The Godfather

The Godfather (1972) has had everything said about it, so here is only what is useful before you press play. It was sold as a gangster picture. What it actually depicts is a succession. Vito Corleone is ageing and no one knows who follows him. Michael is the son who stayed out of the business, went to college, came back from the war with medals. The film is the story of his conversion, and that conversion is the entire point. It runs 175 minutes and the first forty are a wedding. It can feel like nothing is happening. Every character, every relationship and every source of tension in the next two hours is established at that wedding. Do not skip it. Paramount tried to fire Coppola roughly three times. They did not want Brando, did not want Pacino, did not want the film to be that dark. All three stayed. Where to start: here. Part II is more ambitious and many people rank it higher, but it only functions once you have seen this. Good for: anyone building a foundation in cinema. Less good for: the violence is sudden and hard, and the women are kept deliberately at the edge of the frame. Not a fast crime film.