this is the film that made me fall in love with movies

Rating: 10/10 (27 March 2016)

I am not going to tell you why I think this film is great. There are very few films that have been discussed so intently as this one (Citizen Kane and Casablanca are the only two that come to mind that might be more respected) and there is nothing I can say that hasn't been said. Also, I'm not going to try and change your mind, it's probably already set and if you are anything like me, it's not changing anytime soon. Besides, film is art not science and art is about emotion. No movie has meant as much to me as The Godfather, let me tell you why. I think I got hooked on movies because I am an obsessive person. If I read a good book I must read ALL of the authors work--two days into The Road, I had ordered McCarthy's other nine books. Everybody loves movies. I bet one in three adults hasn't touched a book in over a year but most of us make our pilgrimage to the local multiplex at least once every month or two and there are a handful of movies--whether they be Citizen Kane and 400 blows or Die Hard and The Rock--that we'll watch whenever they're on TV. At eleven or twelve, I certainly had my list of favorites but most of them were simply entertaining. I've since learned to appreciate Raiders of the Lost Ark as a piece of film making and ET as a genuinely brilliant work of art (its one of those movies you loved as a kid but love even more as an adult) but the Godfather was really the first movie that blew me a way. I may not have been able to tell you why but even back then i could tell, this was something special, this was a work of art. This film, along with its sequel (I like to think of them as one movie, mainly so I don't have to pick a favorite) Have topped my list of all time favorites for as long as I care to remember. Often I've wondered if its simply because of how strong my initial reaction was after that first viewing but every time I re watch it, from the beginning or starting in the middle, I'm reassured that it truly is the greatest film of all time. 'I believe in America,' still makes the hairs on my neck stand up, right down to the final scene when they close the door. The baptism is one of the greatest scenes in cinema, or is it the one at the toll booth, or at the wedding, or in the restaurant. There are too many. It is a film that doesn't just work at every level, it works perfectly at every level. If you have not seen this film you cannot say you love movies. American cinema may not have began here but every film since has been made in its shadow. It is the greatest film of all time and will never be topped, Period.