A classic all the way

Rating: 10/10 (20 September 2001)

The Godfather is without a doubt one of the all-time greats, and the acting performances of Marlin Brando as Vito Corleone and James Caan as Sonny match that comment (Al Pacino is also good, but they have the edge). The first two-thirds of the movie is definitely better, but the last third does its job in finalizing Mike's evolution into a Mafia chief.
The movie adds to the mystique of Brando as Godfather by not having him the center of action except for the first third of the movie, keeping you from that overdone feeling, and his major decisions are made in the wedding and shortly thereafter. But oh, the classic scenes that resulted: the friendship scene with Bonasera, the "making an offer that he can't refuse" line, the horse's head, the hand stabbing/strangling death of Luca Brasi. In the minority situation for an actor's being made to look older than he is, Brando is superb. The cotton stuffing in his mouth works magnificently. He is The Godfather all the way -- way, way over Michael. His wisdom and counsel are greater, and his majesty; Michael is a morose figure.
Sonny is a formidable, memorable character (is he not much taller than James Caan is?), and his blatant id contrasts with Vito and Michael. Tom Hagen is also played very well, by Robert Duvall, and other actors and actresses do a good job. The hypocrisy crystallized by the Catholic mass setting is also excellent. And hey, is not Sonny beating up his brother in law one of the very, very best fight scenes, even if one-sided? What can I cite by comparison, Bruce Lee vs. Chuck Norris in The Way of the Dragon -- and yes, not sarcastically -- for what good fight scenes are so distinctive, intense and original, leaving such an imprint--what other very good fight scene also sticks out so much in one's mind over others? You can't say, "they're all the same" for this one. Sonny, like Vito and Mike, is part of American popular culture (well, I guess international, not to be chauvinistic).
One of my friends, and perhaps yours, has said, "I was rooting for the Corleones." As one who likes many thrillers, action and suspense movies, and crime dramas, but does not like the overly depressing subject matter and sleazy characters and sometimes tortuous, overcomplicated plots that characterize the mid-70s onward (Pulp Fiction, Grifters, etc.), I note that this is unfortunately a forerunner of these, altho not hard to follow. But I think it was the Godfather Part II that really was the precursor, and II's quality pales in comparison to I's (I do not care what others think), and much more than other sequels. Because the genius of The Godfather I was taking such sordid subject matter and making it so entertaining, so much a part of our consciousness, and leaving us with such positive feeling when we think about it. I do not believe this is the case for many later movies to which its influence can be traced.