Perfect

Rating: 10/10 (27 September 2011)

It's a difficult word to cope with. It's a word that I try to toss around as little as possible. But there's just no other word. The Godfather isn't necessarily my favorite film of all time, it's not necessarily the best film of all time, but it's just that: perfect.
Very few films can make this claim; very few films work on every possible level, on every aspect of the art of cinema, with every line and every shot perfectly placed, none wasted, none too fast, none too slow. The Godfather is a film that takes its time, sometimes moving slowly, but never so slowly that it loses momentum; it's a film that's incredibly rich and full of emotion and symbolism, but it's also very entertaining.
In the music - Nino Rota's score compliments every scene its in, immerses the viewer, never distracting but always a part of the atmosphere, so that whenever you'll hear it a scene from the film will immediately come to mind.
In the editing - it can be very simple at times, and very intense at others - like the baptism scene near the end. It can be slow and tense, it can be calm and euphoric, and it can also be bloody violent.
In the cinematography - the lighting is never coincidental, always complimenting the mood of the scene, the coloring always expressive and always of importance.
In the acting, of course - The Godfather boasts a supergroup of actors, and almost all of them pull their most impressive performance here - Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, James Caan, Diane Keaton... this is to the credit of Francis Ford Coppola who drove the actors to these performances as much as the actors themselves.
There is no film better than The Godfather. There may be films that are more complex, more original - The Godfather's tale, beneath the complexity of dozens of characters, is a simple story of family, honesty, morality, loyalty and family... most of all family. Even Part II can be seen as more sophisticated than the first film - but it's not 'better', because unlike The Godfather, Part II has flaws, small as they may be.
If you love movies - watch The Godfather. Whether or not you're interested in crime fiction, watch it. If you just want a good piece of entertainment, watch it too. It's a rare accomplishment - it's a film of quality that may be equaled, but can never be surpassed.