THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Everyone asks me what is my all time favorite movie. On occasion, my answer would change because the new movies that release yearly are so interesting, I just can't help admiring them a lot. But the answer I’ve used the most has been one that I see is universally loved, 1972’s The Godfather.
PLOT
Inspired by Mario Puzo’s titular novel, the film takes place in 1945, following the Corleone crime family. Don Vito Corleone listens to requests during the wedding of his daughter Constanzia/Connie to Carlo Rizzi. With the help of consigliere Tom Hagen, he threatens studio head Jack Woltz (John Marley) to give godson Johnny Fontane (Al Martino) an acting role after being unable to originally persuade him. Near the holidays, Vito declines the offer from heroin kingpin Virgil ‘The Turk’ Sollozzo to invest in narcotics, knowing it would alienate his political connections. When getting suspicious of his connection to the Tattaglias, he sends his enforcer Luca Brasi (Lenny Montana) to one of their meetings, which gets him killed. Vito is even shot down in public and Hagen gets abducted, pressured by Sollozzo to persuade his family to take the deal. With Vito recovering from the assassination attempt, His oldest son Santino aka Sonny takes command and chooses to retaliate by ordering a hit on caporegime Bruno Tattaglia (Tony Giorgio). When his youngest son Michael visits his father in the hospital, he discovers that he is unprotected due to officers on Sollozzo’s payroll clearing out his private guards. He does protect his father by moving him to another room, only to be beaten up by corrupt police captain Mark McCluskey. Luckily, he is rescued by Hagen and hired detectives to watch over Vito before anything else could happen. McCluskey and Sollozzo request to settle the dispute, promising no further harm towards Vito. Michael agrees only after plotting with Sonny and capo Peter Clemenza to kill them both and go into hiding. He meets both men at a restaurant and is able to successfully kill them thanks to Clemenza planting a gun in the bathroom beforehand. Michael goes into hiding in Sicily while Vito’s second son Fredo gets sheltered by enforcer Moe Greene (Alex Rocco) in Las Vegas. When authorities summon a clampdown for McCluskey’s death, The Five Families (Corleones, Barzinis, Cuneos, Straccis and Tattaglias) would erupt in open warfare. Sonny would publicly attack Carlo for being domestically abusive towards his sister Connie. When he hurts her again, Sonny rushes his way only to be ambushed and killed at a highway toll booth. During Michael’s time in Sicily, he would fall in love with a young lady named Apollonia (Simonetta Stefanelli), but she would tragically die shortly after their marriage from a car bomb intended for him. When Vito wakes up devastated of the loss of Sonny, he sets a meeting with the Five Families to withdraw his opposition of the narcotics business and forgo avenging his son. When Michael gets to return home, he gets to start over with Kay Adams, who he was with before hiding, have two kids with her and officially enter the family business by taking Sonny’s spot as underboss. With Fredo not suited to lead, Michael is also assumed the new Don once Vito steps down. However, his father does tell him that it was Don Barzini (Richard Conte) who ordered the hit on Sonny and will try to kill him next in a meeting organized by their own traitorous capo. Before looking into that, he relegates Hagen to manage operations in Las Vegas, while also buying out Greene’s stake in the family’s casinos. Upon doing this, he finds himself disappointed that Fredo acts more loyal to Greene than his own family. Vito would die of a heart attack in 1955 and during his funeral, Michael is asked by capo Salvatore Tessio (Abe Vigoda) to meet with Barzini, which signals his betrayal. That same meeting is on the day of the baptism of Connie’s baby, Michael Francis Rizzi, who is asked by her to be his godfather. During the baptism, Tessio, Greene and the other Dons of the Five Families are executed. After the baptism, he kills Carlo as well for confessing to play a part in Sonny’s murder and for his abuse on Connie. When she and Kay confront him about it, he only denies it. The film ends with Michael officially being paid reverence by capos as the new Don of the family.
THOUGHTS
This was a movie I had the strangest connection to. It took me a while to see it and beforehand, every adult around would always tell me how great it is. It felt like a drug because I knew I was going to watch it whether or not I plan to. So when I did during high school, it goes without saying that I got hooked like everyone else from the very beginning. From the very second I hear Nino Rota's angelic score, I knew this was going to be a different and unforgettable experience. It's so fascinating to listen to because you feel all of the eeriness and misdirection that this unspoken world can be known for. I think the reason everyone is on the same page when it comes to enjoying this movie would have to be because Puzo and Director Francis Ford Coppola are the first to truly be able to magnetize viewers into something that can be glamorous but oh so dangerous. You become intrigued that this is a form of underground royalty that has its form of respect from people that do and do not relate to it. But the craziest thing about it is that it leaves you awestruck by masterfully reflecting the falseness of the American dream. They straight up tell us that the dream feels impossible to achieve because there is no equal chance of opportunity. Anyone's can be taken in the blink of an eye and it won't be undone. So whatever opportunities you have, don't waste them. While this is a bold thing to discuss, it gets deeper with its other messages that are all explored with grace through a list of intriguing characters. And thanks to such a nuanced cast, all were able to break the barrier of Italianising American culture depicting Italians as fully realized people instead of a stereotype. When you think about mobster/mafia characters, you're likely going to be thinking about one who left behind a legacy of respect. You see just that whenever Don Vito is on screen. In his second Oscar winning performance, Marlon Brando makes this character unforgettable as he is able to make you forget how ruthless he can be by appearing so mellow. He won't hesitate being violent when cornered, but he won't make it the first option because he knows he doesn't need to take matters that far. He is a man who values family more than anything and after the upbringing he went through to reach the top, he also knows that his family is not worth sacrificing. He forgone avenging Sonny, despite being heartbroken of such loss, because he knew it was wise to keep his enemies closer than whoever he identified as friends. With that in mind, he is able to create the powerful community around him that will respect him no matter what. So it does become sad to see him die because he was all about peace & harmony, and it's painful knowing that his family couldn't get that. Al Pacino makes his mark in playing Michael, who was the youngest son, but remembered as the smartest. He preferred the military before crime because he wanted to make a bigger and better difference but when his father was attacked, he felt that he had to take over because he knew he would do it right. And in that lifestyle, he showed the best traits of Vito by not acting on emotion and not ever siding against family. And by the time he became the new Don, his only focus would be determining himself to continue his family's legacy. But when the door closes on Kay, you knew that thongs were going to drastically change. James Caan leaves behind a memorable presence in the role of Sonny for making him charismatic when not expressing his short temper. Before Michael took over, he acted under pressure as he never thought the responsibility would come his way so soon. He always felt that he had to be tough because he refused to look weak and if he did, respect to the family name would decline. He loved his family deeply like his father taught him, so you bet your ass he would not hesitate defending them however he pleased. When he attacked Carlo as retribution for harming Connie because it proved that just because you marry into a strong family, does not mean you are untouchable. Getting into it now, it is so easy to dislike him because Gianni Russo made him as much as of a despicable slime as written. It was already satisfying to see the beating he takes, but his death takes the cake for reminding people what happens when you abuse power. Moving back to the children of Vito, Talia Shire makes her mark as well for being someone who is overwhelmed with the world around her. Going through abuse by your husband is already one issue, but it's easy to see her feel heavily emotional as being the only daughter of the family makes her feel alone. She gets distraught when Carlo dies not exactly for missing him, but she again does not want to be alone, especially when raising children. Eventually, that feeling of loneliness doesn't seem to appear when the sequels show her to be remarried. John Cazale makes Fredo another interesting figure because he is the complete opposite of his brothers, being passive and weak willed throughout. He chooses to not make his voice heard, which only makes it harder to try liking him and if the sequel showed anything, he is far from wise. The only other person that was a true son was Tom Hagen and actor Robert Duvall left a good impression by making him the most professional of the bunch, which was needed to make the overall family appear so. The big difference he had from the children as that he complained the least and handled his objectives head on. He acts this way because it shows how appreciative and respectful he is to the family that gave him a second chance in life. He agreed with Michael more than Sonny because he felt he was making decisions Vito would, which only made their working relationship much easier as time went on. The only one that seems to be purely innocent in this world is Kay Adams as Diane Keaton portrays him as one who is independent, but has this unspoken intelligence. She loved him as he loved her because they saw the pure hearts within. And she stuck around as long as she could because she believed he would escape from the life he originally wanted. But when the door closed on her in the end, she deeply knew he wasn't gonna get out like she wanted. Another character from the Corleone family I've grown to enjoy is Peter Clemenza because of how you'll remember him for being suave which can overshadow his ruthlessness. I just admire the ongoing loyalty he expresses when being at the family's side at their most crippled scenario. Last but not least, the only characters in this movie that are the true villains have to be both Sollozzo and McCluskey. Respectively, Al Lettieri and Sterling Hayden portray these characters in a unique dynamic: Lettieri shows Sollozzo to be as methodical as possible to acheive his goals, while Hayden plays McCluskey as a straightforward selfish man who thrives off of greed and his alliance with The Turk feels like jackpot for him. However, when Michael kills them both, there lies the most satisfaction to behold because it shows exactly what happens when you show no respect in your line of work. In conclusion, The Godfather lives up to the hype for being the best movie of all time by being capable to draw viewers in the most unexpected ways, earning the Best Picture Oscar in the process. If the life of crime interests you, this is the creme of the crop.
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