The Godfather Phenomenon in a Nutshell

Rating: 10/10 (14 July 2004)

The epic adventures of the Corleone family: Don Vito doesn't want to get involved in drugs, because its a dirty business. This causes repercussions and sparks a war among the five families.
The Godfather Phenomenon in a nutshell: people love it for Gordon Willis' exquisite indoor cinematography, the performances, the Scarface value of being able to say sentences in the Don's voice, the in-jokes (give him an offer he can't refuse, go to the mattresses), Nino Rota's iconic musical score, and the iconic scenes (the opening monologue, followed by the Don's first totally quotable speech "you come into my house on my daughter's wedding day", the horse's head, Sonny's sprinkler bashing in the busy street, the fruit-market shooting, the toll-way shooting, the gun in the bathroom restaurant scene, the garden fertiliser scene near the end, and the Baptism scene).
There are faults in the second film: i think Fredo goes a little over the top, for instance, but the first Godfather is as close as you'll get to a perfect film. If there was a weakest link, though, it'd probably be Diane Keaton. She does bring an interesting quality to it, I agree, but it always looks like she's reading lines. Luckily, she doesn't have too many.
It can be difficult to follow, due to the fact that its an adaptation of a long, elaborate book - but i think that contributes to its mystery. You always feel like watching it again to try and figure out who killed who and why.
To make a great film, Coppola went back to basics, pure and simple, grande classical storytelling. He took the lessons of the masters to heart, and the result is just one of the best, most beautiful epics in the language.
10/10