The Godfather

             The Godfather was Nominated for 11 Oscars and won three.  Marlon Brando won best actor and that is not surprising.  He plays his character as a soft spoken but extremely serious man who stands by what he believes.  Despite the fact that he threatens to kill people and has in the past, we as the viewer still root for him and his family.  When the family is betrayed or being attacked you can't wait for them to exact their revenge.  It is as if some attacked your own family.  They kill and murder and beat up, but they always have a reason to and you always stand by them even though it is all illegal.  This was Francis Ford Coppola's first successful film.  You can clearly see his grandiose style apparent in this movie.  I believe the most obvious of these examples is when Michael Corleone is at the baptism and is denying satin as his men go out and kill rival gang members.  The movie is long but the time is used well and the movie never feels rushed. 
            This article explain how in an interview Al Pacino explains that Coppola did not want him for the film.  Coppola wanted to fire Pacino but Marlon Brando kept him on.  Pacino said that Brando was good to him and sensitive.  I think that this relates the character of Don Vito Corleone, to Marlon Brando.  Don Vito Corleone valued friendship and loyalty.  Brando displayed this in keeping Al Pacino in the movie.  I have heard that Marlon Brando is a difficult person but it is good to see that he cared for Pacino and his career.  Maybe Don Vito Corleone had a little bit of an impact on Marlon Brando.       
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1336468/Al-Pacino-reveals-Marlon-Brando-kept-The-Godfather-Francis-Ford-Coppola-wanted-sack-him.html
            I really enjoyed the Godfather.  I really like gangster movies because they plots are always about respect and how to keep it.  I feel that nowadays there is little respect around and that these movies show the one good thing that Italian American gangsters did.  This film encompasses just about everything that the gangs had to deal with: drugs, money, politics, and each other.  The cinematography, acting and plot filled the length of the movie perfectly.  This was clearly Coppola's first big hit, and he had more to come.  I think his style is clear, the content is real.  All of the scenes whith eating prove that this film had an aspect of realness.  I also felt that the lighting was more real.  There was light coming in from windows and also natural light.  The Boondock Saints movies remind me of the godfather.  There is killing and breaking the law but you still like the people doing it.  As long as they are not hurting you, you will like the Corleone family.       




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