Steve Pulaski
27Mar12
When I pressed play on disc I'm like "Go ahead, make my day." My reaction was very similar to yours.
(rewatch) as handsome and lucid as its reputation suggests. i prefer the focus on ethnicity and ritual in this chapter to the grand allegories of its sequel. pacino is menacing and effective (as well as quiet, at this point in his career). however, the film's fundamental indifference to women makes the tension between him and keaton feel a bit false.
One of the few films which are definitely better than the book. Coppola succeeded in teaching the basic element of filmmaking. Simplicity!
Francis Ford Coppola took a trashy novel and miraculously turned it into a cinematic masterpiece. It remains great, moving amazingly fleetly for a nearly three hours. It pretends the Corleones are nice gangsters who only kill those who deserve it and you never see the innocent victims of their business, but can't argue with its wonders. http://eddieonfilm.blogspot.com/2011/03/just-when-you-thought-you-were-out-i.html
It's the Godfather...what more needs to be said. Initially I was skeptical of this being the greatest movie ever, so I challenged it and said "Go ahead. Prove to me that you are what everyone says you are." By the end..."Holy.....Shit.....you are in fact the greatest." To those who say this is bad, I just laugh and say "Cool story, bro!"
When I pressed play on disc I'm like "Go ahead, make my day." My reaction was very similar to yours.
What more can be stated that already hasn't been said. Coppola takes us inside the mafia with a legend that wasn't their first pick (Brando) and an unknown (Pacino) but turns it into a sympathetic and beautiful film that treats every character with care.
Saw it in XD last week. The Godfather along with Citizen Kane and Grand Illusion are the unofficial best films of all time.