Oh my god, we've created movie greatness or a mafia hit

Rating: 10/10 (2 April 2013)

What a movie this is? Like a ride and a half. Only coming to view it again last year, after last seeing it, I'd say, early 1990, late 89' this movie I've watched a few more times, again the other night, has grown on me. It's undoubtedly a masterpiece that deserves it's place of respect as one of the great movies of all time. Ironically the film was on GO the night after I've video'd it again. That just shows ya, what a classic this is. They don't make films like this anymore. The acting is high calibre. I loved James Caan in this as the hot headed brother who meets his demise in one of three bloody scenes, the most notably of course, that horrifyingly violent scene with the horse head, in the bed of a movie producer refuses to play ball. If you want a favor, like a wrong to be righted, talk to the Godfather, (an unparalleled performance by the late great Marlon Brando, who died penniless at 145 k's-hard to believe) can solve all your problems. Brando in this, just shows ya as in other films like Apocalypse Now, he's just the consummate actor. He must of inspired so many wannabe's. Of course the great discovery of a young talent, who soon would become an acting legend/role model, was of course Al Pacino, as Michael Corleone who when we first meet him, he's not part of his mafia family. In fact, he somewhat despises it. It's the choice he makes later on, after a near death experience with a loved one, where in his eyes, payback is warranted, even though, he quotes "Never personal". He becomes one of them, after brazenly taking out a crooked cop, and the head of another mafia family, responsible for the execution on his father, Don Corleone, (Brando), a tough cookie, surviving five close shots. What resilience this guy has, proving some guys are just lucky, or hard to kill. All the emotions, Pacino shows, nervousness, agitation, as he braces himself to make his first kills, were so believably intense, not overacted, just nice, perfect even. Pacino then vacates to Sicily for a year, to wait for the heat to cool down, where he marries a Sicilian beauty. I couldn't believe Diane Keaton, always terrific, and so good (fine) in this, escaped an Academy award nomination. She was just as good as most of the excellent leads. Watching Caan kick the crap out of his sister's abusive husband, was a guilty viewing pleasure. Caan really impressed me here. I won't tell you the last scene of this movie, but it involves a big fat lie, from Pacino, when asked a one time question by Keaton, which impactfully stayed with me, where if I was Pacino, for me, answering "Yes", would be an impossibility. There's some things you don't see coming in The Godfather, and the story takes different paths throughout the film. The cinematography is of course, first rate, and I love the interior shots in the Don's office, and again, here's a mafia film, that has me craving Italian. Although it's occasionally violent, most of it's pretty graphic too, oh that blood so under colored, more orangy red, flowing, it will always stand as the no one mafia film. God help us, if something of it's ilk, better's it.