herein.
I don't think in all my viewings of movies have I seen such excellent direction, acting and writing. "The Godfather" is so brilliant in almost every way that I don't see how anyone could NOT call it a masterpiece. Michael Corleone, one of three sons of his mob boss father Don Vito, returns home from the war for his sister's wedding. Soon after his return, Don Corleone is wounded in a mob hit and Michael wants to strike back. Michael eliminates a corrupt cop and a competing mafioso in public, and escapes to Sicily. While Michael is gone, the Corleone family begins to fall apart.
Marlon Brando gives a powerful and influential performance that is the best of his career with the exception of "Last Tango in Paris". Al Pacino also does very well, and he continues to do so in the later two installments of the trilogy. James Caan, Robert Duvall and Diane Keaton also give great performances for the supporting characters. Coppola is smart with the directing as he doesn't make the film necessarily about shootouts or pure murders, though there is a big amount of violence, but instead he shows how it affects the people who have something to do with them. It is a series of "family" events that build up to a devastating ending. Nino Rota's eerie score highly adds to the atmosphere of the film.
This film, it's sequel and "Apocalypse Now" were the only true modern classics that Coppola made, and launched the careers of Al Pacino and Diane Keaton, two of Hollywood's finest actors and two of my favorites. It is everything that films like "Scarface (1983)" tried to be and should have been, and without this film I doubt that "Once Upon a Time in America", "Goodfellas", "The Untouchables" and many others would have ever been made. "The Godfather" is the definite great film that should be viewed by anyone who calls themselves a cinematic movie buff. 5 stars out of 5.