I read the book, the Godfather, before seeing the movie. Yes, I am one of those people. In the past, I’ve found that more often than not the movie is a let down compared to the book. So it’s safe to say that despite the movie the Godfather’s praises, I wasn’t expecting much. After all, the book had been incredibly well written with many twists, turns, and emotions and I was unsure the movie The Godfather could do it justice.
           Directed by Francis Coppola, the Godfather was released in 1972 and is based on the book written by Mario Puzo. It has, since then, grown in fame to the point of infamy. The film revolutionized gangster films and infatuated the public and the real life mafia. Before the movie was released, the crime syndicates never had “a Godfather,” but afterwards many crime families adopted the term. It’s easy to understand why movie critics sing praises after watching Marlon Brando’s portrayal of Vito Corleone, the Godfather. Brando’s characterization of Vito is widely recognizable with his unique raspy, gritty voice and his hard and powerful demeanor broken only with the death of his son and age. His performance, along with Al Pacino’s admirable performance as Michael Corleone, won the Godfather the Best Picture award in 1972.
           The story begins with multiple scenes in Don Vito Corleone’s dark office on his daughter’s wedding day. The backlighting on the Don renders an intimidating image and builds up Vito Corleone’s persona as the Godfather. At first the lighting felt harsh and almost stood out of place but after a few minutes it began to all come together as the scene chugged on. Many men ask and plead for help and favors from this dominant man. One of those men is Johnny Fontane, Vito’s dashing Godson, who asks the Don for help getting a role from a stubborn film producer. The next scene delivers a formidable and gruesome surprise to said producer that shows the power of the Corleone family--a scene still suspenseful and shocking even to those who've read the book. Now, having effectively and efficiently established Don Vito Corleone’s importance to the viewers, Puzo and Coppola introduce Sollazzo.
           Sollazzo is a gangster who smuggles narcotics from Turkey. He comes to Don Corleone with a deal. In exchange for the Don’s political protection, Sollazzo would give the Don a percentage of his narcotics trade. It is here where I saw moral values within the Don that made me sympathize with him over Sollazzo. He refuses Sollazzo’s deal because he doesn’t believe in drugs and is afraid his pocket politicians won’t approve. However, the Don couldn’t turn Sollazzo down before his oldest son Sonny broke the family’s composure and showed interest in Sollazzo’s offering.
           Sonny’s mistake causes Sollazzo to take drastic measures and assassinate Don Vito Corleone. My heart clenched as the Don falls slowly and dramatically to the street with very clear fake blood seeping out of the bullet holes. Thankfully, the Don, powerful as ever, lives, despite the five rounds that tore through him.
           Here is where Michael Corleone, the youngest son, enters the story more prominently. I was intrigued on why Coppola and Puzo had waited until this moment to really talk about Michael Corleone. In the book, Michael is the most prominent character and much of the story is told from his point of view. It was surprising that Coppola chose to leave out many of these details that I had previously thought impervious to the story but looking back I can see he made the right decision. The extra details would have taken too long to include and would have drawn away from the more exciting parts of the story.
           Michael has always been an outsider to the family because of his strict separation in the family business. He is sweet and kind hearted, but this wavers once he hears the news of his father. On his way to visit Vito in the hospital, Michael foils a second assassination attempt on the Don. Puzo and Coppola shock the audience when Michael’s actions are rewarded by a sharp punch to the face by a corrupt policeman instead of thanks and recognition. This scene was especially shocking because the police man is incredibly racist which is unexpected in the men who are supposed to keep society safe and in order. In this moment we see Michael begin his transformation.
            In revenge of his father, Michael shoots Sollazzo and the corrupt police captain and sets off the first blows in the Mafia war. The Five Crime Families of New York are outraged and Michael flees to Sicily. These events occurred so quickly and so close together that it was almost overwhelming. So much happened in so little time that it created an adrenaline rush that made the movie very enjoyable.
            One of the best aspects of the movie was watching the character development of Michael Corleone. Michaels resolve changes throughout the movie but he becomes hardened with the death of his sicilian wife in a car bomb that was meant for him and the death of his beloved older brother Sonny. He returns to the states and takes over sonny’s place. From then on we see almost no weakness in Michael. He is still a family man but in a bone chilling ending we see Michael’s transformation into a powerful, cold hearted mafia boss—the new Don Corleone.
            My only critique of the movie was that, at five minutes shy of 3 hours, it was in limbo. It was long enough to explain almost all the events of the story, yet just a bit too short to really represent them. Some of the scenes, though well filmed, felt rushed and could have been longer. However, at the same time, I understand Coppola’s decision to cut out that extra time because it was difficult to maintain attention for so long. I would recommend this movie as a must-see for anyone over the age of 13 or 14. There were a few scenes in the movie that aren’t the best for younger eyes like a brief intimate scene in the beginning and a domestic abuse scene halfway through the movie. The movie has an almost overwhelming amount of characters to keep track of but in the end Coppola and Puzo wove them together to create an iconic masterpiece.