The Godfather

The Godfather. The film that has received more praise than any other film ever made. It has been over 2 years since I watched the entire trilogy for the first time - and now I'm going to do it again. Back then, I admitted that it was a great film, but I considered it a bit overrated. Do I still consider it overrated? Keep on reading to find out.

The Godfather (1972) is the epic tale of an Italian American organized crime dynasty in the 40's. The film's major conflict is a violent power struggle between the "Five Families" of New York and New Jersey. Coppola captures the attention of the viewers by offering us a world of great characters in rich detail. We are there to witness several brilliant storylines: Michael's painful development from a respectful and caring man to a cold and calculating Don, Don Vito's desperate fight to keep his family safe and the troubled marriage between Connie and Carlo, among a few others. The running time of 3 hours is certainly worth it even if only for the perfect montage used at the end of the film.

Coppola's form is amazing as well. The beautiful lighting, great camerawork (gracious and used only when needed), magnificent compositions, fascinating editing and on top of it all, an unforgettable musical score.

While acting in general was very good in the film, there were a few performances which stood out as too melodramatic and distracting. For example, Talia Shire's performance as Michael's sister always distracted me and made me cringe. Luckily, there were a few brilliant performances as well, such as Marlon Brando's and Al Pacino's performances.

My conclusion? While I admire it greatly for most of its aspects, I still consider it slightly overrated.

Score: 9 out of 10