what's so great about the godfather?

[timoK]

ok so the godfather is like the highest ranked film at imdb.com and the AFI.

But WHY do people always say it's THE best film?

I have seen like a ton movies and the story is ok and MB acts real good.
But in my opinion ganster movies like Casino or Godfellas have a way better story and for example the action of Peter o Tool in Lawrence of arabia is way better than MB in the godfather.


So why do you think the godfather is a great movie?

[Taso]

XXXXXXXXSpoilers - shouldn't have to warn, but what the heck XXXXX


Script - It has some of the best dialogue scenes I've ever seen. From the funeral parlor guy asking Don Corleone for "justice", to Vito telling Johnny Fontane to "act like a man!" and telling Michael "I never wanted this for you..." - one of the most touching scenes.

Acting - 100% perfect acting from Marlon Brando - look at his face when he says "Look how they massacred my boy [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] " perfect acting from Al Pacino, Duvall and James Caan.

Music - the main theme, which I find myself humming constantly is up there with the top movie themes in my opinion. How it changes depending on what is going on (ie: the sad, nearly crying sound, as Vito explains to Michael that he had hoped Michael would become something more than a gangster)

Directing: So much to say here, but one scene in particular that I thought was well filmed: the fight between Connie and her husband

Characters: Epitome of a 1940's family, and the development of Michael from the innocent son to the man that will do what needs to be done for his family.

^Those are some of the reasons The Godfather is my favorite movie.

I've seen it dozens of times, and it never gets old. I always feel sad when Vito is told Sonny is dead, when Tessio asks Tom to let him off the hook, when Vito dies in the garden, when Michael tells his father "I'm with you."

[DblBarrelJ]

Personally, I agree with you concerning Goodfellas. I don't know if I would go so far as to call Casino a better movie than Godfather, but I certainly do consider Goodfellas to be the greatest gangster movie of all time.

Goodfella's is much more realistic than Godfather, and imo Scorcese just cannot be topped when it comes to a gangster movie. I know he directed Casino too, but I'm not sure if it tops The Godfather.

Ever seen "The Departed"? Great flick btw.

[timoK]

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.

[Blarg]

It's the story of the passing of the torch through the generations, and by extension how a whole culture gets passed along, and sometimes not particularly by initial design.

I'd say the whole plot with Barzini and the Turk and all is pretty good, and richer than Goodfellas.

Re the acting, it was outstanding in more than a few scenes, and it took a great director to use it to in full, yet not let the movie simply worship its actors, but keep moving and developing. I think this is the kind of movie that grows on you as you see it more, and pick out the fine points of the performances. A whole lot remains unsaid and is conveyed in little looks passed back and forth, including key realizations of the characters themselves which drive the story. It's a movie that's very alert to nuances of behavior and character, and also a great story simply of family.

[pryor15]

Q: what's so great about the godfather?

A: everything

[AceLuby]

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.

[Taso]

[ QUOTE ]
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.

[/ QUOTE ]


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.

[Lanzalot]

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.

[gusmahler]

[ QUOTE ]
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.

[/ QUOTE ]
I absolutely love the 1920s scenes in GF2. I actually watch those scenes fairly often.

Problem is, the "modern day" scenes in GF2 aren't as interesting as the main story in GF1.