In the waning hours of my Spring Break YouTube made me an offer I couldn’t refuse: 1972’s The Godfather, free (with ads—there’s always a catch!).
I hadn’t watch the flick in years, but it was like catching up with an old friend, or putting on a well-worn pair of slippers. It truly is a timeless classic.
I read the book by Mario Puzo back in graduate school, before I’d really seen the film in its entirety. I knew the major plot points, but I am so glad I read the book first. It gives so much more background into the characters and their motivations. Of course, a 400-plus page novel can do that in a way that a movie—even one that is nearly three hours—cannot do.
But Francis Ford Coppola tells the story so well, and so efficiently, that we understand the characters in great detail, even without knowing all of their backstories. I watched the first forty minutes before bed the evening I found it, and was blown away by how many iconic, masterful scenes there were in just that opening.
Yes, the first forty minutes really are the opening of the film. The inciting incident—the attempted murder of Don Vito Corleone, (one of) the titular “godfather(s)” of the Corleone crime family—occurs at about that point. It is still a devastating scene, especially as knuckleheaded Fredo breaks down into tears in the street.
The real story—and, I would argue, the real godfather—however, is about Michael Corleone, the straight-laced war hero son. He initially tries to stay out of the family’s business, but over the course of the film proves to be the true heir to the title. His oldest brother, Sonny, is too hot-headed; Fredo is too stupid.
The scene when Michael kills the corrupt Irish cop and the Turkish drug dealer who are out to get his father still fills me with apprehension, and Michael works his way up to the major turning point in his life. That moment of calculated revenge is the moment that Michael’s life changes forever, putting him on the path to becoming The Godfather.
I cannot write much more that isn’t already known. The performances are splendid. Al Pacino as Michael Corleone is, I think, even better than Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone, although Brando’s turn as Vito is immortal. The film speaks best for itself, and you can still watch it for free on YouTube:
The Portly Politico 
The Godfather is superb but I prefer the second part of the story where a reluctant Michael Corleone takes over the family.
We have the saga and I’ve seen them but Tina hasn’t. She says she has to be in the right mood to watch them and I understand that with these films. They’re not for the faint of heart.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I really want to see Part II. I recently watched _Barry Lyndon_, which I thought was also—as you put it re: _The Godfather_—superb.
By the way, I finished _Disco Elysium_ last night! As for the wall, I painted an ancient symbol representing a human. I also took the “Art Cop” Thought Cabinet perk, which is awesome—every time you have a Conceptualization check, you heal one morale and get 10 XP. I leveled up sooooo much with that perk.
LikeLiked by 2 people
We enjoyed other perks mostly coming off the back of being bad! 😂
I’m guessing Kim didn’t sigh much with you? We shocked him on more than a few occasions! 😂
Barry Lyndon is one of the few Kubrick films I haven’t seen. I haven’t watched Eyes Wide Shut (no interest) and I still haven’t seen The Killing. When it comes to directors, I like quirky so tend to opt for foreigners; Afonso Cuaran, Paul Verhoven, Takeshi Miike, Pedro Almodovar,Juan Carlos Fresnadillo and I can forgive Jeunet and Del Toro for latter day mistakes (Alien:Resurrection and Hellboy respectively) because their native work was so good.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Hahaha, nice! Kim sighed at me a few times, but not much. I honestly played Harry like me—a capitalist-traditionalist who apologized a lot and like art, haha. I got the “Recruit Kim” Steam achievement, too, at the end of the game.
Stuff I wanted to do but missed because I went into the endgame too soon: date with the net picker; finish turning the church into a drug-free dance club; investigating the “nothing” in the church further; and empathizing with Cuno.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Also not for the faint of heart – Raging Bull with Robert De Nero. I now loathe De Nero -the man- to a degree which prevents me from watching it again but it is something else.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, sometimes it’s hard to disconnect the characters from the actor portraying them.
LikeLike
Is that because of his politics? There are tons of actors and musicians who talk a lot of crap but you can’t deny their craft, if they’re good at it.
DeNiro is hit and miss for me. He does comedy well but straight actors usually do. I haven’t seen Raging Bull but I will one day.
LikeLiked by 1 person