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

It's not one of the more important scenes, but the one in which the mother takes the shotgun blast in her midriff, and is thrown back, and then down, had the most profound effect on me . . . i had known before ever seeing this movie, that "La Cosa Nostra" was an evil disease of Italy, but that scene just hammered in the truly vile nature of these people . . .

(now that you mention it, i recall that you were GWLightwizard at Afuzz, but i'd forgotten, which gives you an idea of how long it has been since i've had the inclination to wade through the shite at that board . . . )

The first time I saw The Godfather I was 11 years old sitting with my father and a bunch of his friends.
The scene I remember(not because it was especially good) was when Michaels Sicillian wife bares her breasts.One of the men in the room had been saying "ok it´s coming up..here it comes..watch!WATCH!!"
And I said afterwards "Well,they aren´t THAT special."
I don´t remember him ever speaking to me again.

Most powerful scenes in the Godfather hmmm?
I have chosen 7 from the original Godfather
film.
(1) the wedding - is what educates you about
who the Godfather is, his position, how he
"handles" situations, the fact that numerous
politicians are also friends of his, we get an
essence of his power in "his" world; and we
see him as a family man - who wants to go and
dance with his daughter, on her wedding day,
talk with his sons, be a father. Some of these
"roles", or "hats that he wears" seem out of
character for a "mob" boss, yet they are all part
of the human condition - mob boss or not.
(2) the bloody horse head in the bed scene
(3) the meeting with Solozzo (sp?) the man who
wants the godfather to provide money for the drug
business with him, and offer him protection from the
law - when his son, Sonny, speaks out of turn and
unknowingly targets his own father for death.
(4) the hospital scene, the one in which Michael
begins to take responsibility for his father's life, and
becomes (no matter how hard his father tried to keep
him out of the family business) a true member of the
"family",
(5) Enzo the baker, trying to act the part of a mob
tough guy, with Michael scared to death. It shows
the sentimental, grateful adoration his "friends" have
for him. The godfather is the only one who could get
justice for what happened to Enzo's daughter, from
a scene during the wedding.
(6) When the police chief breaks Michael's jaw -
shows us the corruption they are up against, is all
about, and is leading the way to Michael's eventual
decision.
(7) The restaurant scene - is terrific. This is the
first time Michael has done anything illegal or "in" the
family business. He knows that he is the only son who
is cool headed enough, loyal enough, and smart
enough to take over, regardless of his father's hopes
and dreams for him, politically. Actually, the whole
scenario from Michael's decision to be the one who
meets with them - to finding out where the meeting
will be - to getting a gun placed in the men's room,
the tension mounting as they head off over the
bridge in the wrong directions, then turn around
and head back to the right location, Michael as he
waits for the right time...suspense....then he does
the deed, drops the gun, and walks away - a true
member of "the family".

Now see, that's what I'm talking about Babs. Each one of your choices made me think,"Maybe I should have included that one. I have never known a pair of movies with so many classic scenes. I can't think of any to compare in "III". It just seemed to be a good epilogue to the first two, but not a classic. (This is not a put down; I mean, how much can you ask of a production team?)

Great post, babs!

Thank you so much for your kind words,
my good-fellas, booman and williamhenry
I feared it was long winded and
everyone would be yawning and
saying, good God, that is too long!
When I did this simple little iq
test on something called E-Mode
the results came back saying that I
was a "word warrior" whatever
that means. Kill 'em with words?

On the contrary, Babs -- almost a synopsis that could have been used to produce a trailer (although I think they'd leave out the horse head). A horse entered the storyline of "The Sopranos" recently and we were "treated" to another head shot.

BTW, if I can get through the length of Sight and Sound's reviews, I can get through anything!

I have never watched The Sopranos, though
all my daughters tell me it is so good .. I
think I can rent a whole season at a time
at Blockbuster, can't I? I never seem to watch
TV that late at night. Do you all really like
The Sopranos?

Is the Pope Catholic?....
In my humble opinion, "The Sopranos is to TV, What the "The Godfather was to the movies.

Kids,can you say "quintessential?

By the by , Babs,
...I'm sure you can buy or rent, tapes, or DVD's, of "The Sopranos", in blocks, quite easily.

AHA! I see, that I must have
been missing something all
these years(?) by failing to
stay up late and watch The
Sopranos .. but then, there
are always the reruns

Gee, we luck on on the West Coast as we can get HBO East and see the Sopranos (as well as "Six Feet Under") an an earlier time.

I was living in NY when they were casting GF1. Al had just finished a play at Lincoln Center. Who knew DiNero? The word was they wanted new blood. They got it. Film makers took chances back then. One of my best friends was Italian and her family was into olive oil. We used to hang out in Little Italy alot. There were some gang fights going on in China Town that summer. China Town is right next to Little Italy. Well the fights got a little too close to to the cannolli and badaboom badabing no more fighting in China Town. About 10 years later, I got to work with Mr. Al on a play that never made it to B'way. He was and is a very fine actor although lately I haven't been as impressed with his work. One of the points made in the films was the disintegration of the Mafia. The old mob was an organization. Nowadays it seems as if we just have a bunch of punks running around in gangs stealing cars and selling drugs. I haven't watched much of The Sopranos. I did enjoy the ducks in the swimming pool sequence. Maybe I should get HBO.

Scorcese's "Goodfellas" has a lot more to say about the state of the mob today and "The Sopranos" probably owes more to that film than "Godfather."

Where in the world is Carm... er...Babsatamelia? Even on the east coast, the show comes on at 9:00.
...Kayla, HBO is 1st rate. I haven't missed a Sunday night in 5 years. Be it "Sopranos"..."Oz"..."Six Feet Under"..."Arliss"..."Sex In The City"... "The Wire"...Whassanever, HBO's original programming is what separates it from it's closest rival, Showtime.

Sob -- and only one more episode of "The Sopranos" this season with the possibility of only one more season.

But a new season of "Six Feet Under" and "Sex and the City, " followed by the final season of "Oz." "Curb Your Enthusiasm" is also a must see show with Larry David ("Seinfeld") There's an ongoing thread in the TV category for "The Sopranos" and I think as each new season comes on, there should be a thread created. I also don't miss "Queer As Folk" on Showtime for some very honest, no withdrawing punches stories of the alternative nuclear family.

I notice nobody's said much on this thread about Godfather Part II--the first movie seems to be the favorite. But Part II has a structure unique in film history, with the story of the father commenting on that of the son, and an epic sweep (from Sicily to America to Cuba) that is unmatched by any contemporary film. This is also, for me, the greatest of all of Pacino's great performances...he shows us what evil does to the evildoer. Not to mention the galaxy of incredible supporting performances led by the legendary Lee Strasberg as Hyman Roth. Or deNiro at his most expressive as the young Vito Corleone, perhaps his best performance ever. The sequence in Cuba alone lifts the film to the level of greatness, as does the picture of immigrant life in New York's Little Italy. Here you really see the genius of Coppola in its fullest flowering.

Larry,
...Not only do I agree with you, but many, many people have said that movie was the first time in history a sequel matched or surpassed the original.

Just when I thought I'd got outta' this thread, You keep pullin' me back in.

Thanks Booman. Yes, Part II at least equals part I...I would say even surpasses it. Part of the reason is that Coppola and Puzo rethought the material and approached it from a new angle (the father/son parallel stories) rather than the usual sequal attempt to repeat a winning formula. The other thing part II has going for it is the introduction of a raft of fascinating new characters, from Frank Pentangeli to Hyman Roth (based on Meyer Lansky) to the corrupt US Senator. This widens the scope of the narrative and allows new themes and textures to emerge.