Okay, so I'm supposed to do a review of Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather." I'm pretty sure that most of you out there have already seen the movie because it is the quintessential mafia flick. "The Godfather" is one of the films that made Coppola's reputation as a great director and it is, in fact, a great movie.
The story is gritty (if stolen directly from a book by the same name), the characters are interesting, and the acting is top-notch. On top of that, the camera work and backgrounds are beautiful. However, this is definitely a movie that you have to be prepared to watch because it's long.
And when I say long, I mean loooong. This film weighs in at a final running time of almost three hours and could probably eat "Dances With Wolves" and still have a quarter of an hour or so to spare. That is to say you should consider not drinking anything for an hour before the movie in order to avoid embarassing "calls of nature" during the dismembered horse-head scene.
As I said before, the story of the film is wonderful, but that's to be expected since it was taken from an incredible novel. Coppola's real artistry comes through in his casting decisions. The movie is packed with people who went on to become huge stars or were already in that lofty position.
Most obviously, there's Marlon Brando, who plays Don Corleone and brings the role to life. It was Brando who created the voice for the Don that everyone now associates with mob godfathers everywhere.
Backing him up is Robert Duvall as Tom Haagen, the family lawyer who comes across as cool as ice and is probably the most sympathetic character in the film, if only because he never kills anyone. Al Pacino also turns in a stellar performance as Michael Corleone, and it's neat to watch him start out as an innocent, noble figure who slides further and further into the criminal life of his family.
Finally, the legendary Sonny Corleone is played by James Caan. Sonny doesn't have as much screen time or as many lines as the other characters, but he is certainly as important and he has an enormous member. That's right, an integral part of the plot of this film is the "larger-than-life" quality of Sonny. This movie does not have a reputation as clean family entertainment.
Despite its many good qualities, "The Godfather" is just too long for some people. The first time I saw it, I rented it to get together with a girl. After about an hour of watching it and nothing happening in the film, she got bored, stood up and went to do something else. Needless to say, there was a brief period of time where I didn't think very highly of Coppola.
The bulk of the stoyline is an intricate build-up of tension which explodes into carnage during the last half hour of screentime and unless you are fully prepared to sit still for that build-up you'll feel like you're undergoing Chinese water torture as you wait for something, anything, to happen.
On the other hand, there's a fantastic scene towards the beginning of the movie in which Don Corleone pimp-slaps a Dean Martin clone. Ultimately, I believe everyone would like to see Dean Martin get pimp-slapped.
I firmly recommend seeing "The Godfather" but be prepared for a long stay in the theater.
"The Godfather" plays tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. in Spaulding Auditorium.
