One Of The Greatest Films Ever Made. An Excellent,Brilliant,Powerful Unforgettable Masterpiece From Francis Ford Coppola.

Rating: 10/10 (30 March 2014)

The Godfather is one of the greatest films ever made,an excellent,brilliant,powerful and unforgettable masterpiece that combines terrific direction,amazing performances from an outstanding cast,a wonderful script and a powerful score. All of those elements make The Godfather a flawless film that is cinema and Francis Ford Coppola at their best.
Based on Mario Puzo's novel and set in New York City in the 1940s and 50s,The Godfather tells the story of Vito Corleone(Marlon Brando),a Don and Mob Boss who is the head of The Corleone Family but is aging. But when Vito becomes a victim of Mob warfare,his youngest son Michael Corleone(Al Pacino)steps in to take over the family as the new don and to protect his Father and family at all costs.
What else can be said about The Godfather that hasn't been said before? It's an absolute masterpiece of cinema that is an instant classic from the moment you first watch it. There are plenty of iconic and memorable characters,lines and moments throughout the film that have become apart of our pop culture that when you the name The Godfather everyone knows what the film is even if people haven't seen it. The Godfather is a very revolutionary film especially with the Gangster/Mob genre because before The Godfather Gangster and Mob films used to be defined by the great Warner Bros Gangster Crime Dramas that starred movie icons James Cagney,Edward G. Robinson and Humphrey Bogart but The Godfather reinvented the Gangster/Mob genre and has a style that has been imitated but not duplicated. Where would Martin Scorsese's classic Gangster epics Goodfellas and Casino or the classic TV series The Sopranos be without The Godfather? The Godfather is a big,epic film that gives viewers a larger than life depiction of a organized Crime family showing the danger,tragedy and sadness that goes on in the violent world that the Corleone's have to deal with throughout the film. Some have said that The Godfather and it's sequels romanticizes the Gangster and Mafia lifestyle and made the mafia world bright and while that may or may not be true,The Godfather is still surrounded with darkness showing the horrifying and deadly consequences of being in the Gangster world where no one is safe. The film is an epic in the truest sense of the world with the length being 175 minutes(2 hrs and 55 minutes)and with The Godfather being an epic there is multiple characters and story lines but director Francis Coppola keeps the film interesting and keeps you glued to the screen with many powerful,intense scenes that punch the viewer in the gut. The screenplay by Francis Coppola and Mario Puzo is amazing and flawless with many scenes and dialog that is riveting and powerful and none of the dialog and scenes feel forced or fake but feel natural and believable. The screenplay while taking out some of the subplots of the book stays true to Mario Puzo's book with dialog that comes directly from the book. The Godfather's script is movie screen writing at it's very best The Godfather gave birth to two of the greatest and most iconic characters in movie history in Vito Corleone and Michael Corleone. When we see Vito in the first we are easily captivated by him and how he is because despite being a don and major crime figure he can be friendly and helpful with his family and friends earning tons of respect. Vito is also smart and has a moral code when it comes with his family while at the same time using violence against his enemies when needed. With Michael we see how different he becomes throughout the film because at first he wants nothing to do with the family business but when his Father and family are in danger in Michael's mind he has no choice but to run the family but in his own way. Where as Vito is a friendly and helpful don,Michael is cold and vicious but with these two characters there is many levels of depth that make them classic characters you will never forget. Violence plays a big part in The Godfather and the violence in this film shocking with scenes that are brutal and harsh but are true to the universe that The Godfather takes place in. The ending of The Godfather is easily one of the best endings in movie history and greatly sets up the events in Part II. A terrific ending.
The cast is flawless. Marlon Brando is excellent,iconic and at his very best in his Oscar winning role as Vito Corleone,with Brando being charismatic,powerful and sympathetic in the role. Masterful performance from Brando. Al Pacino is brilliant as Michael Corleone,with Pacino being intense,cool and captivating in the role and having great scenes with Brando. James Caan is amazing and fiery as Santino 'Sonny' Corleone,Michael's short tempered older brother. Roberl DuVall is terrific as Tom Hagan,the Corleone's adopted family member and lawyer. Diane Keaton is great as Kay Adams,Michael's girlfriend. Richard Castellano(Clemenza)and Abe Vigoda(Tessio)do wonderful jobs as Vito's Caporegimes. John Gazale(Fredo Corleone),Talia Shire(Connie Corleone),Al Lettieri(Sollozzo),Sterling Hayden(Capt. McCluskey),John Marley(Jack Woltz),Richard Conte(Don Barzini),Alex Rocco(Moe Greeneand Gianni Russo(Carlo)give riveting performances as well.
The direction by Francis Coppola is brilliant and stylish,with Coppola always moving the camera and using great lighting and a visual look to the movie that makes The Godfather what it is. Masterful direction,Coppola.
The score by Nino Rota is amazing,beautiful,haunting and iconic matching the movie and every scene perfectly. Terrific score Rota.
In final word,if you love Francis Coppola,Gangster Films,Mob Movies,Crime Dramas or cinema in general,I highly suggest you see The Godfather,an excellent and unforgettable masterpiece that you will watch again,again and again and is film making at it's best. Highly Recommended. 10/10.