30 years later,it still packs a punch.

Rating: Null/10 (21 December 2003)

Long before anyone heard of "The Sopranos",there was the ultimate epic flick that changed everything in the history of crime dramas and also remains one of the top ten films of all time,and still holds the title today which spawn two sequels and was the film of the decade. This was the apex of what American cimema was and still is today.
"The Godfather" was perhaps the best three hours you can spend sitting very still and for a good reason. This was one of the top ten films of 1972 and it was a huge success at the boxoffice. This was "the ultimate gangster film",and a "cultural phenomenon" that still holds true. This was an "absolutely flawless",an "American epic" based on the best selling novel by Mario Puzo and directed by Francis Ford Coppula. It recounts the "operatic" lives of the Corleone family via through its "intricate" plot,bravura "photography" from cimematopgrapher Gordon Willis and "iconic performances" from actors Marlon Brando,Al Pacino Diane Keaton,Robert Duvall,James Caan,John Cazale,and Sterling Hayden. This was the film that depicted the cold side of the mafia life and it was never shown before and it also gave Brando an Oscar in 1972 for Best Actor and it also won Best Picture honors for that same year.
In fact,the end result is so "killer" that "nothing comes even close-except the sequel that followed it which basically picks up where the first part of "The Godfather" left off.
"The Godfather:Part Two"-picks up where the first installment of Mario Puzo's epic novel left off. It was a "real rarity-a sequel as good as the original"-this "true masterpiece" stands on its own laurels as it delves deeper into the Corleone family saga from the early life of a younger Vito Corleone played by Robert De Niro in a breathtaking performance that is not to be missed,to the family's transactions within the organization. It is a moody meditation on the emptiness of power,it's complex plot through its masterfully intercuts that gives us two stories separated by a half-century into a taut heartbreaking tale of innocence lost and though never overshadowing its bigger brother which in turn doesn't go overboard within the boundaries of the book. But it is even more subtle and sublime with some chilling moments between the relationship between Michael and his cousin Fredo. A supporting brilliant cast with includes Al Pacino,Robert Duvall,Diane Keaton,John Cazale it won six Oscars including Best Picture of 1974 and also directing honors for Francis Ford Coppula. At over three and a half hours it is grand Hollywood entertainment that is worthy of the title.