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.

.

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.