50 Years of Family, and Offers We Can't Refuse

 It’s hard to wrap my head around the fact that “The Godfather” was released fifty years ago today.  While some may quibble, the original movie and its sequel stand at the apex of the organized crime movie mountain.  Those two (I’ll look at the third movie of the trilogy in a moment) are the archetype for all other “mob movies”   Winner of three Academy Awards, including Best Picture (it received seven other nominations), “The Godfather” has the unique trait of being a nearly perfect movie that is surpassed by its sequel.

The movie is based on Mario Puzo’s bestselling novel of the same name.  Francis Ford Coppola creates a sweeping, epic vision of the Corleone family and their life at the center of an organized crime empire.  The story strikes to the center of the American experience as a nation of immigrants.  Arriving in a new country with only limited opportunities, immigrant communities are easy prey.  Forces both inside and outside of those communities will take advantage.  Criminal organizations are often the fastest way for the newcomers to find influence and wealth.  In the movie, we see Vito Corleone at the height of his power.  Everyone from politicians to pop stars come to him for help.  Like an old world lord, Don Vito weighs the merits of each petition.  It is a powerful story of a distorted version of the “American Dream”.

To pull of this epic, Coppola gathered one of the great casts of the age.  Led by Hollywood legend Marlon Brando, the top roles were filled in by a who’s who of actors.  Ranging from Al Pacino’s Michael Corleone to veteran character actors like Abe Vigoda as the capo Tessio.  Every one of them carries their part of the epic with effortless grace.  This is an intricate story about a byzantine network of family and business obligations.  Forming the foundation of the story are Al Pacino, James Caan, and Robert Duvall.  Diane Keaton does a wonderful job creating the one character in the movie I despise, Kay Adams/Corleone.  (That’s a whole other essay).  John Cazale as Fredo, Talia Shire as Connie, and Sterling Hayden as the corrupt police captain, are all letter perfect.  Even their weaknesses are perfect facets in these performance gems.  Add in brilliant music (one of the all time soundtracks for me), and impeccable camerawork, and you end up with a movie for the ages.  So many scenes stick in your memory for years to come.  So many phrases that became part of our common lexicon.  “The Godfather” (and “The Godfather II”) remain brilliant examples of what a movie can be, even a half century later.

The third episode of the epic tale is routinely downgraded.  That it is the least of the three films is beyond discussion.  But I will contend that the movie’s biggest challenge/failure is that it had to compete with the first two.  They are stunning testaments to cinematic brilliance.  The first movie was stunning, the second movie surpassed the first (becoming the first sequel to ever win the Best Movie Oscar).  Somehow, this third trip to the Corleone well had to rise to unimaginable, perhaps impossible, heights.  It should surprise no one that it fell short.  The cast isn’t as good (Duvall declined to return, and, while she has grown as an artist since, her father did Sophia Coppola no favors in casting her as Michael’s daughter, Mary).  Having said all that, if you removed this from the Corleone saga, made it about some other crime family, but with the same story, I believe the movie would sit comfortably in the second tier of the genre.  Michael circles back toward his original goals, trying to find a way out of the life as the Godfather, and regretting some things he had done in that role.  As his father dreamed of Michael taking the family into the “legitimate” world, only to be disappointed, so Michael faces difficult decisions for his own children.

Even with a weaker third “act”, the Corleone saga is one of the great movie “franchises”.  It tells a story of epic proportions with all the artistry and subtlety possible.  Fifty years later, “The Godfather” continues to grab our attention and make us a cinematic offer we can’t refuse.