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Isn’t it funny how you have seen some movies, but never really watched them? The other day, The Godfather was on UK TV and I realized that I hadn’t seen it in many years.
Three hours later, it was as if I had just experienced the movie for the first time, and what a movie! I cannot say I have been a huge fan of it before. I’m not really a fan of gangster movies in general. I have seen The Irishman, but it bored the pants off me.
I have seen The Godfather but, and I’m ashamed to say it, I didn’t recall much of it. As I said, watching it again was like seeing it for the first time. I remembered the scene in the café, and the scene where James Caan was shot, but that was about it.
There is no point in going into the details of the movie, you know all that, Pacino, Marlon Brando, James Cann, Diane Keaton, Robert Duvall. Francis Ford Coppola writes and directs, based on the book by Mario Puzo.
The Story
Again, there’s no real point in breaking down the story, but, in a nutshell:
Don Vito Corleone, head of a mafia family, decides to hand over his empire to his youngest son, Michael. However, his decision unintentionally puts the lives of his loved ones in grave danger.
When I first watched it years ago, I did because I had to. It was on television TV here and, you know, it’s The Godfather.
The story follows Michael, the youngest son of a Mafia family. He is the only one who isn’t really interested in the family business. He’s kept himself clean and out of the way and been off fighting in WWII.
Vito, the Godfather of the title, is a powerful man. If you respect him, you have him on your side. If you cross him, horses die! I have met a couple of London gangsters and, I’ll be honest, I was a little afraid of them. They ain’t got nothing on Vito.
A rival to the Godfather, and the Corleone family, wants to sell drugs. Vito, being old school, wants nothing to do with it. This leads to gangland killings and the attempted assassination of Vito.
Sonny, Michael’s older brother, is too hot-headed to take over the family business and so Michael is drawn into it. I mentioned the café scene. This is where Michael has to make a decision, kill the rival gang leader and a cop or walk away. Choices will have tragic consequences.
He knows if he kills now he can take some of his father’s power and use it to grow the family business. If he doesn’t people will die, including his own father and family. The term “edge of your seat” doesn’t really cover it. That one scene, where you see Michael mulling things over in his head, is so tense.
What follows is Michael slowly turning into the Devil. A man who wanted nothing to do with the family business starting down a slippery slope to becoming a man like his father.
It’s Not A Movie, It’s A Film
The Godfather is a masterclass in cinema! Everything works perfectly, the cast, the music, the cinematography, the story, it’s all perfect. Watching it again, I’m pretty annoyed at myself for not appreciating this movie before.
This isn’t a movie, it’s a film. Back in the days when there were filmmakers, they were not just churning out content, they weren’t just pandering to the “message”. They were making works of art that would stand the test of time.
I loved how simple the film was. There’s no fancy camera work because Coppola lets the actors do what they do best, act. Coming back to the scene in the café, you can see Michael is having a world of emotion sweeping over him and it’s all played through Pacino’s eyes. He’s calculating what he is going to have to do. The weight of the world is on his shoulders.
The editing at the end, when Michael is about to become a literal Godfather, is beautiful. The questions are about him rejecting Satan and all of his empty promises. This is intercut with scenes of Michael’s main rivals being executed or assassinated. All at Michael’s command.
I had completely forgotten the ending, where his own wife asks him if he had anything to do with a killer. He looks her right in the eyes and lies to her. She’s only a Corleone by marriage. It’s the family that’s most important.
Or maybe you think he’s not the Devil. Lying to her, so openly, is a protection for her. If she really knew the truth, she would probably leave him but also be open to attacks from outside gangs or rivals.
Cinematic Perfection
One thing I love about older movies is that they were pretty limited in what they could do with a camera. They would have the camera fixed or, if they had the budget, could use a dolly to move it back and forth.
In my opinion, this meant the director had to focus more on the actors and their acting. It also meant the audience could do the same.
With a lot of modern movies today, there is fancy camera work full of CGI. You are looking at it and thinking how impressive it looks, but it’s all just bells and whistles. Does it add to the story? Does it help develop the characters?
The opening shot in The Godfather has a man asking the Don for a favour. The lighting is perfect as, at first, you only see the man, but as the camera slowly pans back, you get a glimpse of Brando, patiently sitting and waiting. This is why I watched the whole thing. That one shot told me I was in for a good movie.
There are other shots in the movie where I just thought to myself how beautiful the film is. One that stuck out, and it’s a weird one. Michael is back in Italy and he approaches a man in a shack. The scene is lit by a doorway and a single light bulb, but it’s so gorgeous to look at.
Back then a Director of Photography had to light and stage a scene on the set. There was no “fix it in post”, it all had to be done on the day. I have so much more respect for DoP who had to do that. It was an art form, a skill.
That’s not taking anything away from modern DoPs, there are still beautiful movies out there, but it’s just not the same.
Overall
I’m going to say it again, but I’m very annoyed at not appreciating The Godfather enough in the past. It has to be one of the greatest movies ever made.
It’s a 3-hour movie and doesn’t skip a beat in the story. The photography, the actors, the music… every part of this movie works. In fact, I dare you to fault it. As we all know, I’m pretty picky about movies and will happily tear them apart, but The Godfather, I just can’t.
You are likely already in the camp of what an amazing movie this is and therefore annoyed at me for taking this long to appreciate it. I understand and again, I’m sorry. If not, and you haven’t seen it in a while or, God forbid, never seen it at all, do it, now.
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