A second Masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (3 May 2004)

I'm not sure that I agree with some people that this film is even better than the first, but that is rather like saying is Beethoven 'better' than Mozart: both are geniuses. There are two towering, brilliant, outstanding performances from Al Pacino and Robert de Niro. I cannot think of two greater performances on screen - and ironically they didn't meet!
They seemed to make movies differently once: this is about 'atmosphere'. And the atmosphere generated is truly astonishing. It's such a contrast to today's cinematography which has to ladle on the obvious because, one assumes, people are too stupid to follow. One can only laugh at the notion that Jackson's Rings trilogy could find its way into a comparative top 10 with the Godfather. The latter belongs to a universe of brilliance and sophistication that Jackson's work won't achieve even if he goes through 100 successive re-incarnations trying to get there.
(Spoiler alert)
I love the contrasting way in which Vito builds friends out of nothing, but by careful and adept people-working, whereas Michael starts out with a clan, and ends up staring in loneliness across the lake. Pacino develops this aspect quite superbly, as de Niro does the converse.
It's outstanding stuff. And the two taken together may never be matched.