Re: what\'s so great about the godfather?
 

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first of all I dont say the godfather is a bad movie.
I didnt say casino is better - I said the story is better. The story of godfather is more or less just the development of the boy and vengence.

@ Taso :
thanks for your reply. I get your points. Yet I dont see why few outstanding scenes (acting-wise) makes this the best movie ever. but I respect peoples opinion about this.

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I did not mean those were the only good scenes. Personally, I find almost all the scenes masterful in terms of script, scoring, and acting.

A few others that I loved:

The horse head - the mysterious take on the main theme as the hollywood producer wakes up, the slow camera pan, and then the cut to the outside of the house as you hear Woltz screaming

Tom meeting with Woltz:

Woltz: I don't care how many daigo guinea WOP greaseball gumbahs come out of the woodwork!

Tom: I'm German-Irish...

Woltz: Well let me tell you something my Kraut Mick friend...


When Michael asks Enzo the baker('s son?) to help him scare off the bad guys, and afterwards Enzo can't light his cigarette because his hands are too shaky, Michael lights it for him and then notices his hands are dead still.

The Wedding scene in the begining, all around I thought was great and well done. A great introduction to some Italian culture.

Towards the end when Mike is in Las Vegas, meeting with Moe Greene, "I'm Moe Greene, I made my bones while you were going out with cheerleaders!" and even better,

Michael: Fredo, you're my older brother, and I love you. But don't ever take sides with anyone against the Family again. Ever.

The shock and sadness, maybe even betrayal, you can tell that Tom feels when Mike tells him he isn't consiegliere anymore.

The big assassination scene, probably one of the greatest in any movie, ending with Michael walking into Carlo's house, "You have to answer for Santino, Carlo." Ohhh [censored].

And there's actualyl a bunch more that I think are INCREDIBLE, but I'll stop here with one of my favorites, and that is when Kay asks Michael if he killed Carlo, and he smacks the table and shouts "ENOUGH", and tension fills the screen, and then he camly says, "this one time, I'll let you ask me about my affairs" and she does, and he lies looking right into her eyes, and as we see the Captains kiss his hand, and call him Don Corleone, and the door closes, we know he has become like his father, able to do what is needed for his family.

Re: what\'s so great about the godfather?
 

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The Godfather is a great movie, no doubt about it, but I don't see how people rate it higher than the second one. The 1920s scenes in TGII are the only thing that I've seen to rival Citizen Kane in depth of artistry. Not a wasted frame and every shot says so much. Part I is clearly in the top ten, but Part II for my money is the second best movie of all time.

Lawrence of Arabia is a great film too. Best screenplay to a movie ever, IMO, and the best "Exactly who the hell am I?" story ever put on film. I'd rate it higher than TGI, but not higher than II.

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The second one had a major flaw in the modern story line, and that was when they attempted to kill Pantangelini in the bar, and for no apparent reason the guy says "michael corleone says hello", which really threw me for a loop the first few times I saw it, trying to figure it out, and then I realized it was just a mistake, an ad-libbed line, by the way, that should have been taken out because it didn't make any sense.

Re: what\'s so great about the godfather?
 

When I first saw it in the theater, I felt it was the best movie I had ever seen. Everything about it: the acting, the story, the music. It was the first movie where the violence was so palpable. There are so many memorable scenes: the wedding, the horsehead, Michael shooting Salazzo and the cop, Grandpa Vito playing with his grandson when he dies, and, of course, the Sicily scenes, the final shot of the look on Kay's face as the door closes on the new Godfather. I've never seen a more entertaining movie.

Re: what\'s so great about the godfather?
 

[img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

I am too young to have seen the godfather in cinema.

I also think about how it would be to see a film like ben hur or lawrence of arabia in a cinema with the glorius anthem at the beginning. must be freaking awesome.

I also have to admit I havent seen godfather 2. I guess thats a pretty big leak in my game and I will fix this pretty soon.

Re: what\'s so great about the godfather?
 

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Ok, I think many people get turned off of this story for one major reason: IT IS A BOOK. They do a pretty good job of getting everything in the movie, but there is so much that is left unsaid that is better in the book. Read the book, rewatch the movie, and then tell me this movie isn't ridiculously good.

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I don't think many people get turned off of the Godfather. I don't understand the rest of your post.

Re: what\'s so great about the godfather?
 

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I love how The Godfather uses the same basic plot as the novel, but does it in a totally different way with a totally different style. Puzo's book goes off on a tangent every page about some family's history or some character's business or some word's origin. The film is so much more focused, and beautifully so (but as AceLuby said, it's kinda fun to see the movie while having all the extra stuff in your head). I don't think reading the book is necessary, though, and it'll probably be disappointing to someone who has already seen the film.

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I saw the movie first, and loved the book.

Re: what\'s so great about the godfather?
 

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When I first saw it in the theater, I felt it was the best movie I had ever seen. Everything about it: the acting, the story, the music. It was the first movie where the violence was so palpable. There are so many memorable scenes: the wedding, the horsehead, Michael shooting Salazzo and the cop, Grandpa Vito playing with his grandson when he dies, and, of course, the Sicily scenes, the final shot of the look on Kay's face as the door closes on the new Godfather. I've never seen a more entertaining movie.

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The shoot-out at the tollbooth was awe and dread-inspiring, too. At the time, there were few scenes of such violence and such feeling combined. The murder of Luca Brasi was terrifying and a shocking surprise, too.

I loved the bit where Clemenza is casually peeing while terrible things happen, too. And where Luca Brasi is rehearsing over and over the simple blessing he will wish on his Godfather and the happy couple, topped with the priceless, "May your first child, be a masculine child." And the godfather's amusement and affection for the guy, who was, especially in the book, an incredibly brutal, cold-blooded killer. BUT, a faultlessly loyal and grateful one.

Re: what\'s so great about the godfather?
 

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:(

I am too young to have seen the godfather in cinema.

I also think about how it would be to see a film like ben hur or lawrence of arabia in a cinema with the glorius anthem at the beginning. must be freaking awesome.

I also have to admit I havent seen godfather 2. I guess thats a pretty big leak in my game and I will fix this pretty soon.

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I'll vouch for Lawrence of Arabia being close to mandatory on a big screen -- ideally a really big one. The photograpy is fantastic, and the desert shots have much more grandeur when not cramped into the small screen. That adds significantly to the film, and you lose out when you don't get that amazement at the visual impact.

Re: what\'s so great about the godfather?
 

One thing that I think is interesting about Godfather (and many gangster films, for that matter, but more so for this one) is that the protagonists are BAD guys. They are, for the most part, despicable human beings (Michael is an exception), but we end up heavily rooting for them and becoming emotionally attached to their characters.

Re: what\'s so great about the godfather?
 

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When I first saw it in the theater, I felt it was the best movie I had ever seen. Everything about it: the acting, the story, the music. It was the first movie where the violence was so palpable. There are so many memorable scenes: the wedding, the horsehead, Michael shooting Salazzo and the cop, Grandpa Vito playing with his grandson when he dies, and, of course, the Sicily scenes, the final shot of the look on Kay's face as the door closes on the new Godfather. I've never seen a more entertaining movie.

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If you have the DVD (it goes for $10 or so) watch the film with Coppola's comments. He apparently came close to getting fired (I think the raw footage of the shooting scene in the restaurant saved him) and corners had to be cut everywhere. Very entertaining to sat the least.

Godfather 2 was very good but I agree with the other poster. The 1920's scenes with DeNiro were A+ but the follow on story to the original Godfather was a cut below. Still a great achievement.

~ Rick