Can You Believe That I Haven't Seen...The Godfather

The Godfather

Okay, I’m getting a bit behind. The Godfather was supposed to be my February CYBTIHS flick. I did manage to watch it in February, but I’ve gotten seriously behind on my blogging lately. So I’ll be posting two movies in March to get back on track.

Let me begin by saying that I’ve seen so many clips, excerpts and bits of The Godfather, I feel like I have seen this film. I remember my parents watching it and I would bounce in and out. Somehow, during childhood, I never managed to watch it from beginning to end. Then in the 1990’s I came across a “special edition” video at my local rental store. This incarnation spliced together one and two and put it in chronological order. So I came home with six hours of Godfather goodness. Well of course I never finished it and honestly, that was the total wrong way to watch this saga. Talk about taking all the artistry out of it! I saw so many jumbled up scenes I didn’t know which way was up. I finally righted this wrong and watch the original 1972 The Godfather in its entirety.

This film certainly had a lot of expectations to live up to. How often to you wait too long to watch a movie only to be disappointed because there’s no way it can live up to the hype? Well let me tell you, I was blown away! This film was and still is perfection! I can’t think of a single thing I would want to change. The casting, direction, soundtrack, cinematography were all a lesson in, this is how it’s done.

What surprised me the most about this film is how much I liked the Corleone Family. They showed you this family with a shady business, but they still knew where to draw the line and they were okay with Michael (Al Pacino) not being part of the family business. I have a feeling this integrity will not quite carry over into The Godfather Part II, but I’m going to judge this film solo for now.

Al Pacino was truly magnificent. I loved that he was this little guy and the whole family looked up to him as a war veteran. Sweet Michael shouldn’t be involved in this, plus really, what is he going to do? He tries so long not to get involved because what he knows, that know one else does, is that not only can he do this job, he will be the most ruthless mother f***er the mob ever laid their eyes on!

Everyone’s acting was top-notch and they probably all deserved Oscars. Brando did a hell of a job creating an iconic figure, but the two performances that stood out for me were Pacino and Robert Duvall as Tom. Maybe it’s the half Irish in me, but what family doesn’t need a devoted Tom who’s got your back at all times?

From the opening scene your drawn in to this family and their “business.” How can you not sympathize with the father whose daughter was beaten into disfigurement? You can see yourself in his shoes, desperate for retribution and you may go as far as to ask The Don for a favor.

So far I’m two for two. This film and January’s pick The Shawshank Redemption both hit it out of the park. I would say if you’ve never seen The Godfather, clear your calendar this second and plop your butt down. For March I’m taking a bit of a detour. The film I haven’t seen but soon will…Saw!