The Best Trilogy Ever! May contain spoilers

Rating: 10/10 (10 December 2004)

The year is 1945. The Sicilian-American family, the Corleones, is celebrating the wedding of a daughter, Connie, in New York. Everything is going fine...except for the secret meeting held inside the house, a secret meeting on revenge. Don Vito Corleone (Brando) is discussing a problem with a close associate, while his mentor, Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall) stands on. The Don's three sons are outside celebrating the wedding: Sonny, the hot-tempered oldest brother; Fredo, the shy and quiet middle son; and Michael, the youngest son who has returned from fighting in World War II. Sonny and Fredo are in with the Don's council of 'whacking' people, but Michael refuses to be any part of it, due to total commitment to his girlfriend, Kay Adams (Diane Keaton). However, one day while shopping for food with Fredo, Don Corleone is shot by a betrayal, and is rushed to the hospital. The verdict: An assassination attempt. After hearing this, from Long Beach, California, Michael rushes back home to his father. After hearing about the ones who almost killed the Don, he plots revenge with Sonny and close associates. But a twist of fate happens to the family, and in the end, the once-reluctant Michael is made Don over the Corleones.
Francis Ford Coppola beautifully shows a portrait of what seemed to be a harmless family into such malice. The story was adapted from the number one hit by Mario Puzo, who also collaborated with Coppola in this project. The cinematography is excellent, the screenplay gripping and intelligent, and the haunting but enchanting score is memorable. Marlon Brando is absolutely divine as the ruthless, merciful Don Corleone, which earned him the Oscar for Best Actor. New-comer Al Pacino is extremely excellent as Michael, showing both the innocence and fierceness of the son, and his performance received many praises. James Caan is great as scary Sonny, and Robert Duvall could not be a better Tom.
Some notable scenes are the monologue, the Baptism, and the ever-famous horse-head-in-the-bed scene. This demonstrates how scary and malicious the Mob can be. With twists and turns, it shows that even the Mob can lead everyday lives, but one could have a particularly hard time dealing with carrying out a deadly job twenty-four seven.
I personally love this movie, because of the intrigue I felt as I read some of the novel. I definitely recommend this film to people, but I hope that you would not show this to young children. Some things could scar them for life, much like myself...If you like this movie, I also recommend you watch the other two films with the trilogy. In my opinion, this is the greatest trilogy ever made.