Well, while the man was here working on the boiler (seemingly nothing to do with cooling after all, just a regulation from the boiler manufacturers that we’ve never had to pay any heed to before, but now have to pay £450 to adhere to), I decided to watch a movie. Suitable Independence Day viewing? Why, the film responsible for much of the adulation of the American criminal underworld, of course – The Godfather.
Great movie. Well-deserving of all the praise it receives. Not necessarily because of the story – it’s a bit obvious and predictable, slightly confusing in places (what exactly Barzini wanted and why he acted as he did seem questionable) and definitely too long, with whole chunks that could have been cut out (the whole Las Vegas episode really didn’t need to be that long, especially that late in the film). What makes this film classic is the atmosphere. The bleak lighting gives a veneer of gritty realism to the rather romanticised story, but what lifts it to such great heights is the performances. There isn’t a weak one there: every single actor on that screen is utterly believable delivering their dialogue, and Coppola expertly transitions between claustrophobic mafia discussions, family dramas and evocative location shooting in Sicily, a simple way of making the film more epic and ambitious. The music, the dialogue, the characters, the setpieces – all are superlative. I’ll never forget the horse-head scene, nor even characters like Luca Brasi, who make an impact despite scanty screen-time.
I’m not sure I’d ever watch it again, and unlike many, wouldn’t name it my favourite film of all time, but it’s truly great.
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