An offer you shouldnt refuse......

to about 90% of the world's movie going population, the word "mafia" invokes the image of Marlon Brando, with a rose in the button hole, looking melancholy. indeed, i'm talking about marlon brando from The Godfather. there's a divided opinion on which one is the greatest American movie ever made. some say is Citizen Kane. the rest say its The Godfather. the fact still stands. The Godfather still is one of the greatest movies ever made. everything in the movie is just pure, unadulterated brilliance. be it Marlon Brando as Don Vito Corleone's casual flick of his fingertips across his chin, or Al Pacino's chilling portrayal of Michael Corleone, or James Caan's brash, eager Sonny Corleone. its a fact that only Francis Ford Coppola wanted Al Pacino in the role. none of the others involved in the production wanted him. All the while during the filming, Al Pacino lived in a constant fear of being fired. now imagine this. if he turned out such a brilliant performance when in such a nervous state, how much more brilliant would he have been had he been assured of his job? he would've been as brilliant as he was in The Godfather Part II. he was cold. he was ruthless. he was Michael Corleone. Marlon Brando stands out as the best actor in the movie, it still wouldnt have been half as good without Al Pacino. the transformation of Michael Corleone from an innocent college boy into a cold, dangerous Don is expertly shown here. by the end of the movie, Michael Corleone has the air of a rattlesnake thats about to strike. the deadly aura around him is very palpable. and who can forget James Caan in the movie? James Caan's Sonny Corleone was exactly as Mario Puzo envisioned him. brash, hot tempered, reckless. but there's some irresistable charm around Sonny Corleone. he's the kinda guy you would wanna turn to when you're in deep trouble. you can always trust him to beat the living daylights out of those causing it. the scene where he kicks the crap out of his brother-in-law is just amazing. also, the scene in which he is murdered by a few gun toting gangsters is one of the most brutal scenes every filmed. you can see pieces of bone and flesh flying around. and then, The Godfather is one of the few movies that ever lived up to the hype generated by the book. the director, Francis Ford Coppola preserves the dark, brooding undertones of the book beautifully. the movie has a dark, foreboding look to it. the actors dont look like they're acting. they're like real people leading fantastic lives.


even though Marlon Brando plays the titular godfather. in essence, Michael Corleone is the real godfather. the trilogy, infact, chronicles the life of Michael Corloene right from the time he passes out of college, to his rise to power, the way he grabs even more power, and his eventual senility, repentance for all his deeds. first, the young Michael Corleone we see in The Godfather. he starts off as a young man to whom his family just exists. he wants nothing to do with his dad's business. he infact had plans to start teaching mathematics. but then, his dad is attacked in a deal gone sour, and Michael Corleone gets hurled violently into the mix of things. he chooses to "eliminate" the guy cauing all the problems. but inspite of all this, he still wanted to stay away from the family business. he goes to Sicily, falls in love with a girl and marries her. but she is killed and this is when Michael Corleone truly becomes a Corleone. all the initial uncertainty, then later the cold rage and finally, the cold, proud display of power is just perfectly portrayed by Al Pacino. in one grand stroke, Michael Corleone would eliminate all of his enemies, Phillip Tattaglia, Emilio Barzini who were the heads of the Tattaglia and Barzini crime families. also eliminated is Moe Greene, the man who is blocking the Corleones' move to Las Vegas.

then, in the sequel, Michael Corleone is the youngest don in the country. he is power hungry and more ruthless as ever. he radiates danger, and cold-bloodedness. he is consumed with greed and thirst for blood. none of his enemies would be spared towards the end. but the most shocking thing about the movie is, in the beginning of the movie, an attempt is made on the life of Michael, who has made Nevada his base now. later on in the movie, he finds out that the man responsible for this is Hyman Roth. Hyman roth wants to avenge the death of his Protege, Moe Greene. but towards the end of the movie, Michael Corleone finds out that his brother, Fredo, assisted Hyman Roth in the assassination attempt. he wanted to take control of the corleone family, as, in his view, being the older brother, he had a right. Michael Banishes him from the family, but later lets him back into the fold when their mother passes away. but all this was part of a plan. towards the end of the movie, Michael keeps looking as his brother is executed on his order. now that is so damn convincing, Al Pacino deserved an Oscar.



in the third part, michael corleone is in his late 60's and now his past is coming back to haunt him. he wants to turn legitimate. he turns soft, a far cry from the ruthless young don in las vegas.
after a young blood thirsty gangster, Joey zasa(left) threatens his now peaceful existence. Michael Corleone decides it is time for a successor. unfortunately his son is only interested in music. so he is forced to turn to Vincent Mancini(bottom right, in the background, right), the hot headed, brash, illegitimate son of his eldest brother, Sonny Corleone. Vincent, though, is blessed with the hot, quick temper of his father and the cool, cunning of Michael. as he prepares to take over the family, Michael keeps slipping into despair, haunted by his past deeds, which include the murder of his own brother. finally, Michael Corleone dies alone, in a remote village in Sicily. it was a tragic life. He loses the love of his life, twice. he loses his two brothers, both killed. he loses his daughter to an assassin's bullet. and he finally dies friendless. when in sicily, he lived under the protection of Don tommmasino, who himself falls prey to the same assassin who kills Mary corleone, mike's daughter. near the don's coffin, Michael asks a question in despair, "why're you so loved, and i , so feared?" one of the most brilliant scenes in the movie is when michael acknowledges vincent as his successor. for the reason that he is illegitimate, vincent calls himself Vincent Mancini. here, Michale tells him, "nephew, from this moment on....call youself Vincent Corleone". Brilliant!!!

Al Pacino, in the role of michael corleone and a few others, has cemented his place as one of the world's greatedt actors. truly brilliant!