There's enough material out there about this movie so I won't waste your time getting into the story. What I will say is that Francis Ford Coppola's epic gangster movie trilogy is as iconic as it is compelling. The long-winded nature of every film lingers like a beautiful dream and dances in your head forever. I don't watch it often enough for anybody to believe it's a favourite, but the truth is, it pulls me in close like an embrace from an old friend, every single time. I remember everything about it, even the minor scenes like the 'sleeps with the fishes' calling card regarding Luca Brasi.
Also, the names - Clemenza, Barzini, Solozzo, Tartaglia. So effective was the magic of the film that I still have to check every now and then to see if Abe Vigoda (Tessio) is still alive (like I did today), only to find out that no he isn't - and what a loss to cinema. It's aged remarkably well for something that's gained notoriety for its displays of gangland violence. But the real power here lies in nuance: a shading of phrase; a deceptive fall of lamplight; the sound of footsteps on a hospital stairway.
Massive kudos to co-writers Coppola and Mario Puzo for pacing those queue so delicately against a tight plot. It's a remarkable study in contrasts, showing the thin line dividing patriotism and graft; honour and brutality; family affections and ritual violence. And in these elements there's an irony - especially to the gesture in a film which embraces the American Dream with a vengeance, beginning with a joyful celebration of marriage, ending with a solemn Catholic Church baptism, and continuing in between with murder after bloody murder: for vengeance; for punishment; or simply for leverage.
If you haven't seen it, but love watching movies, you've no doubt heard of it in some way or another. And if this is the article that convinces you to sit through it, just keep one thing in mind; there are three in the series, and seeing only the first would be like going against the family. And you should never take sides against the family.
Also, the names - Clemenza, Barzini, Solozzo, Tartaglia. So effective was the magic of the film that I still have to check every now and then to see if Abe Vigoda (Tessio) is still alive (like I did today), only to find out that no he isn't - and what a loss to cinema. It's aged remarkably well for something that's gained notoriety for its displays of gangland violence. But the real power here lies in nuance: a shading of phrase; a deceptive fall of lamplight; the sound of footsteps on a hospital stairway.
Massive kudos to co-writers Coppola and Mario Puzo for pacing those queue so delicately against a tight plot. It's a remarkable study in contrasts, showing the thin line dividing patriotism and graft; honour and brutality; family affections and ritual violence. And in these elements there's an irony - especially to the gesture in a film which embraces the American Dream with a vengeance, beginning with a joyful celebration of marriage, ending with a solemn Catholic Church baptism, and continuing in between with murder after bloody murder: for vengeance; for punishment; or simply for leverage.
If you haven't seen it, but love watching movies, you've no doubt heard of it in some way or another. And if this is the article that convinces you to sit through it, just keep one thing in mind; there are three in the series, and seeing only the first would be like going against the family. And you should never take sides against the family.
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