starring Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall
directed by Francis Ford Coppola
175 minutes
Things turn sideways for the Corleone family after Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) decides not to get involved in the drug trade. The Corelone family's would be partners in the drug trade don't take kindly to Don Corleone's decision. They try to kill him but he survives the attempt on his life.
Sollozzo, who previously came to Don Corleone looking to form a partnership, leans on Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall), the Corleone consigliere, to convince Sonny (James Caan), Don Corleone's oldest son, to make the deal that his father would not. Sollozzo makes plans for a second attempt on Don Corleone's life that gets foiled when Michael (Al Pacino), Don Corleone's youngest son, visits his father in the hospital.
Michael flees to Sicily after he murders Sollozzo and NYPD Captain McCluskey. Michael leaves behind Kay, his girlfriend, without telling her where he is going or why he needs to disappear. Michael gets married while in Sicily but his enemies eventually catch up to him and kill his wife with a car bomb that was intended for him.
Sonny gets killed after he runs into a trap set by the Corleones' rivals with some help his sister's husband. Michael returns to the United States. Don Corleone recovers enough to broker a temporary truce but dies not long after that. Michael assumes full control of the family's operations and orders hits on the heads of a number of rival families.
Thoughts
There are a number of actors in small and supporting roles that I have seen in plenty of other films and television shows. They include Sterling Hayden, Diane Keaton, Abe Vigoda, Talia Shire, and several others that I don't know by name but who looked familiar to me.
This was not the first time I watched this movie. I've seen in more than a couple times before but I'm pretty sure that it had been over 25 years since I last saw it. I saw it on the big screen, this time around, which was a first for me.
At its core this movie is about the transition of power from Vito to Michael. Vito wanted Michael to be a senator or a governor. He didn't want his youngest son to follow in his footsteps.
This is a long movie but it does not drag in the least bit. I remembered most of the key points in the movie but not the exact order of events. I thought, for example, that Sonny's death happened much earlier than it did. I remembered the final scene and a number of other moments in clear detail.
The Godfather is nowhere near as graphically violent as more recent things that are frequently compared to it like The Sopranos. The Godfather has its moments of graphic violence but they are few and far between. What it also lacks that the Sopranos has is the insights into the thoughts of the main character through his own words. Michael doesn’t talk much or shoot off his mouth (like his oldest brother). Everything that can be gleaned of what he is thinking is through his facial expressions and the words of those who surround him.
One thing that I forgot about the baptism towards the ending is how it dovetails so beautifully with the ending of the third Godfather movie. Michael starts down a road in this movie that ends in the third movie with the death of a significant character. The actor who plays that character is also in this movie but playing a different character. The links between the ending of this movie and the ending of third film blow my mind when I think about them.
This is an excellent film but I think I will stop short of calling it a favorite of mine. I can understand that it might not be everyone's cup of tea.
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