Customer Reviews
Just bad!!! - By: D Jones, 08 Nov 2008 
Its just simply the most overated film i have ever seen. I dont want to go into the facts of this because i will be here all week. Just read the other 1 star review because they seem to have gone it detail.
Essential Viewing - By: D. Dempster, 06 Jan 2008 
The Godfather is one of those films which must be watched by any self-respecting movie fan. There's nothing i can say that hasn't already been said about this film other than just watch it. Why are you still reading this? Get it NOW!
Possibly the best film ever made................. - By: Richard P. James, 19 Sep 2007 Firstly i can't believe someone said this was "the most over rated fils of all time" & only gave it 1 star. This is a masterpiece of film making, the only film that is equil to this is The Godfather ptII, nothing else is even on the same level. I'd advise to read the book first though as the film does leave a few bits missing. If you have not seen this already you should be ashamed.
A MASTERPIECE THAT SHOULD BE WATCHED BY EVERYONE - By: stuart, 07 Aug 2007 The Godfather is one of the few filmsin which I personally did not find any significant weakness even after many viewings. From the direction, to the acting, to the storyline, to the score, The Godfather has the word classic written all over, & it really is not much of a surprise that it is now considered by many one of the top five movies of all time. Perhaps when it comes to cinematic techniques The Godfather has not been as revolutionary as Citizen Kane, but its influence on motion pictures is comparable. Rarely a movie has defined or re-defined a genre as much as this one did for "gangster movies", but its influence goes well beyond that.
The Godfather's influence has been so big through the years that elements of it can be foundin virtually every "organized crime film" nowadays; almost every comedy featuring a gangsterin the last few years has spoofed somethingin The Godfather. The Italian-American old mobster a-la Don Vito Corleone has become one of the most established figuresin the public's imagination.
But to say that The Godfather is simply "influential" is to diminish its true qualities, & so is to describe it simply as "a movie about gangsters". The Mafia is certainly the main focus the story revolves around (despite the fact that the word is never mentioned), but although the movie never tries to forcedly insert separate subjects it contains an amount of psychological & social subtexts that cannot be overlooked. Considerations on how the social environments changes us, on how moral values appear different from different point of views, on how violence can destroy a human soul, & on how power can corrupt an individual are deeply blended into a story that stays practically always true to complete realism, & the result is a picture of astonishing efficacy & believability.
As good as the direction & the story are, it would be unfair not to consider the major role that the actors' performances hadin the cinematic triumph that was The Godfather. Praised by many as the best cast to ever appearin an American movie, all the castin The Godfather succeedsin portraying complex, three-dimensional characters without ever making a slip. The exceptional portrayals of Don Vito & Michael Corleone respectively by Marlon Brando & Al Pacino, the performances by Robert Duvall, James Caan & Diane Keaton as Tom Hagen, Santino Corleone & Kay Adams, the ruthless Virgil Sollozzo played by Al Lettieri -- as well as more than a few other roles -- are all perfect for the movie, & they all succeedin making us believe these are real people, not just actors. We are not watching a central character & a bunch of incomplete figures that revolve around him: although Michael Corleone is the character that gets the most screen time, everybody is the center of this world his own way. The movie makes it possible for the viewers to identify with different characters & to observe how their personality & story fits in, & it does it much more effectively than many bloated multiple-storyline movies that came outin the last few years.
The movie opens on the wedding of Don Vito Corleone's daughter, Connie (Talia Shire). Don Corleone is a powerful man, & it was not without the use of violence that he achieved this position during the course of his life. The wedding scene gives a perfect setting of where & how the Don's power extends; from the regular workerin a neighborhood, to the immensely popular singer, to the friendsin politics & right to the ruthless killer, Don Corleone has links to people ready to ask him favors & to pay him back. Some are trustworthy, some are not, but thanks to his intelligence & intuit the Don can almost always distinguish the two.
However, this is 1946, times are changing, & to many of the younger people workingin the crime business, Don Corleone's ideas are becoming obsolete. The Don believes that the new trendin the business, narcotics, is too dangerous & the families dealing with it would eventually end up self-destroying; while his family had dealsin alcohol & gambling for a long time, part of the Government & law enforcement was ready to close one eye. Drugs are another thing.
To this day, Don Corleone was able to keep things together while maintaining his economic & political power, but things will brutally change when a powerful drug dealer name Sollozzo enters the picture. The refusal of Don Corleone to cooperate with Sollozzo, & a weakness immediately spotted by the latter, will ignite a war that will cost many lives, & that will see Michael Corleone, Vito's younger son & the one who never wanted to take partin the family business, lose his "innocence" & transform into a gangster as ruthless as the people he initially stood up against.
I purposely decided not to spoil much about the plot because I believe that the film is perfectly enjoyed without knowing anythingin advance, & -- believe it or not -- there are still quite a lot of people who have never seen this movie. There are multiple scenes that manage to create an incredible tension, various twists, & although like any other masterpiece The Godfather can be watched knowing the whole story beforehand & still be a phenomenal experience, I believe it is always a pleasure to see it for the first time & enjoy its multiple climaxes. Besides, to outline such complicated characters & such an emotionally intense storyin a short review like this one would be inadmissible.
There has been much speculation on how the eventsin The Godfather novel written by Mario Puzo, the book the film is based on, could be an exposé of true facts. Many believe that the character of Johnny Fontane , for instance, was based on Frank Sinatra's real life, & many of the other characters were modeled after real people. I won't go into that: frankly, I have no idea whether these voices are reliable, although the Frank Sinatra reference seems obviously quite believable.
The cinematography of The Godfather is dark & tasteful, & colors are used perfectly to give a true feel of the era it is set in. There is a fair amount of violence, though rarely gratuitous.
The Godfather certainly doesn't need my recommendation. The film is universally considered one of the best of all time, & the performances by Pacino & Brando alone is the stuff of legends.
Best Gangster Movie Ever Made - By: ray dorrity, 29 Jul 2007 I can remember waitingin the rain to getin to see this moviein 1972, & I can remember coming out stunned by it.
It's brilliant.
Absolutely flawless.
However, it's only marginally better than "Godfather II" ("Godfather III is rubbish!)
Buy both I & II & enjoy.
