#27 - The Godfather (1972)

Well, here it is. The second best movie ever made (according to the American Film Institute). I know, right? Never seen the Godfather? I know. And after having seen it, I think I came across another one of those "how come I never spent three hours of my life on this?!" kind of films. Enough, let's move on to my views.


Even if you've never seen it, you're probably familiar with the story. You have the Corleone mafia family, leaded by the patriarch Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando). His son... er, Sonny, takes over the "family business" once Vito is gunned down by a rival gang. Sonny's brother, Michael (Al Pacino), who prevoiusly wanted nothing to do with his father's affairs, now gets involved too in order to avenge his father. And the rest of the film is Al Pacino's character rising up the ranks of his criminal organization, raising a family... I know, sounds like Scarface, right? Okay, the Godfather came out first, I know. But even then Al Pacino's character is great and surprisingly relatable. And seeing how he changes as the movie progresses is also very entertaining.


So sure, the story is focused on Michael, but the rest of the cast is excellent. Almost all of them are convincing and appealing, particularly the aforementioned Al Pacino, as well as Robet Duvall and James Caan. And how could I forget Vito Corleone. is also a fascinating character, in the sense that he looks like such a nice person with his family but he's clearly not the kind of guy you want to have as your enemy. Just look at the scene he shares with his grandchild, I would never suspect how much of a ruthless motherfucker he is after that. If only I could understand more than half of what he says...

"I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse" SPEAK UP FOR FUCK'S SAKE

Everything else is also top notch. Some scenes, like the movie producer waking up with his horse's decapitated head in his bed, or the murder scene in the toll both are extremely iconic and have been parodized to death; probably because of how cleverly executed and filmed they are. The music is also instantly recognizable. The only things I didn't like are how the film manages to portray every possible Italian stereotype, and how stupidly melodramatic and annoying the female cast is.

That scene where out of nowhere Michael's wife wrecks his house up? You deserve getting blown up, bitch.

I have very nitpicky complaints but other than that it's one of the best films of all time. You can't not watch it. I mean, the acting is great, the plot is fantastically executed, the themes of nonrealiability and family values are perfect, the music and visuals are top-notch... In the end, just go fucking see it if you haven't already.