The Godfather I and II

I'm starting with The Godfather because so many things do. It is, as Nora Ephron put it in You've Got Mail the I Ching, particularly of 70's movies in general and any gangster movie since. I've included both I and II in this review because they are so great seen together or in close succession. Though each stands on it's own. In fact, part II is arguably the only sequel that was actually better than the original. I have not included part III because it was made so much later that it really doesn't stand with the other two, and with all due respect to the creative people it really doesn't belong on the same page as the other two.

Spoiler Free Synopsis

I'm gearing this page to people who have missed many of the great movies and although it is hard for me to imagine there are too many out there who haven't seen either of these movies I'm sure there are some so I won't spoil in this section.

Godfather I tells the story of Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) major figure in the New York Underworld. It begins during the wedding reception for his only daughter, Connie (Talia Shire) at the Long Island, NY home of the Corleone family. Because it goes against tradition for the Don to refuse a request made of him on this special day he is stuck in his office for most of the wedding seeing supplicants. Based on these requests and his reaction to them we see how powerful and fearful Don Corleone is. Meanwhile we also meet the rest of the family, Sonny (James Caan)the randy eldest son. Fredo (John Cazale) the friendly open middle son, and Michael (Al Pacino) the youngest son still in uniform from World War II and in attendance with his clearly WASP-y girlfriend Kay (Diane Keaton). He spends much of the wedding telling her rather frightening stories about his father and his family while emphasizing that those stories have nothing to do with him or his plans for his life. Michael also introduces Kay to his brother Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall). He explains that Hagen has a different last name because he was adopted by his father after he saw him living on the street but that his believed it would disrespectful to Hagen's birth father to change his name. Hagen has been in on all of the meetings that the Don has been having so we know that he is a close confidant of the Don's.

After the wedding we follow the next few years in the life of the family. There are major changes in the life of all of the characters caused by the dangers of the family business, organized crime. This is the business both of the Don's nuclear family as well as his crime family, all of whom refer to him respectfully as Don or the Godfather. It is clear that the Don is working to transfer control of his family to his son, primarily to Sonny if he can get him away from the women long enough. Needless to say difficulties ensue and the rolls of all of the family members change over time, including that of Michael who was so determined to stay free of the family business.

Godfather II begins with another family/religious celebration, this time the first communion of of Michael and Kay's son. Our location has moved, however from Long Island to Lake Tahoe, NV. Michael, like his father before him is stuck in meetings. This time the business involved is semi-legal, the operation of gambling casinos in Nevada. The tactics have changed less than the location, however. Shortly after the party, we are transported thousands of miles and 60 years away to turn of the century Italy where we meet the young Vito Corleone, nee Andolini. This portion of the Don's early life are woven between the scenes of Michael's quest for legitimacy throughout the movie. The cast of characters for both sections mirrors that of the first movie, though it is the younger versions of Don Corleone and his co-horts that we see in the flashback sequences. Don Corleone is played by Robert DeNiro in these sections.

These are two of the great treasures of American movies. Based on different portions of Mario Puzo's epic book about the American Mafia they are beautifully written by Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola and directed by Coppola. Coppola had a solid career in Hollywood both as a screenwriter, culminating in the brilliant screenplay for Patton and as a journeyman director (most incongruously directing Finian's Rainbow a musical starring Fred Astaire), but it was The Godfather that made him.

Keep in mind that there was little to no Mafia lore prior to the Puzo book and these movies. There were lots of gangster movies but most of those more closely resemble crime dramas than mafia movies. The genre of mafia movie began with the Godfather. Remember that J. Edgar Hoover, and therefore the FBI refused to acknowledge the existence of the mafia for most of his career which didn't end until his death a few months before this movie was released. The Kefauver hearings which tackled organized crime in this country for the first time were only 20 years old.

It's not just that the genre started with this movie though but - what a movie! Brilliant performances mostly by previously unknown actors who later became the voices of that generation. Lushly written and filmed it is, quite simply an essential movie to see for anyone who likes movies at all.