Ebert's GREAT MOVIES Part Six: "The Godfather"

Sorry, Diane.

There is something magical about Godfather. I read the book and watch the movie (part I) atleast once every year. I always feel that I am a part of the Corleone family when I am watching the movie rather than a spectator. Guess that is what makes the movie great.

Voted for Brando, as he played the part of a Don perfectly, dangerous, but human as well, portraying all his love, insecurities, emotions etc perfectly. I can never forget "It is impossible to reason with this man" - a simple line, but delivered with such chilling conviction...

This was the movie which glamourized the mafia for me. If I did not become a banker, I would have been .....

Mikey,
I agree Brando is the consumate artist. I saw him once in some comedy, ( the name escapes me) where he played a farmer with a Swedish (?) accent. It was a Brando I had never seen before.,,, Blew my mind.

Although Marlon Brando is one of my favorite actors, I voted for Al Pacino. My apology to Brando fans here for what I am about to say, but I found his mumbling and gutteral voice to be extremely irritating. I loved him when he wasn't speaking, though. It's been a while since I've seen the GF movies so I'm inclined to confuse I and II. (I 've never watched them to conclusion on TV because I don't think TV does them justice). In No. I, I was impressed by Pacino's smooth transition from boyish innocence and decency to menacing authoritative coldness and in No. II by his interactions (which expressed so many emotions) with John Cazalle. My favorite of the three was the one with Robert DeNiro.

Although I don't find it anywhere near a bad picture, Babs, I still fail to see how the pretentions of "Apocalypse Now" or "Redux," which just makes the film longer and more incongruous -- especially the silly sexy scenes thrown in for comic relief (although I don't think that was the intent, I found myself chuckling). The parts don't add up to the whole for me and it's certainly is a revisionist version of "Hearts of Darkness." In fact, I am more fascinated with the documentary on making the film than the film itself. Now I guess we should have a discussion of what is the best film from the 1975 to 2000 (I think that was the parameter but I'll have to look at Sight and Sound). The 80's and 90's were rather sparse with great movies so it's really 1975 to 1980.

Lightwizard<

"The Godfather" movies and the PBS series "Upstairs,
Downstairs" perfectly evoke the classes of people they are trying to portray.

"The Godfather" movies chronicle their eras much as "Gone with the Wind" tried to do with the Civil War era.

Yes, "The Godfather" trio are great film-making whether viewed separately or as a complete package.

Hmm...I've always thought of the 80's as lean period for popular music also. That was supposed to be the decade of greed also, any connection?

We had an actor as President and yet this decade is often cited as the bottom of the barrel for Hollywood films. Yes, just what was everyone pre-occupied with? Even Broadway musicals were at their lowest ebb. In the arts, period, one of the most forgettable of decades where mediocrity prevailed. It was the rise of the cheap, manufactured limited edition prints passed off as fine art. A great decade? For what? Accumulating wealth one could squandor later? Is "The Godfather" a warning about the ethics of the mob creeping into all parts of society?
I think so.

LW, this series of movie discussions based on the Ebert essays is a better than average idea.

Some years ago I had a weekend to myself, so I rented the three movies and watched them one after the other.

I can't add much to what has been said, except that in reading through these posts, the one word that appears over and over in descibing the film and its characters is "Chilling." That's the word I wanted to use, but you all beat me to it. Can so many of us be wrong?

I voted for Pacino because he was the most chilling of all.

I was struck by Williamhenery's comment that "the 'Godfather' movies and the PBS series 'Upstairs Downstairs' perfectly evoke the classes of people they are trying to portray." One of the things that sometimes concerns me is that movies portray a certain version of history, and millions of people see the portrayal. For many of those people that portrayal then becomes, for them, the authentic history of the period.

For example, when anyone in my presence talks about 16th century court life in France, scenes from "Monsieur Beaucaire" (with Bob Hope!!) and "The Three Musketeers" (With Gene Kelly) pop into my mind. They are my mental picture of the age. I can't help myself, except that I apparently realize that it is happening to me. So, has the world of entertainment provided so much a part of our world view that we are in danger of its becoming our reality? Sometimes I wonder how to tell the difference.

Our society is reflected in films -- even the lowliest of dumb comedies that seem to flash across our movie screens each month (too bad most of them aren't funny but reflect the pathetic state of mind of a great majority of our population). Paulene Kael said this so many times in her reviews and "The Godfather" is certainly a prime example. What did it say about American society?

Lightwizard<

Ronald Reagan's best role was as president of the United States for which he deserves an Oscar for "the body of his work." Here was a chief executive who could excellently portray the gamut of human emotions in his public appearances. Who can forget his misty eyes when talking about "the shining city on the hill"?

His presidency was more performance than substance. His keepers, no doubt, coached him much as a Hollywood director would coach an out-of-touch actor.
In effect, we had not a Reagan presidency; rather, we had a presidency in which Reagan played the President.

Eight years is a long time to sustain a character. Reagan did so with aplomb. Meanwhile, his handlers were left to run (or ruin) the country while Reagan waited in the wings, learning his lines for his next appearance.

One should have always wondered who the director of the movie we call "The 80's" could have been. Reagan had no leadership quality other than the iconic symbolism he was able to sustain (until the last two years when the chinks in the armor began to appear more obvious). He certainly tolerated what he appeared to have disdain for in public -- i.e. Nancy's propensity for having gay friends, one of them her official horoscope expert! Sound bites like "Tear down that wall, Mr. Gorbechev" are straight out of a movie, delivered with the aplomb of a B movie actor. His claim to fame in SAG was a witch hunt for the gays within the union -- he left California with a legacy of damaged infrastructure. If he were to be placed on Mt. Rushmore, it should be as paper mached, wooden supported facade. There are other Presidents to come who will push him further into obscurity, perhaps as the Calvin Coolidge of the later part of the 20th Century.

Great minds think alike WH. I've always alluded to "The Presidency" as Reagans greatest role.
On a related matter; I can remember thinking on 9/11, "Thank God they're putting Cheney, in protective seclusion, somebody's got to run this country!"

Lightwizard<

Please, keep it civil

Let's keep Reagan and Rushmore out of the same post.

It's almost un-American to make them inclusive, especially on Thankgsgiving Day . . .

Maybe we could talk about Reagan's hair-dye-job, or even The Godfather saga.

The first rainstorm would obliterate Mr. Reagan -- which would have happened during his reign if he hadn't had the wall of protectors around him.

Where does this have anything to do with "The Godfather?"

Think about it!

Okay WH & GW, Since you wondered how we drifted from the Godfather, to the Oddfather, I backtracked. It seems that while we were disscussing the dearth of creativity in the 80's, SOMEBODY mentioned that we had an actor for president. How do you plead, GW? Okay, okay, I'm a co-conspirator. Jeesh!

Who the hell is GW?

My old moniker which I have to use if there's a conflict with Lightwizard on a site is GWlightwizard (the GW are my real initials).

Raygun did remind me of my Grandfather with the shoepolish hair!

What scene(s) in "The Godfather" were particularly powerful for any of you?

(I think Setanta may have thought GW was an aside to GW Bush.
Heaven forbid, but speaking of bad actors...)

And to compound it he fancies himself a stand-up comedian.

Anyway, there are so many great ones, I'll try a few; De niro as young Vito, Killing the old Don, Vito avenging his father in Italy, Michael, with his "don't ask me aout my business" scene, and when Kate told him about the abortion. (That slap ranks with Cagney's grapefruit, as far as memorable blows go, in my mind.) Ask me next week and I might have 2 to 4 different scenes. It was that great a series of movies.