"I spent my whole life trying not to be careless. Women and children can be careless. But not men."That’s just one terrific quote you will hear if you see Coppola’s masterpiece, ‘The Godfather’. It is said that nothing can be flawless, but this movie certainly comes close to perfection.
‘The Godfather’, based on the novel with the same name, by Mario Puzzo is more than a simple gangster movie. It’s a classic built of diverse, yet connected stories, which all lead to the magnificent whole, the definite conclusion.
To put it simply, the movie is centered on Don Vito Corleone, The Godfather, head of the mafia family in America. The family is drawn into a war after the Don refuses to take part in the drug businesses. After he is shot and Sonny, his eldest son is killed, the control of the family passes to Michael. Michael is Don Vito’s youngest son, who wants nothing to do with the family business and aspires to become a powerful man through politics. But his destiny is to be the next Godfather.
Along the movie, we can see that Don Vito (played by Marlon Brando) is a very complicated gangster. He believes he is not a killer and puts his family above everything, saying that ‘A man who doesn't spend time with his family can never be a real man’. His sympathy for his son Michael is unspoken, yet well-know.
Although Don Vito is the leading character, the one with the most screen time is Michael, played by the brilliant Al Pacino. One of the most impressive things in the movie is to observe Michael’s transformation from an ‘innocent’ to the central manipulator; to see how the one who claimed to be different from the rest of the family becomes even more ruthless than his father.
Another thing that caught my attention is the manner in which the director, Francis Coppola starts and finishes the movie. It all begins with the scene of the wedding, the moment when we all start a ‘family’, and it ends with a baptism, where Michael becomes ‘The Godfather’ and officially replaces his father.
The movie has won three well-deserved Oscars, along with several other awards for acting, directing and music. The acting is superb, with very deep characters played by Marlon Brando, who has attained the status of a legend with his well-known quote: ‘I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse’, James Caan or Diane Keaton. We mustn’t forget about Al Pacino, who, although this wasn’t his most demonstrative performance, has made a wonderful job as Michael Corleone.
All in all, I believe this is one movie which will never get old, and I definitely recommend you to see it. ‘Thank you, Godfather.’
