It makes you wonder if it's really worth giving it a rating. What can you say in front of such a film? The script is beautifully constructed, the actors are exceptional (Marlon Brando and Al Pacino or two of the great figures in the history of cinema), the soundtrack is just unforgettable, the direction is unique.. It is true that if some people expected to see a good mobster movie with right and left shots and deaths, they might have been disappointed. But that's not the way to look at the film at all. The Godfather shows the bonds of family and friendship that build a real family where everyone can trust their friends, their loved ones. It shows the fidelity and loyalty that mobsters can have among themselves, but also the danger of becoming part of the underworld. The first scene of the film, that of the wedding, clearly shows that the mobsters are not only men devoid of humanity and conscience, and this is what we sometimes see in action films nowadays. The great Marlon Brando, who is the boss of the mob, does his job properly, avoiding bloodshed as much as possible, thinks things through, and keeps an impressive calm and indifference. We understand very quickly that what matters to him above all is his family, and that he would do anything to prevent it from being in danger. The film also shows the danger of being attracted to someone, of having feelings. Because it is a huge advantage for the enemies of the Corleones. In short, this masterpiece proves that even if there are not many words, at no time we are bored and we end up being actors of the film and participating in organized crime, gang wars, family reunions. Filmmaker of the family par excellence, Francis Ford Coppola delivers with The Godfather a titanic work that has not lost any of its power. A work of unfathomable darkness, of an almost dizzying richness, carried by a cast as large as it is dazzling, The Godfather has lost none of its power of fascination forty years later. A veritable opera full of biblical references, a poignant portrait of a father gradually losing his prodigal son, an illustration of an inevitable loss of humanity, The Godfather still deserves to be read and reflected upon, those that happily accompany these few true masterpieces of the 7th art.
The immense masterpiece of American cinema whose story is about the mafia! Both as a producer and as a director, Francis Ford Coppola is the one who has contributed the most to the renewal of American cinema! Just look at how, while respecting the laws of the genre, especially the dramatic intensity, Coppola raises his painting of "The Godfather" to the dimensions of a socio-historical fresco (especially in the second part, a rare example of a sequel superior to the initial work). A metaphor of America with a director who questions the very foundations of American society! The actors are stinking talented! From Marlon Brando to Al Pacino, passing by James Caan or John Cazale, it is a Corleone family full of noise and fury! Composing with his usual meticulousness the fascinating portrait of an old man, Brando won the Oscar for best actor, which he refused, by the way, as a sign of protest against the attitude adopted by the cinema and television, towards the Indian people, in the case of Wounded Knee, in South Dakota! Magnificent music by Nino Rota, a score that had a decisive part in the success of the film! Moreover, at the time of the release, there were more than thirty versions in France, in all formats (45 rpm, 33 rpm) and at all prices, of the music of "The Godfather". The musicians, authors of these successes, are snatched up at a golden price! A powerful and unforgettable moment of cinema which beat all the records of receipts by bringing back many million dollars...