A true masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (26 October 2005)

The Godfather is a true classic. What differs this movie from others is the realism and that it's very believable. I thought 2 1/2 hour would be a long time, but time really flies when you're having fun! The movie follows the Carleone family, a good old Italian-American mafia family. The year is 1946 and the drug-market is just opening. When the Carleone refuses to take any part in this business some of the ones counting on this get's mad.
The movie is based on the book by Mario Puzo. It's a well written movie. A smart thing to let Mario Puzo do the screenplay as he knows all the characters and the story inside and out. The story is not a simple one and there are quite a few characters. That might make the story confusing, but if you just pay attention you'll do fine. The characters and the combination of characters are great. We have a kind of anti-hero (Michael), the boss (Don Vito), the trigger happy (Sonny), the bystander (Hagen) and more. That gives plenty of opportunities for conflicts between them. The characters are very believable and you get to know them, what kind of persons they are. The story and action is also very good. You get caught up and dragged into another world. The dialog, witch is important to this movie is well written. It's not that typical movie where everyone knows what to say at any time. There are silence and thought-breaks, that makes it all more casual and normal.
The actors are very good. The have settled for nothing less than quality actors in all roles. They use Italian-Americans and that makes it all more believable. Marlon Brando and does a good job and will forever be remembered as Don Carleone. Al Pachino's performance is nothing less than great. The rest of the cast are also very good an delivers a very good performance.
The cinematography is classic. There are nothing really special about it, but it's all over good. The composition is good and the lightning is nice. They've captured the mood very well. It's not happy, it's not dark, it's something in between. There are no shots that stands out in a bad way, so you don't really pay attention to it. You just focus on the story.
The sets, decoration and costumes are incredible. It's very realistic. It's 40's all the way, yet you don't really think about it. You never stop to think that "this is the 40's". It all just comes natural. It really helps you get caught up in the movie. Not once do you think "why don't he just pick up a cell phone?", because it all seem so realistic and well done.
Nino Rota has made a forever memorable score. It's classic and easy to recognize. It makes a nice, kind of gloomy mood, and fits the rest of the movie perfect. I also like the lack of music. In the action scenes there are no music. This makes it more tense, personal and human.
There are some special effects in this movies. Some blood, fights, shots and explosions, but it not that much. What there is is rather good. Some it has a little theatrical look to it and therefor I'm glad they didn't make a big deal out of it. The fact that they don't literally overkill and focus on this makes the story more serious and much more believable. This movie is no action movie, but 100% drama at it's finest.
The Godfater is a classic, must-see movie for everyone. It has a special place in movie history. It almost a legend. If you like movies this is not a movie to miss. It's a little long, but don't let that scare you. My tip is to watch this movie when you're up to it. If you watch at the wrong time it'll destroy you impression of it, but when you get the chance, watch it!