The Godfather

Reviewer: Luke Walkley

Director: Francis Ford Coppola

Stars: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan

Released: 24th March 1972

As this review is being written, The Godfather , based on the novel by Mario Puzo and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, stands joint first in IMDB’s top 250 films of all time and was voted the greatest movie of all time by Empire Magazine. Based on that information, I can safely say that The Godfather will have been reviewed numerous times and more often than not with the same outcome, that it is a masterpiece.

Not through fear of losing any credibility as a reviewer, or even as a movie fan, I completely agree. I’m sorry I can’t be controversial in my decision or my feelings towards the film. Put simply The Godfather is about as close to movie utopia as it could be. Everything seems so precise from the dialogue to the lighting. It becomes more than a movie and more a work of fine art.

A true testimony is as The Godfather nears its 40^th anniversary it is still held in such high regard, numerous movies since its release have held aspirations to knock it off its perch and in the eyes of those more qualified than myself, have failed to do so. Big money features that have been praised in different ways can’t quite recreate or better the overall outcome of The Godfather.

I guess now would be a good time to actually let readers know, if they don’t already, what the film is about. The story centres around the Corleone family, its Don, Vito Corleone( Marlon Brando) and how he hands over the family ‘business’ to his son Michael (Al Pacino)

The film contains some of the most memorable and shocking scenes in any movie. The threat made to Movie Producer Jack Woltz, leads him to wake up next to the severed head of his favourite racehorse. This mixed with the Godfathers office scene at the start of the film, where friends of the Don’s ask him for his help in matters which they are unable to deal with themselves, make this a truly memorable film.

The stunning performances of Brando, Pacino, James Caan and Robert Duvall add even more merit to the masterpiece.  The sublime dialogue, the fantastic cinematography and the world class acting all make sitting down and watching The Godfather an offer you really can’t refuse.