By LINDSI HEBERT, Staff Reporter.
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola and released in 1972, The Godfather tells the story of “Don” Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) on the day of his daughter’s wedding. The Don, getting on in years, has decided to pass the on the torch. His beloved son Michael (Al Pacino) has just gotten back from the war, and wants no part in the family business.
That doesn’t fly with the Don Vito. He’s a man of the old country, stuck in his ways. Of course, where the mafia is involved, there’s always certain ways things need to get done. He has to handle them properly, with kindness and benevolence to his friends, and iron fisted hatred for his enemies, but oh…the times are changing.
Not only is Don Vito caught in the old ways of community and tradition and “family”, but a rival has started making its way through the cracks and fissures of New York, and he has a new idea for making money: pushing drugs. To do so, he needs the Don’s influence and connections, which spiral up to one terrible price, and offer that nobody can refuse.
Terrible use of memorable Godfather lines aside, this film is incredible. Yes, there are other mob movies that are good watches, and though this isn’t my personal favorite, no other mafia movie can hold a candle to The Godfather
Coppola has a way of telling a story that gets the viewer drawn into the story that it’s almost hypnotizing. The story is fantastic, and though it seems overdone in this day and age, The Godfather was the original, and thus deserves all the credit. The way the film flows is oddly elegant, and no matter how many times I watch this movie I will never get tired of it.
This film, along with a few others, is what paved the way for the mobster movie franchise. After all, it won three Oscars, so it has to be doing something right, and my god does it ever. Though the story is a good enough reason to watch the movie, Marlon Brando and Al Pacino’s performances seal the deal.
Without them, I doubt that this movie would be nearly as good. Brando’s performance is unforgettable, and has been redone and spoofed so many times that it’s hard to count. Forty some years later, it still holds up as one of his best performances, and Al Pacino compliments him perfectly.
Of course, the soundtrack is once again incredibly memorable. Taking a more traditional route, The Godfather’s music was composed by Nino Rota, and did an excellent job. The main theme is fairly quiet and soft, fitting the tone of the movie. Of course, it picks up. It adds just the right notes to the film without being distracting. If the soundtrack were different, the aesthetic of The Godfather would be ruined and the film just wouldn’t be nearly as good without the music to accent it.
There’s a scene where one of the characters finds a severed horse head in his bed when he wakes up in the morning. You’re eased into the scene with a lot of scenic shots and the subtle theme of the movie. It relaxes the audience and makes seeing the violence of a severed horse head incredibly shocking. Without the music, you wouldn’t get the shock.
On a scale of one to five gummy bears, with five being the highest, The Godfather leaves the gun and takes five gummy bears.