The Godfather: Considered by many to be the greatest movie ever made, Francis Ford Coppola's epic masterpiece features Oscar winner Marlon Brando as the head of the Corleone family. Coppola paints a chilling portrait of a Sicilian family's rise and near fall from power in America, and the passage of rites from a father to a son who was previously uninvolved in the business.
Godfather Part II: The Godfather Part II is one of the rare breed of cinematic sequels which is as good as, and perhaps better than, the original. Al Pacino heads the star cast as Michael Corleone, heir to the criminal empire established by his Mafioso father, the late Don Corleone. Michael is now in charge of all gambling activities in Nevada, making certain that any and all political or mob enemies are quickly bought off, compromised, or disposed of. Throughout the film, Michael's travails are paralleled with the early experiences of his father, played in flashbacks by Robert DeNiro.
The Godfather Part III: In the final instalment of the Godfather Trilogy, an aging Don Michael Corleone seeks to legitimise his crime family's interests and remove himself from the violent underworld. Now in his sixties, Michael is dominated by two passions: freeing his family from crime, and finding a suitable successor. That successor could be fiery Vincent (Andy Garcia)... but he may also be the spark that turns Michael's hopes of business legitimacy into an inferno of mob violence.
Directed by
Francis Ford Coppola
Written by
Mario Puzo
Starring
Marlon Brando (Don Vito Corleone); Al Pacino (Michael Corleone); James Caan (Santino 'Sonny' Corleone); Richard S. Castellano (Peter Clemenza (as Richard Castellano)); Robert Duvall (Tom Hagen); Sterling Hayden (Capt. McCluskey); John Marley (Jack Woltz); Richard Conte (Don Emilio Barzini); Al Lettieri (Virgil 'The Turk' Sollozzo); Diane Keaton (Kay Adams); Abe Vigoda (Sal Tessio); Talia Shire (Connie Corleone Rizzi); Gianni Russo (Carlo Rizzi); John Cazale (Fredo Corleone); Rudy Bond (Don Carmine Cuneo). Please follow the IMDB links for full cast details.
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A Great Allegory of the Old Testament
Mark Banks (United Kingdom)
Opinion: Recommended
Though I haven't yet heard it said elsewhere I've thought for some time now that The Godfather films, taken together from beginning to end, represent a great allegory of the Old Testament. If someone were to ask me what is it 'like' reading the Bible? I'd respond that reading the Old Testament books is like watching The Godfather: it starts off with great optimism, it's long, it features stories of love, stories of family, stories of revenge and betrayal, and there's a fair amount of blood split along the way too! But ultimately there is no redemption. And whilst the third film in the trilogy is much criticised for descending into soap-opera-like melodramatics, I believe it is the third film that is crucial in completing the saga. For it is in the third film that Michael Corleone comes to the realisation of the sins he has committed and of the evil person that he has created. It is in this film that he is offered the chance to redeem himself, but it is a chance that ultimately he rejects. And for all his work, for all his scheming, for all his pursuit of money and riches, for all of his fabricated relationships, he dies an old lonely man with only a shabby dog for company.
