The Godfather 1 Review

Subtle and Dangerous

As a person who began writing recently, reviewing such a classic has been a daunting experience. Words fall short when it comes to writing about The Godfather 1 especially when you view the precedence it sets for the future movies that have released based on the mafia regardless of language. Francis Ford Coppola is a true-blue artist to be able to infuse subtlety in a movie centered around an industry which is far from subtle. The Godfather 1 released in 1974 and was set in the post-World War II era of 1946. The movie opens with Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) being at the peak of his reign and the events which unfold leading to his youngest son, Michael played by the dashing Al Pacino taking over the family empire despite having chosen a different career path for himself initially.

The Godfather 1 Netflix

The Godfather 1 is available for viewership on Netflix where viewers can take their time to watch this classical flick.

Italian Wedding

The movie began on a buoyant note with Vito Corleone’s (The Godfather) daughter Connie, getting married to Carlo Rizzi a small-time criminal who hoped to gain entry in the inner circle of Vito Corleone. The full family commemorated this joyous occasion in complete Italian fanfare with various contacts of the Corleone family gracing this joyous occasion. The wedding posed as a good setting to introduce the seemingly naïve audience of the 70’s to Italian culture.

Wedding Favors

As far as the story goes, the wedding introduced The Godfather’s competitors and family members rather aptly. Vito Corleone spent his daughter’s wedding day by granting favors in traditional Sicilian culture. He assisted family friend Bonasera in gaining revenge from 2 college boys who sexually assaulted his daughter when she refused to sleep with them. He also agreed to assist his godson Johnny Fontane to gain a movie role in a Jack Woltz production. He requested his consigliere (Advisor) and legal representative Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall) to make a trip to Hollywood to ensure this is successfully accomplished.

Familia (Cast of The Godfather 1)

Vito Corleone had 4 children: Santino (Sonny), Fredo, Michael (Mike) and Connie Corleone. The eldest son Santino was 2^nd in charge in running the business and was the apparent heir to the empire. Santino had the political backing of the inner circle which consisted of the family members, the consigliere and the caporegime who are Captains of the Mafia and are involved in the day to day running of the empire. Vito Corleone’s Caporegime was made up of close gangsters who were instrumental in assisting Vito in establishing himself in New York consisting of Sally Tessio and Peter Clemenza. Unfortunately, the industry understood the true nature of Santino who was known to be brash and had temper issues. Vito’s middle son, Fredo was the party animal and womanizer of the family and was not cut out for handling the empire. Michael was brainy and tactical but choose to keep away from the family business by ensuring he attained a complete education and joined the army post-graduation. He made a dashing appearance at Connie’s wedding as a war hero in tow with a sweet and dainty girlfriend, Kay played by Diane Keaton.

The Commission

Being the biggest Don in New York, Vito’s competitors were always envious of his political connections which Vito spent years nurturing. With strong Italian values, he established an empire built around gambling and the smuggling of alcohol into NYC with timely political assistance. As his empire expanded, he established The Commission, an association involving the top 5 mafioso families in New York. Commission meetings were convened to divide New York’s geographical territories so that each mafia family regulated business in a peaceful manner. Discussions about varied industries to enter also took place. Matters got out of hand when other families ventured into narcotics against Vito’s wishes.

Sollozzo’s Heroin Empire  

The story unfolds after Connie’s wedding where Vito Corleone is approached by heroin kingpin Virgil Sollozzo to invest in his business in exchange for operational set up in New York using Vito’s political contacts. Sollozzo before meeting Vito had established ties with Phillip Tattaglia who was the head of one of the Top 5 Italian families within The Commission. Vito refused to invest in Sollozzo’s business as he understood that political support would be withdrawn if he ventured into narcotics. Unfortunately, this sparked a gang war and wreaked destruction on the Corleone family.

Listen More, Speak Less

In the meeting with Sollozzo, Santino unfortunately took a keen interest in the business and provided Sollozzo with a perfect conflict of interest. This is the turning point in the movie as it gave the competitors backing Sollozzo an internal insight on the Corleone family’s mindset.

Collateral Damage  

Michael is forced back to his family after a failed assassination attempt on Vito, organized by Phillip Tattaglia. The Corleone’s sought revenge with Michael killing Sollozzo and the police chief Capt. McCluskey who was backing Sollozzo. He subsequently flees to Sicily and remains there until it is safe for him to return. In the meanwhile, he gets married to Appollonia (Simonetta Stefanelli) a stunning Sicilian girl who gets killed as collateral damage in this gang war.

The Pawn

Competitors become further personal where incentives were offered to sidelined Carlo Rizzi who begins to abuse pregnant Connie. Santino decides to go after Carlo with guns blazing, getting ambushed and killed by Tattaglia’s men on the way to Connie’s place. Vito Corleone after the death of Santino uses The Commission to his advantage as face-to-face interaction provides insights on the mastermind behind the personal attacks on his family. He requests for The Commission to be reconvened in a desperate attempt to bring Michael back to New York. He confirmed his suspicion of the mastermind through this closed-door meeting. The movie requires audiences to be highly observant be able to grasp such subtle nuances especially in identifying the rationale behind Vito’s suspicion of the mastermind.

The “New” Godfather

After passing the reins to Michael, Vito Corleone passed on and Michael must identify how “The Mastermind” is plotting his downfall. The Mastermind leaves no stone unturned by infiltrating the Caporegime. Michael uses this as an opportunity to exterminate the traitors both internally and externally which led to antagonizing family members like Connie and Kay who is now his wife. This cleanup is necessary to build the confidence of the inner circle who need to become loyal to the new Godfather. The most effective asset that Michael Corleone possessed was his ability to use tactical warfare that he picked up easily in the war to apply it in his current work which enabled him to figure out what “The Mastermind” was planning next.

Star Trivia

Al Pacino celebrated his 81^st birthday earlier this week on 25^th April is aging like fine wine. He is successfully courting 25-year-old ladies despite being in his 80’s. He was recently seen wining and dining Mick Jagger’s ex – girlfriend Noor Alfallah at the exquisite Felix restaurant at Venice Beach, California. On the career front in a recent interview, he revealed that his rejection of the role of Han Solo in Star Wars resulted in the role going to Harrison Ford who ended becoming a star owing to this sensational role. Al Pacino explained how he could not understand the role despite the producers making him an offer he could not refuse.

Keep your friends close but your Enemies Closer

The transformation of Michael Corleone from WWII war hero to Godfather is comparative to a bittersweet symphony. Every character is complex and sinister yet believable for obvious reasons. There is not a single flaw I could uncover in this classical flick, resulting in a tremendous 5/5 rating. Al Pacino and Marlon Brando are the shining stars of this classic especially when they give their enemies “Offers they cannot refuse.” The lessons one learns through this classic such as the art of listening and keeping your friends close but your enemies closer are demonstrated highly explicitly which are learnings that are useful even in today’s times. HIGHLY INSPIRATIONAL!