The Godfather.

Lets talk The Godfather. 

Good GOD do I love this movie. It seems kind of cliche that I'd pick The godfather to be my all time favorite movie. But again GOOD GOD it's an incredible movie. Everything about it is just so perfect and pure and I could just to on and on about how much of a masterpiece this movie is. If Citizen Kane is the greatest movie of all time, the The Godfather is one of the greatest films of all time. Transcending not only film narrative but narrative in general. Why do I love it so much?, Lets start with the story.

The Godfather center's around the lives of the Corleone family, a Italian crime family in post World War Two America. We first see the Godfather himself, Vito Corleone, played here by Marlon Brando. His daughter Connie is getting married and as is traditional the godfather cannot refuse Any request made to him on the day of his daughter's wedding. It is at this wedding that we are introduced to almost every key player in this story. There's Tom a surrogate son who acts as the godfathe's advisor. His three sons; Sonny the Hot Head, Fredo the sensitive one, and Michael the prodigal rebel. Michael has recently returned home from the war  a decision he made in an effort to spite his father and the family business. As time goes on we Learn a lot about this family and the power we have. It becomes very clear that they are a tight nit group and that their abilities reach up to even capital hill.

But not all is well for the Corleone family as a gangster named Solozzo is very interested in having the Vito help him with the drug trade in America. When Vito expresses his disinterest in Solozzo's offer. It becomes apparent that things won't go very well, and Solozzo issues out a hit on the Godfather.

What follows is a war that spans years. Death, and betrayal is now around every corner. who can the family trust and will their own sins become their own demise. As Vito's reign gradually comes to an end Michael steps forward and becomes a part of the family business himself ultimately leading him to fill the shoes he ever wanted to fill himself.

                     

What makes this movie so incredible is the characters themselves. I remember this being the first movie I ever saw where every single character stood out. We're they each had a significant back story  and each on was fully fleshed out. If someone mentions Fredo to you you'll know exactly what that character looked and acted like. Even minor characters like Paulie and Luca Brassi stick out so greatly that their brief time on character still carry a a weight that is as heavy as the principal characters themselves. 

                     

You find yourself carring for these people  caring about their relationships and really shines through when a character is killed, you just feel the weight off that loss and it just ripples throughout the I overs elf this movie. Whe. Their gone you know their gone and you can't get that image out of your head and you feel the pain that each character tee goes through once their gone. Which is jut genuinely amazing to me.

                           

the stories of the characters and the journey they go through not only makes this one of the greatest movies of all time but also one of the greatest stories of all time. The themes of corruption, moral irony, and even family are so prevailant on this film that it feels like a tragedy to rival those of Shakespeare himself.  

My god there's no better example than that of Michael, who is without a doubt the greatest character in film history. Although the first Godfather is about the family as a whole, the series itself deals with the corruption of Michael Corleone; a man who starts out as a decorated war hero, and ultimately becomes a ruthless mob boss.  I will talk about Michael's journey in the sequel and eventually the entire series but at this point lets just say this character is the epitome of the american tragedy. I've mentioned that term before and to me the "American tragedy" is the apposite of the american dream it is a character who obtains fame and fortune and ultimate loses it because of a fatal flaw developed from his own good fortune.  thats Michael. a guy who loses his family, and makes an effort to reconnect to that family by following his father in his footsteps, only to lose everything, including his soul. theres a part of me that watches this film and feels as if he knows he's going down a path he cannot return from but his desire to maintain sicilian traditions and to hold his own family together rid far more important. just look at this guy and tell me he isn't just a bundle of joy.

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The story is rich with with culture and italian lore which each character brings out in their actions and passion for their heritage, and you can really see that in  how the writing convinces us to care about characters that we should hate. you know these people are murderers and cheaters, and that  they have done horrible things to get what they want. but because of this strong code of ethics the family has and the way in which they conduct business and care for weaker individuals. you find yourself not only caring for these characters but hoping that they will tun out okay. 

Cinematically the film is just beautiful. the sepia tones give the film an atmosphere that ultimately makes the film seem genuinely Italian. I know thats a strange way to describe it but honestly you just need to see the movie for yourself to understand what I'm talking about.  There isn't a whole lot to the cinematography its mostly straight foreword. theres nothing fancy about it, but here doesn't need to be. like I said before its the story that drives the movie. 

When all is said and done. The Godfather is masterpiece of  storytelling. forget the fact its a film. only look at it for what it is and what it is, is one of the greatest stories to be  written down. years from now the story of the godfather will be as revered as Hamlet or Oedipus Rex. It's a film that dares you not to love it.  If theres any movie i Ibelieve you should see its this one. you will never once regret it.  

Citizen Kane

Rosebud... With a single word being uttered; a story considered the greatest film of all time begins. The first time I saw this film I was fourteen and already had a deep routed interest in film. So of course Citizen Kane was on my list of MUST see movies, and let me tell you I was ready for it I was waiting to see the movie of movies, the triumph t masterpiece it's self. So how did I feel when I actually saw it?.... Eh. I didn't get it I thought it was boring, I thought it was long winded, I didn't find it at all impressive. Sure the story was good but man did I walk away from this movie disappointed. But would you have it. I had the opportunity to see the movie again when I attended film school and having a clear understanding of film history up to that point, I realized that you know what? Yeah Citizen Kane is by far the greatest if not the most important film of all time. Why? Well let's start with the story and go from there.

The story begins oddly enough at the end. Our main character Charles Foster Kane, A newspaper Mogul and public figure in American culture has recently died with his last word being merely "rosebud".  Who is Rosebud? What is Rosebud? Was rosebud a lover? An object of some sort? The missing puzzle piece to the mystery that was Kane? Everyone wants to know, including the news. And so it's up to a single journalist to find out the hidden meaning of Rosebud. Through news reals, archived writings, friends and former lovers. The nameless journalist slowly pieces together the grand and rather tragic life of Charles Foster Kane.

If any one word could bet describe this story it's tragedy. And that's what this films is it's the American tragedy. The character of Kane is a man who desires greatness who desires to be loved so desperately that he will take what ever means necessary to achieve it. And by doing so he not only loses his morals but those who love him in the process. We see him through the people who knew him and whether it be a news reel or even his ex wife, nobody ever has a clear cut idea of who Kane really was or why he did what he did, and to me that's the greatest tragedy of all. That this man who everyone knew and to a certain extent loved even, could never was nothing more than a mystery.  If you've  taken any film history class then you'll know right off the bat that Kane was based on real life paper Mogul William Randolph Hurst, and that hurst was not too happy about the film, which ultimately lead to  Orson Welles' career imploding and most of the controversy that surrounded the film at the time.  I'm not going to ruin the ending for anybody on here, even though I'm sure e erroneous and their mother knows it, but let me tell you it's one of the best twist endings every and really just seals Kane and one of the most tragic characters of Cinema.

Cinematically the film is just visual eye candy. There's is not one angle,  not one lighting  fixture, not one visual affect that doesn't enhance the story or help tell it. If the first rule of film is to show emotion and not tell it, then this film is and example of perfect cinematography. I mean there are certain shots where Kane appears like a god looming over the other characters and in other he appears dwindled and weak.

And even further, there's the lighting where we will see Kane shrouded in darkness while others are in light as he makes promises he will never be able to keep.

And even further there's the use of age make up and full focus . my god look at this shot. By showing the mother in the foreground and young Kane playing through the window we immediately get a sense of what is on her mind as she basicley signs his life away. And the contrast of the boy frolicking to the foreground action is just another heartbreaking image.

Unfortunately in a lot of ways the film doesn't hold up and unless you're a major film buff your not going to understand the significance of the movie or why it's so good. But truth be told its not a more meant for everyone it's. a film that functions more lime manual for film makers rather than a movie you'll watch on a Friday niht with friends. But that doesn't mean it shouldn't be watched or appreciated. Just that there needs to be a certain midst when watching. It. I enjoyed it and I hope you will too. 

Coming soon!

When I moved to New York I had started the New New Yorker as a way to document my life in the big city. But the more I did it, the more I began to realize I hated being self referential. The blog didn't work because I just didnt have the passion for it to tell everyone what I'm doing all the time. And so I thought about what I should do how I should tackle my blog. I hunk the New New Yorker will become a monthly thing. But weekly is just beyond me with everything I have to do.

But this is why I've called you all here. You see, I've been trying so hard to make a blog that my passion will really shine through for. And that's when it hits me. FILM I love film. But not just watching movies. I love what goes into making a movie. I love how movies affect society  and vice versa I love the emotional impact a movie has and I love that movies are the one true way that we all connect with one another.

I've always wanted to be. Film critic to some capacity. And really believe I have a good handle on the film industry. So here's what I'm goi g to be doing.  The American Film Buff blog will be a blog that will coincide  the American Film Buff round table, a semi scripted discussion of the films  reviewed here. to get started I will be reviewing the Afi top 100 movies from there I will branch off and review current movies as well as foreign movies. I hope that this blog turns out to be something worth ending to everyone.

So if everyone else is ready... Lights camera... ACTION!