The Godfather - Movie & Critic Review
This is a cinematic saga about the Sicilian mafia family Corleone from New York, covering the period from 1945 to 1955. The head of the family, Don Vito Corleone, arranges a wedding for his daughter. At this time, his beloved son Michael returns from World War II. Despite being a war hero and a source of pride for the family, Michael shows no interest in the family's criminal business. Don Corleone adheres to old rules, but new times are coming, and people emerge who seek to change the established order. An assassination attempt is made on Don Corleone.
The film shines brightly among the mundane gray films thanks to its cinematography; it is a genius work that rightly earned an Oscar, but it deserved even more awards. Everything in it is at the highest level - from music to performances; it is a magnificent masterpiece! However, of course, our enthusiastic words are merely the last ones, and such expressions may not impress casual readers. Therefore, let's move on to analyzing the film and its characters. Get ready.
To avoid confusion, let's consider the main characters:
Don Vito Corleone - the godfather, the head of the influential Italian mafia family in America.
• Sonny Corleone - the eldest son of Vito.
• Fredo Corleone - the middle son of Vito.
• Michael Corleone - the youngest son of Vito.
• Tom Hagen - Vito's advisor.
So, let's begin.
“The Godfather” is told entirely within a closed world. That’s why we sympathize with characters who are essentially evil. The story by Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola is a brilliant conjuring act, inviting us to consider the Mafia entirely on its own terms. Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) emerges as a sympathetic and even admirable character; during the entire film, this lifelong professional criminal does nothing of which we can really disapprove.
During the movie we see not a single actual civilian victim of organized crime. No women trapped into prostitution. No lives wrecked by gambling. No victims of theft, fraud or protection rackets. The only police officer with a significant speaking role is corrupt.
The story views the Mafia from the inside. That is its secret, its charm, its spell; in a way, it has shaped the public perception of the Mafia ever since. The real world is replaced by an authoritarian patriarchy where power and justice flow from the Godfather, and the only villains are traitors. There is one commandment, spoken by Michael (Al Pacino): “Don’t ever take sides against the family.”
It is significant that the first shot is inside a dark, shuttered room. It is the wedding day of Vito Corleone’s daughter, and on such a day a Sicilian must grant any reasonable request. A man has come to ask for punishment for his daughter’s rapist. Don Vito asks why he did not come to him immediately.
“I went to the police, like a good American,” the man says. The Godfather’s reply will underpin the entire movie: “Why did you go to the police? Why didn’t you come to me first? What have I ever done to make you treat me so disrespectfully? If you’d come to me in friendship, then this scum that ruined your daughter would be suffering this very day. And if, by chance, an honest man like yourself should make enemies . . . then they would become my enemies. And then they would fear you.”
As the day continues, there are two more scenes in the Godfather’s darkened study, intercut with scenes from the wedding outside. By the end of the wedding sequence, most of the main characters will have been introduced, and we will know essential things about their personalities. It is a virtuoso stretch of filmmaking: Coppola brings his large cast onstage so artfully that we are drawn at once into the Godfather’s world.
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Music: Rain Fuse - French Fuse / @frenchfuse