good

Rating: 10/10 (31 October 2016)

Marlon Brando's old flame that has glowed for years, and flickered along a trail bumpy with mediocre pictures, shines higher and brighter than ever. The old irresistible magic is revived in Paramount's "The Godfather" in his intuitive grasp of Mario Puzo's Don Corleone, a living symbol of the poetic translation of his name, the lionhearted.
Brando is cool as the godfather, sagacious head of the Corleone "family," most powerful of the five "families" of organized crime in New York. He is relaxed as the loving, indulgent patriarch of his large blood family, in his mansion behind an iron fence in Long Beach, L.I. And he is terrifically appealing as the man who cheats death, recovers from bullet wounds inflicted by a rival gang, recuperates at home to enjoy his garden and grandchildren until he dies of old age. Once he comes out of seclusion, to warn chiefs of the five "families" that the gang war must stop.
Brando is the strong magnet that will draw fans to "The Godfather." But behind-the-scenes creativity is of equal value to this film of towering proportions.
The immensity of the project must have been staggering, but producer Albert S. Ruddy, director Francis Ford Coppola and screenwriter Mario Puzo, with Coppola, make it seem easy.