The story begins as “Don” Vito Corleone, the head of a New York Mafia “family”, oversees his daughter’s wedding. His beloved son Michael has just come home from the war, but does not intend to become part of his father’s business. Through Michael’s life the nature of the family business becomes clear. The business of the family is just like the head of the family, kind and benevolent to those who give respect, but given to ruthless violence whenever anything stands against the good of the family. Don Vito lives his life in the way of the old country, but times are changing and some don’t want to follow the old ways and look out for community and “family”. An up and coming rival of the Corleone family wants to start selling drugs in New York, and needs the Don’s influence to further his plan. The clash of the Don’s fading old world values and the new ways will demand a terrible price, especially from Michael, all for the sake of the family.

The Godfather (1972)
  • Rating: (546,967 votes)
  • Tagline:An offer you can't refuse. »
  • Runtime:175 minutes
  • Director: Francis Ford Coppola
  • Country:USA
  • Actors:
    Don Vito Corleone
    Marlon Brando
    Michael
    Al Pacino
    Sonny
    James Caan
    Clemenza (as Richard Castellano)
    Richard S. Castellano
    Tom Hagen
    Robert Duvall
    Capt. McCluskey
    Sterling Hayden
    Jack Woltz
    John Marley
    Barzini
    Richard Conte
    Sollozzo
    Al Lettieri
    Kay Adams
    Diane Keaton
  • Genres:Crime, Drama
  • Producers:
    Gray Frederickson
    associate producer  
    Albert S. Ruddy
    producer  
    Robert Evans
    executive producer (uncredited)  
  • Plots: The story begins as "Don" Vito Corleone, the head of a New York Mafia "family", oversees his daughter's wedding. His beloved son Michael has just come home from the war, but does not intend to become part of his father's business. Through Michael's life the nature of the family business becomes clear. The business of the family is just like the head of the family, kind and benevolent to those who give respect, but given to ruthless violence whenever anything stands against the good of the family. Don Vito lives his life in the way of the old country, but times are changing and some don't want to follow the old ways and look out for community and "family". An up and coming rival of the Corleone family wants to start selling drugs in New York, and needs the Don's influence to further his plan. The clash of the Don's fading old world values and the new ways will demand a terrible price, especially from Michael, all for the sake of the family. Written by Charlie Ness
The Godfather
  • User's comment:Initially, I wasn't a fan... but then I realised by mattrochman

    This is a masterpiece. A timeless masterpiece. Initially, I didn't like this film all that much - I found it rather over-hyped and boring. This was until the advent of DVD, which gave me the feature I needed for this sort of film: subtitles. Once I switched them on and heard (read) every last word of Brando's ramblings and other characters ramblings, I grew a true appreciation for this epic.

    To make a true epic, you need all of three following ingredients working in near perfect harmony. For screenwriters who come across this, take the following pointers on board: 1) Contrasting Characters: Good films have some character distinction, but most fall rather flat because the core of each character is the same.

    Of course, there are exceptions to rule (ie... where you want mono-tonal characters... aka matrix; or where you want outlandish contrasts... aka The Fifth Element), but ultimately, this is what makes films deep, meaningful and grand. Consider the contrasts between the Don's children. Michael is rather cool, rational and collected, whereas Sonny is more hot-headed, spontaneous and simple minded. But simply having these contrasts is not nearly enough. What you really need to do is to develop these characters - place them in situations - and then dwell on how their character impacts on the situation they're put in. The Godfather is a terrific example of how to pull this off. While many try to do this in screenplays, most lose the plot and create character obscurities that stretch credibility.

    2) Transformation: The central character(s) must undergo a transformation, resulting in them being almost unrecognizable by the end of the film. By putting them into situations, the character's character must not only influence the outcome of the situation; it must also have a lasting impact on the character. Consider Michael at the wedding and compare that to the Michael we see at the end of the film. Again, many films try, but most fail because they come up with unreal (literally, not praisingly) or simply moronic transformations (eg, Wall Street).

    3) Patience: Men in Black 2 was an astounding film for one simple reason - it was an entire film squashed into about 70 minutes. It was not much longer than an episode of ER or Buffy. I certainly hope the new goal of Hollywood isn't to make films as short as possible.

    All the great ones spend time - time developing characters, family life, growth, patience with the story telling in general. This is the key (provided that the story isn't mind-numbingly boring). Dances with Wolves, Heat.. and so on are very patient but top-class films. While studios may be lukewarm on the idea of longer films, they are worth it if you have a ripper story to base it on.

    I feel that this film has not dated all that much and has tremendous re-watch-ability.


  • Quotes: Luca Brasi: Don Corleone, I am honored and grateful that you have invited me to your home on the wedding day of your daughter. And may their first child be a masculine child. Michael: I have to see my father and his people so have dinner without me. Kay Adams: Oh, Michael.
  • Also known as: El padrino (Argentina), El padrino (Peru), El padrino (Spain), Kum (Croatia - DVD title), Kum (Serbia - imdb display title), Kum (Yugoslavia - Serbian title), Крёстный отец (Russia), Крёстный отец (Soviet Union - Russian title), De peetvader (Belgium - Flemish title), De peetvader (Netherlands - informal literal title), Der Pate (Austria), Der Pate (West Germany), Godfather (Denmark - imdb display title), Godfather (Japan - English title), Le parrain (Canada - French title), Le parrain (France), Mario Puzo's The Godfather (UK - complete title), Mario Puzo's The Godfather (USA - complete title), Ο Νονός (Greece), Хрещений батько (Ukraine), A keresztapa (Hungary), Baba (Turkey - Turkish title), Boter (Slovenia - imdb display title), Daeboo (South Korea - imdb display title), El Padrino (Mexico - imdb display title), El padrí (Spain - Catalan title), Gudfadern (Sweden), Gudfaren (Norway - imdb display title), Hasandak (Israel - Hebrew title), Il Padrino (Italy - imdb display title), Kmotr (Czechoslovakia - imdb display title, Czech title), Krikstatevis (Lithuania - imdb display title), Krstný otec (Czechoslovakia - imdb display title, Slovak title), Kummisetä (Finland), Nasul (Romania - imdb display title), Natlimama (Georgia - imdb display title), O Padrinho (Portugal), O Poderoso Chefão (Brazil), O nonos (Greece - transliterated ISO-LATIN-1 title), Ojciec chrzestny (Poland), Ristiisa (Estonia),

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