The Godfather

It's a tough call but I personally like part I a little more because I like Sonny and Clemenza a lot. I also like seeing Michael transform during the movie.

 

I. Love. This. Movie.

What interests me though is that fact that when speaking of Michael's descent into darkness, most of you neglect to mention his redemption in Part III. His confession to the cardinal always gets me choked up. He doesn't simply change from Mike to Don Michael Corleone and then remain in that "evil" state. Remember when he sat beside Don Thomasino's casket and wondered half to himself why he wasn't loved as Thomasino was?

"What betrayed me? My heart or my head?"

If that's incorrect I apologize, I haven't watched it for a while. But that's the gist of that line.

In I he begins as the son who wants nothing to do with the Corleone family business, but you can see the wheels turning furiously after the shooting of his father. I mean that one scene where he's silently sitting in the chair contemplating revenge while Sonny is saying something stupid, I get chills. You notice that Michael's the most like his father out of all of them, though he doesn't want to be. Smooth, brooding, cunning. In Part II he's silent but deadly. It's almost like he's completely bereft of human emotion. And in III he tries to get out, but can't. He's seriously the most tragic character...ever. Ok that might be overstatement but...yeah.

And is it just me or is Connie even more evil than Michael was in Part II? Grr. Power hungry [expletive deleted].

Omigosh I could go on all night, but I won't. Cuz I'm tired.

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer...

 

Ah, yes, Connie's character was based on Norma Desmond from Sunset Blvd. A woman out of her time, not willing to realize she needs to change. Great performance.

Am I the only one who thinks that Pacino's scream at the end of Part III is just amazing?

 

Am I the only one who thinks that Pacino's scream at the end of Part III is just amazing?

No. The first time I saw that movie, I had to grab a box of tissues. That part is just heartwrenching. And it was so realistically tragic. Not like certain movies where the person just kinda breathes quickly and sporatically looking slightly emotional but never shedding a real heartfelt tear in mourning (coughAnakincough). So no, you're not alone. And I absolutely love the music they play, I wish I could remember what it's called. It only adds to the impact of the scene.

Now am I the only one to find Vincent and Mary's romance to be a little...funky? I was watching it with my cousin once, and during that scene in his club where they're rolling the dough, he looks over at me and says, "Don't even think about it." Not right...not right...

 

Mario Puzo also liked that scream. Shame the film was not that good.

 

It had it's moments of genius, but they weren't consistent, like the first two.

 

I think the first was the best out of all of them. The second I didn't like except for the parts about Michael's father they were the only god parts. When I saw the second one I was disapointed that Pacino wasn't the young person that I knew form the first movie, dog day afternoon and scarface.

 

When I saw the second one I was disapointed that Pacino wasn't the young person that I knew form the first movie, dog day afternoon and scarface.

Funny since both those films were made after The Godfather: Part II.

 

They must have used alot of make up to make him look young or something like that.

 

Just giving this thread an up .

 

Take that DT, any way, I have not seen this movie but many people have been recommending that I do.

 

This is my favorite movie and trilogy. My favorite of the Trilogy is Part II. I suggest that people read the book, it tells more of the story of Johnny Fontane, and an important detail is revealed about Luca Brasi that is not in the movie.

 

Have a look at this news story on E! Online here.

It talks of the possibility of there being a fourth Godfather film. The family of the author of the original novel Mario Puzo, who passed away in '99, have given permission for a new novel to be made, continuing the story.

Apparently film rights are going to be available, most likely to Paramount. So there could be a fourth Godfather film. The only thing is, would Coppola want to do it? I don't think another director could do justice to the Godfather films apart from possibly Martin Scorcese, or since he knows Coppola so well and was originally entrusted to do Apocalypse Now, our good man George Lucas.

But really I would only like to see Coppola do it. Francis that is.

Anyway what do you think? Could this be that story Coppola talks about at the end of the GF3 DVD commentary? Similar to Part II it has two parallel stories, one about Sonny and one about Vincenzo. This could be very interesting but I do remember that he said the story was about Michael. This would probably detract from him, much like Star Wars Episode VII would from Anakin.

 

up

c'mon, does nobody care about this rather interesting possibility?

 

Personally, I wouldn't want another film without Mario Puzo's involvement. Books are fine, but I think the films are about Michael and should stop there.

 

Coppola has already said that, while he and Puzo discussed a possible Part IV involving a young Sonny coming into his own mixed with Vincent taking control of the family and driving it into ruin (ala Godfather Part II), he would not go forward with the project now that Puzo was dead. So Coppola won't have anything to do with any Godfather Part IV.

 

My opinion: Part I is the true classic of the trilogy, and better than it's sequel.

I think it's one of those rare films with moment after moment of cinematic greatness.

 

My opinion: Part I is the true classic of the trilogy, and better than it's sequel.

I think it's one of those rare films with moment after moment of cinematic greatness.

I agree. IMO part I is one of the gretest films every made, part II was very good and a worthy sequel while part III disapointed, although it had some great moments.

 

GF III is certainly not as good as the others but I still found it nice to watch, simply because I liked seeing what the characters were up to after 20 years.

George Lucas once said it might be fun to make a sequel to the OT with all the original characters to see what they were doing as senior citizens. That is basically what Copolla did in GF III.

 

Just a comment on the comparison between SW and the Godfather- I don't see that comparison at all. I mean, Anakin's fall to the dark side is a very obvious, stark and disturbing descent.

There's no doubt he becomes total evil. He almost ceases to be human.

Michael Corleone is forced to struggle between two evils, in order to choose the least of the two. Either he abandons his family to possible ruin, or he becomes entangled in mob business. Neitheris a nice option. Michael was born into a hopeless situation, which is a tradgedy. The entire theme of the Godfather is watching him struggle with the inevitability of his situation, and attempt to make the best choices he can. Being human, he often makes mistakes, and this digs him in deeper, making it more and more impossible for him to redeem himself.

The Godfather is great, I think, because it's the quintessential tale of a human tradgedy.

 

Screenwriter Robert Towne thought the best moment in Part II is when Young Vito goes back to his family after killing Don Fanucci and says to baby Michael how much he loves him. It's like in that one act of violence he commits to save his son he destroys him.

 

I agree that the first Godfather film is without a doubt the best of the three and possibly the best film ever (alongside The Empire Strikes Back).

Part II was a very good sequel but I think that the Vito story is too much of an overview and would've liked it to expand on several things.

Part III I do like very much. It's not as good as the other two but is still a worthy picture.

 

The Godfather is great, I think, because it's the quintessential tale of a human tradgedy.

This is very true. Michael goes from hating what is father stood for to embrassing the negative aspects of what his father stood for while abondoning the positive things. Vito really did consider family to be the most important thing. Michael spoke the words the same but they were not motivated by love and his actions betrayed the charade. In the end he realised this but he could not escape the path that he had chosen. He failed to achieve the balance in his life that his father had.

 

I watched it again a couple days ago, and it was as brilliant as ever. It's hard to believe that only Marlon Brando was well-known among the main cast. Now it's like a dream actor list.

The best moments are the small ones.

 

A few weeks ago Random House chose a new author named Mark Winegardner to write new Godfather novels. Anyone familiar with his work?