# Godfather, The (1972)

### reviewed by
Max Scheinin

Certain films are transcendent -- such a film is Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather, his 1972 masterpiece about life in the mafia, and the characters who inhabit that life. Central to this portrait, is Michael Corleone (Al Pacino). As the film opens, he is a war hero, a nice kid -- despite the fact that his father, Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando), is head of a powerful mafia ring, he doesn't want to get mixed up in the family buisness. In the first shot, black fades to a close view of a face; in the last, a close view of a face, fades to black. What comes inbetween is like poetry commited to the screen. It isn't so much a tale of crime, as a tale of family, and an intamate study of power. The way in which the director and actors collaborate is magical -- you see the mark of Vito, on the face of Fredo (John Cazale), Sonny (James Caan), and Michael. You understand the ties that bind -- loyalty, trust, love. Coppola knows when to cut away, and how to keep the story moving. This film runs just below a full three hours, but absorbs us so completely, that never once does it need to pause for breath. Every time I see it, I become more and more absorbed -- in my last viewing I actually saw Michael go through all his subtle phases. He moves beyond his original dreams, when he bends over his father and whispers "I'm with you now, pop". The way in which you sympathise with the various characters is almost frightening. When they aren't out strangling one another, and dealing in dope, they're nice people. When Jack Woltz (John Marley), the big-shot movie producer, wakes up in bed with the head of a horse, we move outside and view the building with the muffled sounds coming from within, and then to Vito, raising an eyebrow, half in suprise, half in enjoyment. The Godfather has a level of charm, flash, dazzle, all suggesting pure American trash. But strip away these feelings, and you will discover the underlying profundity. With repeated viewing, you see more and more of the irony -- Michael is offended that Moe Green (Richard Conte), would even slap around his brother Fredo in public. But in companionship with Part II, we see such a strange view of this moment. Through its superb mix of comedy, tragedy, and all inward feelings, comes a masterpiece that deepens with reflection, rewatching, and rethinking.

    Grade: A+

- Max Solovitch Scheinin Read more of Max's work -- reviews, essays, theories, links -- @ http://www.garfieldlib.com/yanews/july97/max/max.html To subscribe to Max's work (includes all essays, theories, thoughts) write him @ solo@cruzio.com with the word "subscribe" in the header. You will receive e-mail on an irregular basis, considering that Max is a lazy/busy kid. "We all go a little mad sometimes." - Anthony Perkins @ the Bates motel.

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