Hollywood Rewind | The Godfather: The ultimate mafia movie

When the first page of the book is so good, you are only eager to devour the rest of its content as quickly as possible. And The Godfather didn’t disappoint. It maintained this level of excellence for almost the entire duration of the film. The camera angles, the narrative (based on Mario Puzo’s bestselling novel of the same name), the performances, the editing, the score — at no point were these varied departments of filmmaking inharmonious. Like a lovely orchestra group, each unit of cinema supported the other, thereby finally giving us this masterclass of a film.

Hollywood Rewind: Say Anything | Warm Bodies | Bright Star | Malcolm X | Stardust | Red Eye | Notting Hill | Fargo | The Virgin Suicides | The Breakfast Club | Enchanted | Walk the Line | Blood Diamond | Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban | Mortal Kombat | Bridges of Madison County | Edward Scissorhands | Breakfast at Tiffany’s | She’s Gotta Have It | Ever After | The Devil Wears Prada | The Matrix | Creed | Mulan | Ratatouille | Shutter Island | Her | Dead Poets Society | Sleepless in Seattle | Waitress | Pride and Prejudice | The Dark Knight | Before Sunset | School of Rock | About a Boy | A Few Good Men | 50/50 | Begin Again | Brooklyn | Drive | Chocolat | Batman Begins | 10 Things I Hate About You | The Departed | Freedom Writers | Pretty Woman | Dan in Real Life | Jurassic Park | Tangled | Meet Joe Black | Monster’s Ball | Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind | You’ve Got Mail | Half Nelson | Fight Club | Doubt | American Psycho | Julie and Julia | Forrest Gump | The Silence of the Lambs | Finding Neverland | Roman Holiday| American History X | Tropic Thunder | Before Sunrise | Scent of a Woman | Finding Forrester | Sixteen Candles

While, among the actors, Brando’s role is more enigmatic and worthy of the spotlight, it is Al Pacino’s act as the reluctant mafia member, Michael Corleone, that won me over. Not only because it was such a well-fleshed out character, but also because of Pacino’s impressive acting. Superb doesn’t even cut it. His transition from a somewhat shy, determined man to a don is a visual treat. Each silence measured, and every yell accounted for. We have already discussed the remarkable opening sequence, but let us now talk of the ending. Diane Keaton’s Kay Adams is worried that Michael is no longer the man she married, that he is changing. She asks him about the recent killings, twice. At first, Michael asks her not to intervene in his ‘business.’ But when she doesn’t drop the subject, Michael shouts at her. ‘The learned, silent Michael who knew better, how could he?’ But Kay cannot help it now, the shift has already happened. It is too late to go back. Michael is corrupted. He cannot be saved. And the door closes on Kay as her husband, the new Don, is greeted by visitors who bow down to kiss his hand as a sign of respect. It is this transformation that grounds Pacino’s act as the reluctant but capable boss. His transition is not drastic if you pay attention, if you watch the actor closely. Even within this limited time frame, Pacino does a spell on you as he slowly but surely changes on screen. A marvelous achievement.

You can watch The Godfather on YouTube and Amazon Prime Video.