The Godfather

The Godfather (1972)

Runtime: 177 minutes

Directed by: Francis Ford Coppola

Starring: Marlon Brandon, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, John Cazale

From : Paramount

Before I get to talking about this, I’ll mention that I rented this for the night at the local Blockbuster, and they also have a Blu-Ray copy of Casablanca; believe it or not, that’s a film I’ve never seen before. It’s showing right now a few weeks ago at the theatres they have at Universal Studios Citywalk, but the Blu-Ray has some special features I’d like to check out, so when I have a spare day to enjoy that, I’ll get it and then review it.

I rented this for the night on Blu-Ray, since I at least had the time to watch all 177 minutes of it. It looks and sounds great, as you might expect. I’ve only seen it in full like once or twice before, but parts of it at other times I was miffed when I found out after the fact that it was showing at a theatre on the Atlantic coast of Florida about an hour and a half away from where I live. And, once I got home from renting the Blu-Ray, I looked online and saw that at the end of the month they are showing it for a week at… Citywalk in Orlando. I’ll be there to see that so that I can see I saw one of the all-time greats on the big screen (whether or not it’s a DVD projection); I’ve been able to do that and see all-time great films on the big screen, like Pulp Fiction, Goodfellas, Rear Window, Psycho, The Sting, The Shining, Star Wars, The Dark Knight, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Alien, and Terminator 2. So, yay for me and yay for these special screenings. I’ll talk about how that screening went by the very end of this month.

For now, I’ll get on with this. However, it is difficult to write anything interesting about one of the greatest and most beloved films of all time. I can say that besides seeing it in Blu-Ray form and enjoying it in that format, that it is as magnificent as I remember it being. Whether or not this or its sequel is the better film is a discussion that will exist until the end of time and even after I (hopefully) see Part II soon I don’t know if I can accurately state which one is better or even which one I prefer.

So, instead I’ll post a link to this site, all about the greatest movies, and not only does its take on the movie have a great intro that describes why it is one of the all-time classics, but then the entire plot is talked about and discussed.

Also, there’s this link to a Vanity Fair article about how the movie was made and all the trouble Coppola had in trying to get it made like he wanted it to be made; that is a great story in and of itself. So, if you somehow haven’t seen this movie, you should, and even if you have seen it before, see it again. Whether you rent or buy the movie only on DVD or you acquire the full set with all three movies and then the bonus disc, it's a must-see.