This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of The Godfather, a film that exists in the highest echelon of cinema, that is always a contender for the greatest film ever made, and is usually cited as the best Mafia film in existence. So good is The Godfather that one of the few Mafia films that are considered its equal, or even better, is The Godfather Part II.

The Cast

The cast of The Godfather is stunningly fantastic. Al Pacino and Marlon Brando give Oscar-winning performances in the two central roles (only Brando actually won an Oscar but I’m hereby switching Pacino’s Oscar from being for Scent of a Woman to The Godfather) but there is gold throughout. James Caan is great as the impetuous Sonny, who has one of the all-time legendary cinema deaths, Robert Duvall understatedly shines as Tom Hagen, the more measured and calm member of the inner circle, John Cazale as the weak and ineffectual Fredo is brilliant, only to top this in the sequel, Diane Keaton as the innocent Kay is great, it is through her eyes we see Michael’s transformation from noble war hero to a ruthless crime boss. I could go on but I think this demonstrates the strength of the cast.

Cultural Impact

The Godfather is surely one of the most quoted and referenced films ever made as well as having an incalculable influence on cinema. Like the Bible and Shakespeare lines from the film have passed into everyday parlance. I have heard people being called a “Fredo” an insult meaning they are weak and useless, everyone knows that an offer a person can’t refuse is not because it’s so good, it’s because of the bad things that will happen should you turn it down. Not only has every Mafia film made since been compared to it – every film has! It is as good a yardstick as you’re going to get.

While some of the greats of cinema are critics choices, The Godfather is hugely popular with critics and the general movie-watching public, it can be enjoyed as an epic crime-drama or you could watch it for the subtle changes in Pacino’s performance throughout the film. The Godfather is ranked number 2 in the American Film Institute’s 2007 list of greatest films, it is number 3 on Empire magazine’s list, it’s number 2 on IMDb’s Top 250, Rotten Tomatoes has a critics score of 97% and audience score 98%. I would argue it is the film that most brings together critical and popular acclaim. If there was one film to showcase American cinema both in terms of quality and a film that represent both what critics and cinemagoers praised it would be this film.

Crime Movies Since

I have already stated the huge impact on films and crime films The Godfather had but it’s worth going into its tremendous impact on this genre. Our cinematic understanding of organised crime comes from The Godfather and even a film like Eastern Promises which is about Russian organised crime is very much still in the shadow of The Godfather. The best gangster film since the Godfather films is almost certainly Goodfellas, a grittier film focused primarily on one character, who isn’t even in the Mafia. We actually see quite little of the upper management in Goodfellas.

The Sopranos is a tv show that has been influenced by The Godfather both in terms of the structure and style of the show and on the characters themselves. Silvio often pulls out his Al Pacino impression from The Godfather Part 3 and Paulie’s car horn plays the theme music of the film. Tony often laments the fact that things aren’t what they were and a lot of this nostalgia is not from reality (or even the show’s reality) but from The Godfather. The mythical golden age painted in The Godfather is often left alone by filmmakers and instead focusing on the collapse of the system portrayed in the film.

In any number of crime tv shows and films, characters emulate and admire Vito Corleone for his noble leadership or Michael Corleone for his utter ruthlessness, perhaps the two great exemplars of how to be a successful crime boss. Perhaps the most famous line from crime masterpiece The Wire is “You come at the king, you best not miss,” and in The Godfather assassination attempts against both Vito and Michael go wrong and with horrendous consequences for the plotters.

The Godfather is as much a film about the pursuit of power and what needs to be done to achieve and hold onto that power as it is about crime. The setting of The Godfather could change to something else entirely and Game of Thrones TV show is clearly influenced by the film. Is Eddard Stark simply a Michael Corleone who wouldn’t do what was necessary to hold onto power?

50 More Years

It is beyond question that The Godfather will be remembered as one of the great films of the 20th Century and a milestone in filmmaking. The characters, themes and even single lines of dialogue are indelible parts of the culture and I’m sure in another fifty years we’ll still be talking about it.

Also Read: Anatomy Of A Scene: The Godfather – Restaurant Scene

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“Try the veal” – The Restaurant Scene

This is one most famous scenes in cinema history – the restaurant scene from The Godfather. This film is a monumental achievement in filmmaking and storytelling and contains one of the best acting performances ever – Al Pacino as Michael Corleone. To me, it is the definitive performance of a good man being turned bad and this scene is where he stops being a war hero with a stated aversion to the family business and starts to become the ruthless mob boss.

It is one of the tensest scenes I have ever watched. We know violence is coming, that Michael will at least try and kill these men and break his own code. Michael’s face is all shadows and brooding, sometimes coming close to the “Kubrick Stare” the famous look Kubrick had actors use when trying to convey a loss of sanity.

When Sollozzo and Michael start talking to each other in Italian what they say isn’t subtitled, the audience has no idea what is being said (neither does McCluskey). What is being said though isn’t important, Sollozzo is trying to negotiate, to come to a deal, but Michael isn’t there to make a deal. It’s not long before Michael slips back into English.

One of the tensest parts of the scene is when Michael goes to the bathroom to retrieve the gun that has been hidden there. The tension derives from Michael seems to spend an eternity looking for the gun and the audience begins to wonder if it is even there. Upon finding the gun Michael returns to the table. Solozzo goes into unsubtitled Italian, but this time even Michael is not listening, too concerned with what he is about to do.

“What I want – what’s most important to me – is that I have a guarantee” – Al Pacino

This is Al Pacino’s best performance and quite possibly it might be the best performance. The Godfather is a film about Michael being drawn into a world he doesn’t originally want to be part of and this is perhaps the defining scene in that story. Michael is a war hero and his brother Sonny earlier says how killing someone up close is different to shooting them across a battlefield, he’s referring to the specific physical differences but there are important moral differences. Michael considers his actions in World War Two as moral but murdering these two people, who are undoubtedly bad people, is that moral? Michael’s mind working through this is displayed on Pacino’s face.

“You think too much of me, kid, I’m not that clever”

Whilst this is very much Michael’s scene the other actors do an excellent job. McCluskey is played by Sterling Hayden and Sollozzo by Al Lettieri and I particularly enjoyed Hayden’s performance. A corrupt police captain who seems completely oblivious to the danger he is in, he broke Michael’s jaw and was part of the conspiracy to murder his father, but cannot comprehend that any consequences will fall on him. I also respect the absolute face plant Hayden does when Michael shoots him where he completely overturns the table. In terms of Sollozzo, Lettieri’s performance is quite subdued which I think helps point out that it is not Sollozzo who is really behind the plot, but another more powerful gangster.

The Lack of Music

One particular thing this scene is famous for is the music – or rather the lack of music. The Godfather has a very famous score but for this scene, there is no music. This was a very clear choice by Coppola – in a scene but the director wanted it so nothing took you out of the reality of watching it all unfold. But music in a film is more than just a background tune it can help set the scene and create tension. So whilst there was no music this is most definitely a lot of sound – a train screeches past just as Michael starts shooting, as the carriages rumble by the tension grows.

While some say this may be one of the best scenes ever there are those who don’t even think it’s the best scene in the film. Some prefer the epic opening scene of Vito Corleone meeting with people wanting favours, some the infamous “horse’s head” scene, there are so many to choose from. It is rare to be given so much brilliance in one film.

Also Read: How The Friendship Between Bruce Lee & Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Led To Their Iconic Fight Scene

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Synopsis

Years after Part 2’s events Michael Corleone is divorced from his wife Kay and trying to turn over a new leaf. Suddenly in walks Vincent Mancini, son of Michael’s dead brother Sonny. Vincent is feuding with enforcer Joey Zasa so Michael takes him under his wing.

Michael is also working to legitimize the family, but Don Altobello warns the mafia wants involvement in Michaels’s new business venture. Michael attempts to pay the mob bosses off to keep them away. He narrowly avoids an assassination attempt and Vincent realizes Altobello and Zasa are working together. Meanwhile, Vincent begins dating Michael’s daughter Mary. Vincent assassinates Zasa enraging Michael, who tells him not to see his daughter anymore.

The Corleone’s head to Sicily and Vincent defects to Altobello to get information. He discovers Altobello has hired someone to kill Michael. Michael’s business deal is ratified, and he names Vincent as the new Don. With this new position, Vincent decides to swiftly destroy the family’s enemies but have the Corleone’s underestimated their opponents?

Godfather 3 Critical Reaction

As mentioned earlier the first two Godfather movies are seen as two of cinemas greatest films. Both won best picture Oscars. Both have iconic dialogue that’s now part of everyday conversation. They feature incredible performances from some of cinemas best actors (Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Robert De Niro, Sterling Hayden etc.). And both are beloved by the public and critics. They are the second and third best films of all time on IMDb and have a 98% and 97% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Conversely, Part 3 won no Oscars, currently sits at a 69% critical score on Rotten Tomatoes, and is rated 7.6 on IMDb. An incredible dip in perceived quality. But is that feeling justified?

The Good

Part 3 does have positives. Firstly, Al Pacino is great as an older Michael Corleone. His cool, ruthless nature from the previous movies now replaced by world-weary wisdom and compromise making him feel like his father from Part 1. Returning players Diane Keaton and Talia Shire and new faces Andy Garcia, Eli Wallach, and Joe Mantegna are also fun in their roles.

The atmosphere is also top-notch. The golden tinged cinematography and excellent score help give a nostalgic and operatically tragic feeling to the film. 

And there are some genuinely good story moments. Particularly Michael coming to terms with his horrible past and mentoring Vincent to take over from him. Which gives this entry a great sense of finality. And set-pieces like Vincent’s apartment break-in, Joey Zasa’s murder, and the opera massacre are entertaining.

The Bad

However, Part 3 has a lot of problems. And a lot of them come from it living in the shadow of its predecessors. The plot is very convoluted, like the previous entries, but aside from Michael and Vincent, no one has a compelling motivation to invest us in the action. Compared to the multi-layered characters of previous entries, this film feels generic in comparison.

The first two movies were also effective because of their realistic presentation. The dialogue felt natural and the violence hit hard because it felt so mundane. Here the action is overblown and at points ridiculous (see the helicopter assassination scene). The dialogue also feels unrealistic, with people espousing their motivations rather than using conversations to infer character motivation. There’s also an air of desperation as the movie tries to make Michael sympathetic. The Michael that series fans know, who coldly ordered the murder of his brother and pushed Kay away, is a world removed from his characterisation here. Honestly if not for Pacino’s performance it would come across as a cynical attempt to make the character appeal to a broader audience.

Finally, Sofia Coppola’s performance as Mary is terrible. It’s not her fault, she was essentially forced into it after Winona Ryder was unavailable. But her inability to emote or sound convincing is a major hindrance to the film because she has such a prominent role.

Verdict

Godfather Part 3 isn’t without merit. There are some fun performances, solid atmosphere courtesy of good-looking cinematography; a great soundtrack, and some entertaining moments. But it’s overall incredibly disappointing. Most of the characters are dull, making the twisty narrative a chore. It also lacks subtlety, with the powerful realism of the first two films replaced by overblown clichés and it features an atrocious performance from Sofia Coppola. It isn’t awful but it’s a huge blemish on the Godfather name.

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