The Godfather
Year: 1972
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Starring: Marlon Brando & Al Pacino
Runtime: 175 mins
BBFC: 15
Published: 22/03/24
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Starring: Marlon Brando & Al Pacino
Runtime: 175 mins
BBFC: 15
Published: 22/03/24
I’m pretty sure this will be the last thing I ever write because I’m not sure I’ll be alive much longer once I post this review. Despite being somewhat of a cinephile I’ve actively avoided watching The Godfather since I first really started getting into films almost fifteen years ago. As I have been told time and again by film bros the world over, if you haven’t seen The Godfather, you can’t call yourself a film fan. That it’s such an important piece of cinema that if you don’t think it’s perfect then you’re wrong and don’t know anything about film. So, naturally, I treated it like the plague. Yet even though I’m not a fan of gangster films, I have always been drawn to The Godfather trilogy because of its god-like status. Can a film truly be that good? So, I bit the bullet and two years ago I purchased the fiftieth anniversary Blu-Ray trilogy boxset, and let it sit on my shelf glaring at me until one day I’d work up the courage to watch it. So, what did I think? Can I at least get a head-start before you come at me with the pitchforks?
When the head of the Corleone crime family, Vito (Marlon Brando) is shot and left for dead following a narcotics dispute, his youngest son Michael (Al Pacino) returns to New York to help care for his father.
But as tensions grow between the crime families, an all-out gang war forces Michael to take the reins of the Corleone crime family and become the new Godfather.
When the head of the Corleone crime family, Vito (Marlon Brando) is shot and left for dead following a narcotics dispute, his youngest son Michael (Al Pacino) returns to New York to help care for his father.
But as tensions grow between the crime families, an all-out gang war forces Michael to take the reins of the Corleone crime family and become the new Godfather.
Considering The Godfather is so highly revered I must say I was slightly disappointed. Whilst I did like the film overall, I can’t say I’ll be singing its praises in this review, nor will I join the millions who consider it a cinematic masterpiece. Aside from feeling like it was around thirty minutes too long, I did enjoy the story. There’s a lot of major characters and they all get their time to shine properly. Michael’s initial reluctance to be involved with the family business having successfully distanced himself from them years prior, only to realise that once he has the power that he actually quite enjoys calling the shots. Vito’s reluctance to get involved in the drugs racket like the other crime families have, and that causing his downfall from power. Then Sonny Corleone’s (James Caan) need to step into his father’s shoes but having no idea how to not allow his emotions to control his motivations.
There were a number of times where I got confused about the passage of time which stopped me from enjoying the film quite as much. The most egregious example of which is the time that Michael spends in Sicily. Shortly after returning to New York he is punched in the face by police Captain McCluskey (Sterling Hayden) which supposedly breaks his jaw. Shortly after this Michael needs to go into hiding in Sicily for at least a year, so by the time he’s out there he still has a black eye, but his jaw is seemingly fine. Whilst out in Sicily Michael meets and marries a woman, only to be called back to America, but he still has a black eye when he’s getting ready to move back. Now I’m no doctor but I’d expect a black eye to clear up long before a broken jaw, and if he was out in Sicily for around a year that’s one hell of a punch to the face he got if he still has the remnants of a black eye a year later.
The final hour or so of the film also rushes through the best part of a decade which considering the film is three hours long and really takes its time with the first two hours, it just seems odd to cram so much into the final hour, and the constant time jumps I found difficult to clock because they weren’t ever made obvious.
There were a number of times where I got confused about the passage of time which stopped me from enjoying the film quite as much. The most egregious example of which is the time that Michael spends in Sicily. Shortly after returning to New York he is punched in the face by police Captain McCluskey (Sterling Hayden) which supposedly breaks his jaw. Shortly after this Michael needs to go into hiding in Sicily for at least a year, so by the time he’s out there he still has a black eye, but his jaw is seemingly fine. Whilst out in Sicily Michael meets and marries a woman, only to be called back to America, but he still has a black eye when he’s getting ready to move back. Now I’m no doctor but I’d expect a black eye to clear up long before a broken jaw, and if he was out in Sicily for around a year that’s one hell of a punch to the face he got if he still has the remnants of a black eye a year later.
The final hour or so of the film also rushes through the best part of a decade which considering the film is three hours long and really takes its time with the first two hours, it just seems odd to cram so much into the final hour, and the constant time jumps I found difficult to clock because they weren’t ever made obvious.
There are some truly amazing scenes in the film though. I think my favourite was the scene where Michael is meeting McClusky and drug baron Virgil Sollozzo (Al Letteri) in a restaurant to assassinate both of them. The tension of the scene is perfect, the way its paced and the choice of dialogue is just sublime, all the performances are spot on, and it builds to this amazing crescendo where Michael takes his first true steps into the world of organised crime.
There were three or four scenes where the film truly gripped me, but in between I have to say I did often find my attention wavering and checking how much longer of the film I had left. Nino Rota’s score was always a delight though and that definitely kept me engaged even if my interest in the scene itself was waning.
I also must say I found the performances to be kind of underwhelming. Brando’s iconic performance was obviously incredible, I can’t deny that. But the majority of the rest of the cast I felt weren’t particularly noteworthy. They were fine, and maybe its because Brando was so great it has minimised the strength of their performances. That is the case of most of the supporting cast, but not Talia Shire who plays Michael’s sister, Connie. She’s awful, if she’s not screaming hysterically then she’s half-arsing her lines. To be fair to her, all of the female characters in the film are either there for sex or hysterical, which clearly didn’t give any of them much to work with, but she’s just so grating to watch.
I’d also like to take a moment to talk about the awful death scenes. Almost every single death in this film is overdramatic to the point of parody, I mean they almost seem pulled from telenovelas at times. Or there’s the one that’s so subdued that it feels out of place, where someone is shot through the eye whilst laying on a massage table, and all they do is gently place their head down.
I just don’t understand how this film has been put on the kind of pedestal its on. For a film that is widely regarded as one of the best ever made, its exceedingly average. I didn’t hate it, but I can’t really say I liked it that much either. I’m glad I’ve seen it, but I’ll probably never watch it again. Brando was great, there were some excellent scenes in there, and I did love the music; but the story was kind of boring, it was far too long, and most of the supporting performances feel kind of whatever.
I will of course be hung, drawn, and quartered for this opinion. I’ll be told I’m wrong, and I’ll probably have it mansplained to by some pretentious film bro. But honestly, save yourself the time and unless you’re super into gangster films (by which point you’ve probably already seen this), then just don’t bother.
There were three or four scenes where the film truly gripped me, but in between I have to say I did often find my attention wavering and checking how much longer of the film I had left. Nino Rota’s score was always a delight though and that definitely kept me engaged even if my interest in the scene itself was waning.
I also must say I found the performances to be kind of underwhelming. Brando’s iconic performance was obviously incredible, I can’t deny that. But the majority of the rest of the cast I felt weren’t particularly noteworthy. They were fine, and maybe its because Brando was so great it has minimised the strength of their performances. That is the case of most of the supporting cast, but not Talia Shire who plays Michael’s sister, Connie. She’s awful, if she’s not screaming hysterically then she’s half-arsing her lines. To be fair to her, all of the female characters in the film are either there for sex or hysterical, which clearly didn’t give any of them much to work with, but she’s just so grating to watch.
I’d also like to take a moment to talk about the awful death scenes. Almost every single death in this film is overdramatic to the point of parody, I mean they almost seem pulled from telenovelas at times. Or there’s the one that’s so subdued that it feels out of place, where someone is shot through the eye whilst laying on a massage table, and all they do is gently place their head down.
I just don’t understand how this film has been put on the kind of pedestal its on. For a film that is widely regarded as one of the best ever made, its exceedingly average. I didn’t hate it, but I can’t really say I liked it that much either. I’m glad I’ve seen it, but I’ll probably never watch it again. Brando was great, there were some excellent scenes in there, and I did love the music; but the story was kind of boring, it was far too long, and most of the supporting performances feel kind of whatever.
I will of course be hung, drawn, and quartered for this opinion. I’ll be told I’m wrong, and I’ll probably have it mansplained to by some pretentious film bro. But honestly, save yourself the time and unless you’re super into gangster films (by which point you’ve probably already seen this), then just don’t bother.