The godfather is the quintessential film and my personal favorite movie of all time, as this is both a grand opus of violence and vice while also being an epic saga about family. The Godfather has some of the greatest acting and storytelling ever put to screen including the masterful ending and baptism while also showing the great beauty of the opening wedding. The contrasting colors of white and black in these sequences exemplify the road and path that Micheal will eventually take of choosing family over freedom. A subtler theme throughout the movie is that there are two sides of this man pulling at him one dictating for him to go off with Kay yet he decides to stick with Family after everything that he has been put through. One of the most underrated parts of the whole movie is James Caan as Sonny Corleone and brute and a violent person hell bent on violence but who is als a family man and a person with a big open heart who deeply cares about the family. James Caan plays the role to perfection and because of this the movie is elevated to even better heights and it is extremely powerful and shocking when Sonny is gunned down by Sollozos men. The intricate and tight plotting make this more about the dynamic of the family than the actual business of being a gangster. In godfather part two, which is another masterpiece, there is a deep dive into the business of being a gangster rather than the inner workings of a family. The most brilliant sequence in the film and one of the greatest sequences is the baptism murder sequence. Everything fits together so well with Micheal being metaphorically baptized into the mafia and becoming the don of the family while in conjunction Clemenza sets up in kills everyone involved in the shooting of Vito Corleone. Micheal has finally descended from being vengeful to a full on gangster and now a morally evil character who is on a path of not looking back. This scene really punctuates and makes the film rise to new heights. Marlon Brando is the best in this film giving one of the greatest performances of all time. He is both vulnerable and a brutal leader who uses a brute force to take control such as the horse head scene while also being a courteous family man. Micheal Corleone played by a great Al Pacino gives the most understated and calm performance of his career as a quiet and intelligent young man who is torn apart by the idea of staying with his wife and being someone in the army or joining the family business. In this film and godfather part 2, Al Pacino is calm and collected, which is a sharp turn from all of his other filmography as he is an extremely animated actor. These kinds of opposites show how throughout the film, Coppola is trying to convey the kind of contradictory lifestyles of a gangster and an insight into the family dynamic that goes along with being a gangster. Overall, this is my personal favorite film and I believe it is the greatest film of all time.
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