Why is the Godfather so highly rated?
I mean what elevates it beyond just being "very good" to being considered the best film ever made? It just didn't strike me as being sensational or absolutely exquisite in a way Shakespeare can be considered the greatest poet, Dickens the best novelist or Tchaikovsky the greatest musician.
Call me sentimental but for a film to be the best ever made it has to lay bare raw humanity and have more heart and goodness at its core. The Godfather offers no introspection or poses any real questions; it's just a gritty gangster movie with a good storyline and great acting. If that's the best film has to offer I think that's pretty sad.
Maybe I just didn't get the Godfather. Dunno :/
I think 12 Angry Men is better by an absolute mile.
Call me sentimental but for a film to be the best ever made it has to lay bare raw humanity and have more heart and goodness at its core. The Godfather offers no introspection or poses any real questions; it's just a gritty gangster movie with a good storyline and great acting. If that's the best film has to offer I think that's pretty sad.
Maybe I just didn't get the Godfather. Dunno :/
I think 12 Angry Men is better by an absolute mile.
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Original post by jesusofsuburbia
I mean what elevates it beyond just being "very good" to being considered the best film ever made? It just didn't strike me as being sensational or absolutely exquisite in a way Shakespeare can be considered the greatest poet, Dickens the best novelist or Tchaikovsky the greatest musician.
Call me sentimental but for a film to be the best ever made it has to lay bare raw humanity and have more heart and goodness at its core. The Godfather offers no introspection or poses any real questions; it's just a gritty gangster movie with a good storyline and great acting. If that's the best film has to offer I think that's pretty sad.
Maybe I just didn't get the Godfather. Dunno :/
I think 12 Angry Men is better by an absolute mile.
Call me sentimental but for a film to be the best ever made it has to lay bare raw humanity and have more heart and goodness at its core. The Godfather offers no introspection or poses any real questions; it's just a gritty gangster movie with a good storyline and great acting. If that's the best film has to offer I think that's pretty sad.
Maybe I just didn't get the Godfather. Dunno :/
I think 12 Angry Men is better by an absolute mile.
Lol Shakespeare isn't recognised as the greatest poet nor is Tchaikovsky anywhere near being widely acknowledged as the greatest musician.
It's sensational because it's beautifully crafted and it's completely flawless down to the minutest detail. The acting is phenomenal. You can understand the undercurrents of the movies simply by the way the characters look at each other. It's a romance, a tragedy and a thriller rolled into one. The pace of the film is spot on; it conveys the gradual development of the plot and the rise and fall of the Corleone family.
It is one of the great tragedies in cinema. The brightest, smartest son of Vito Corleone descends into depravity and solitude. He alienates all who care for him and for whom he cares and by the end of Part 2 he has become a cold-hearted tyrant. The brilliance of Part 2's ending in particular is Coppola's slow zoom into Pacino's pensive expression as he sits beside Lake Tahoe and contemplates what he has done. The music stops and we have absolute silence. The audience expects and hopes for something, anything, that will indicate whether Michael feels any sort of remorse or regret, or whether he has been truly corrupted by the brutal world that he never actually wanted to become embroiled in. But Coppola gives us nothing, and we are left to wonder.
That is the brilliance and power of The Godfather trilogy and only a handful of other films can claim to come close to or match it.
(Would've written more but don't have time right now)
(edited 12 years ago)
The Godfather isn't a gangster film, it's a film about a lot of things like family, cultural identity, capitalism etc. The gangster elements only really matter as a dramatic device. Besides, Much Ado About Nothing is pretty much 'just' a romantic comedy, what does genre matter?
Well because it was such a good film. Obviously it's not to everyones taste, but if the majority of people that watch it consider it to be 'one of the best', then surly it must show it's pretty good.
I personally liked it because it was just such a good story line and brilliant acting, especially pacino. After the god father we never seen acting like that from pacino. That quiet, emotionless yet deep acting was very powerful. After the god father all he did was shout in his movies.
.......................Apart from his speech in any given sunday
I personally liked it because it was just such a good story line and brilliant acting, especially pacino. After the god father we never seen acting like that from pacino. That quiet, emotionless yet deep acting was very powerful. After the god father all he did was shout in his movies.
.......................Apart from his speech in any given sunday
(edited 12 years ago)
Original post by Bobifier
It insists upon itself.
Family guy
Because a lot of people enjoy it.
Original post by Tom B.
Can I ask why you've compared The Godfather to 12 Angry Men?
They're both considered by many to be the greatest film ever made despite being so completely different. One is a triumph for reason, intellectuality, empathy and standing up for what you believe in no matter what; the other chronicles violence, infidelity and power.
Original post by MC armani
It's sensational because it's beautifully crafted and it's completely flawless down to the minutest detail. The acting is phenomenal. You can understand the undercurrents of the movies simply by the way the characters look at. It's a romance, a tragedy and a thriller rolled into one. The pace of the film is spot on; it conveys the gradual development of the plot and the rise and fall of the Corleone family.
It is one of the great tragedies in cinema. The brightest, smartest son of Vito Corleone descends into depravity and solitude. He alienates all who care for him and for whom he cares and by the end of Part 2 he has become a cold-hearted tyrant. The brilliance of Part 2's ending in particular is Coppola's slow zoom into Pacino's pensive expression as he sits beside Lake Tahoe and contemplates what he has done. The music stops and we have absolute silence. The audience expects and hopes for something, anything, that will indicate whether Michael feels any sort of remorse or regret, or whether he has been truly corrupted by the brutal world that he never actually wanted to become embroiled in. But Coppola gives us nothing, and we are left to wonder.)
It's sensational because it's beautifully crafted and it's completely flawless down to the minutest detail. The acting is phenomenal. You can understand the undercurrents of the movies simply by the way the characters look at. It's a romance, a tragedy and a thriller rolled into one. The pace of the film is spot on; it conveys the gradual development of the plot and the rise and fall of the Corleone family.
It is one of the great tragedies in cinema. The brightest, smartest son of Vito Corleone descends into depravity and solitude. He alienates all who care for him and for whom he cares and by the end of Part 2 he has become a cold-hearted tyrant. The brilliance of Part 2's ending in particular is Coppola's slow zoom into Pacino's pensive expression as he sits beside Lake Tahoe and contemplates what he has done. The music stops and we have absolute silence. The audience expects and hopes for something, anything, that will indicate whether Michael feels any sort of remorse or regret, or whether he has been truly corrupted by the brutal world that he never actually wanted to become embroiled in. But Coppola gives us nothing, and we are left to wonder.)
Thanks for the reply.
The acting is fantastic. It has so many themes on morality, power structures, the history of these families and the inner workings of humans. It is a rich tapestry of things to choose from. The first two give me the same sensation I get when I have read a fantastic book, in a way I have never otherwise gotten from a movie.
The third one is good, but not as good as the first two. It is way too glossy.
The third one is good, but not as good as the first two. It is way too glossy.
Original post by InspectorSophie
The acting is fantastic. It has so many themes on morality, power structures, the history of these families and the inner workings of humans. It is a rich tapestry of things to choose from. The first two give me the same sensation I get when I have read a fantastic book, in a way I have never otherwise gotten from a movie.
The third one is good, but not as good as the first two. It is way too glossy.
The third one is good, but not as good as the first two. It is way too glossy.
The English Patient?
Original post by jesusofsuburbia
The English Patient?
VERY GOOD POINT. I stand corrected. That is definitely a film that gives you that sensation. Like your imagination couldn't have made it any better!
I love that film. I haven't seen it in years. I cried so much. Ralph Fiennes is just one of the best actors out there.
Original post by InspectorSophie
The acting is fantastic. It has so many themes on morality, power structures, the history of these families and the inner workings of humans. It is a rich tapestry of things to choose from. The first two give me the same sensation I get when I have read a fantastic book, in a way I have never otherwise gotten from a movie.
The third one is good, but not as good as the first two. It is way too glossy.
The third one is good, but not as good as the first two. It is way too glossy.
All of this. Except I'd have to say there are other films after which I've felt that sort of tingle that only a great movie can leave you with. When a director, his actors and the entire crew are passionate about what they are doing and truly believe in it, it really does come across in the cinema. That's what separates films like The Godfather, Casablanca, Citizen Kane, Raging Bull, Schindler's List, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest et al from all the other great movies out there.
As for the Godfather, the first one is the classic, the second is almost as brilliant but I find more interesting, and the third one is underrated. It is a good film, but it was always going to be compared with the first two.
The ending of 3 is one of the best final sequences I've ever seen. 3 is about Michael's repentence for the nefarious acts he commits in 2. He tries desperately to redeem his failing marriage, attempts to legitimise the family business and retire well. But at the end he must resort to murder and brutality to tie up all the loose ends in a scene that closely resembles the baptism scene in 1. After his daughter is killed, Coppola flashbacks to all the intimate moments Michael has shared with the women in his life and then contrasts it with his eventual death: alone in an idyllic courtyard in Sicily. He dies and his sins have not been absolved. Great ending to the series.
Original post by Foo.mp3
..because it's a pretty decent movie, with a solid script, telling drama and some fairly human stories - a classic for its day in fact, involving some of the greatest actors Hollywood ever produced
..it may not be 'the best film ever made' but the trilogy is well worth a watch, I don't think anyone can argue with that
..it may not be 'the best film ever made' but the trilogy is well worth a watch, I don't think anyone can argue with that
'well worth a watch'
'pretty decent'
lol you sound like you're talking about Transformers or something. What nobody can argue with, is that it's one of the greatest movies America has ever produced. What is up for debate is whether it's the greatest of all time.
Original post by jesusofsuburbia
They're both considered by many to be the greatest film ever made despite being so completely different. One is a triumph for reason, intellectuality, empathy and standing up for what you believe in no matter what; the other chronicles violence, infidelity and power.
You need to watch Godfather again.
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