Writers: Mario Puzo, Frances Ford Coppola
Cast: Al Pacino, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, James Caan, John Cazale
The film Godfather depicts the transfer of power in an Italian mafia family from its aging patriarch, Don Vito Corleone, to his reluctant son Michael Corleone. The story spans across a time period of ten years and is set in New York post the second world war.
This was I think my fourth time watching The Godfather. The thing with it is that it feels odd watching as some scenes and themes that have been ripped off numerous times subsequently in various films. You have the bastardized version of the opening scene in Sarkar, the entire plot-line kind of getting ripped off in the clusterfuck that is Rajneeti and the cliched story of ultimately good mob boss who don't want to enter the drug business (malayalam film 'Irupatham Nootandu') which sets off all sorts of problems for his business. It is sad that you get reminded of these films when you watch the godfather and your experience is kind of tainted by it.
The film was initially offered to Sergio Leone, who didn't want to make it as he was himself trying to get 'Once Upon a time in America' made. It is amazing to think that the project was entrusted up on Frances Ford Coppola who at that time was by all means an unknown quantity when it comes to directing a big film. He had many conflicts with the studio Paramount during the making with the casting decisions of Marlon Brando and Al Pacino being contentious. He was on the verge of getting sacked almost the whole way through the making. Finally when the film was released it was a blockbuster critically as well as commercially. Stanley Kubrick considers it to be one of the best films of all times and the best cast as well.
To call Godfather a mafia film would be like calling Apocalypse Now a war film. It is much more than that. It is about the family and Micheal's transition from a young man who didn't want anything to do with his family's business to be the godfather himself. The final scene in which the door is closed on Kay's face as the underlings kisses the new godfather, Micheal's hands sums up the whole film. It is funny that he got nominated for academy awards only in the supporting category,due to which he boycotted the ceremony.
The film is well contained and one would think there was no need for a sequel/prequel to it but Coppola followed it up with the part two which is my favorite out of the two. It is much darker and it also helps that nobody dared to steal scenes and plots from that film due to which it always feel fresher. Bewildering to think that Coppola manged to squeeze in the excellent 'The Conversation' between the godfather films over a period of three years.
Rating: 5/5
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