The Story Of The Godfather, an outline only

The Godfather a gangster film, story covering the events of the Corleone mafia family that starts with his daughter’s wedding and the events that follow. This movie starts with (SPOILER ALERT) with the shooting of mafia head Don ‘Vito’ Corleone.

Michael Corleone, a Strong but tormented man

The events that follow are related to the repercussions of that shooting and how Michael, a decorated WW2 hero, gradually finds himself becoming immersed in the life of a mafioso. In Godfather a Gangster Film it gives, Al Pacino wonderful room to perform as 3 dimensional strong but tormented man.

Coppola Vs Scorcese

Why do I like it? Firstly, though violent acts do occur, they are not designed to raise the adrenaline a la Scorsese, or most other Gangster Films. It is more graceful than that. For example, the sense of hierarchy and formality makes it different. Casino and Goodfellas have less of that. It is still brutal, but the sense of honour is more emphasised, which I like. I do still adore Scorsese films, though.

However, there is still intensity when you realise somebody is being killed, you know it, and it doesn’t hold back. The characters are believable and are real people, especially Al Pacino. You get the feeling that Michael does not like the violence, but is there as a sense of duty, for example whereas Sonny, Michael’s brother, played by James Caan, is a hothead, though not to a Joe Pesci standard in Goodfellas and Casino. He is less of a ‘single dimension’ character.

Though it is episodic rather than a single long roller coaster, it doesn’t hold the story back. This is based on a Mario Puzo 600-page epic novel, after all. You do have the occasional moment when you twiddle your thumbs, admittedly.

Don Michael Corleon His Fathers Son

By the end of the film, Michael has done everything a true mafioso has done, and all this from a relatively innocent World War 2 hero soldier who turned the other cheek on his father’s activities into a Don himself.

If it is worth anything Rotten Tomatoes also recommends this flim.

The GodFather Trilogy can be found on both Sky Cinema and NetFlix

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Note: To be fair, to Scorcese both Goodfellas and Casino are both based on true stories

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