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The Godfather (Re-release) (1971)

Director: Francis Ford Coppola

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From Time Out London

There’s plenty to object to in Francis Ford Coppola’s insistently insular approach to Mafia life, played out here as a family saga rather than a moral and social blight whose ill effects still mark American society. But as filmmaking and storytelling, ‘The Godfather’ remains a bravura piece of work, its set pieces, dialogue and performances entrenched cinematic icons.

At the top of the Corleone clan sits Don Vito, but the centre of the story is youngest son Michael (Al Pacino), the white sheep who proves tragically gifted at running the family business. The mechanics of the story are compelling procedural strategy, the underlying compass is blood loyalty and the ultimate aim is the respect that stems from pure power: is President Corleone too much to ask, Vito wonders? Meanwhile, the nods at hair care and cookery sow the seeds for the comforts and neuroses of the ‘Goodfellas’ and ‘Sopranos’ to come. The performances grip, Nino Rota’s score is impossible to ignore and this digital restoration does justice to Gordon Willis’s chiaroscuro photography.

Author: Ben Walters 2009-09-22 11:09:13

Time Out London Issue 2040: 24-30 September, 2009