You are so right when you say Al Pacino was perfect as Michael Corleone. I don't know about other viewers, but I went on an emotional Nantucket sleighride with his character through all 3 installments from a Michael who had distanced himself from his family's business, (even to having a non-Italian girlfriend in Kay,) to Michael's evolution on his way to becoming the head of the family business, to becoming his father's successor as Don Corleone, to the last and final installment with Michael's life spinning out of control as he tried to cope with family, betrayers, business competition, and a changing modern world. While I, like many others, am not a fan of Part 3, I think it was because it was hard to watch Michael's decline. The last scene of Michael's passing, alone, a failure, and ever so lost was very poignantly played by Pacino that it took apart all that had gone before demonstrating how such a life of crime can end as a net zero. I don't think people wanted this kind of end for Michael, but I heard or read that Mario Puzo didn't want to write a Part 3 and wrote a story of Michael's decline and demise in such a way as to cap the possibility of any sequences for good. Pacino's portrayal of young Michael was so endearing and captivating I think people fell in love with him, and had trouble accepting the changes in Michael and his life. I think Vito Corleone was right in not wanting Michael in the family's business. Michael was honorable and sensitive and didn't have the right cold, business sensibilities to be involved with all of the intrigue, mayhem and murder that is a part of that kind of life. Pacino was iconic as Michael Corleone. No one else could have better played that part. For me, the final story, Part 3, was written begrudgingly under pressure and didn't give Pacino the script the public was looking for or expected. Thus the disappointment. I think movie viewers would have been far happier if this story was more along the lines of the Sopranos. I have to laugh at myself. Every time I have seen Al Pacino subsequently, I found myself wanting young Michael back. I think this is the mark of a job well done. 😊
Vito & Sonny did way more brutal things themselfes than Michael did !!!! As shown in the films Michael shot two ppl in the head but so did Vito wit the Neighborhood boss tgat he shoots during the parade plus Vito goes back Sicily & brutally kills three more ppl wit just his barehands & not just using a gun , He single handedly hunts down & kills the two body guards that killed his entire family , kills the first one in his bed with a knife to his head or face , then one he beats to death in a boat using the boat ore (both shown in the deleted scenes) & then goes & splits the warlords belly & chest open with a knife!!!! Sonny hes actually not as dumb as everyone thinks , he actually kept Vito alive after he got shot the first time in the novel during the first two mob wars they had , the olive oil war & the war over the Commission being started & Sonny fought all the other families off by himself & actually won so i wouldn't call him lesser intelligent then Micheal at all plus he was also the one that came up with the idea to kill the heads of the five families years before Michael carried out the baptism of fire & it was actually Vito that set that entire thing up while he was talking to Michael in the garden , Michael is just the one that carried it out because Vito didn't want to break his oath to La Cosa Nostra hence why he makes Micheal carry it out!!!! These are all well proven facts that u can research if u like but yeah Sonny was extremely smart his only problem was his impulse & temper otherwise he was a very good Don at the end of the day!!!! Checkout all the deleted scenes of the first two films , theres tons of amazing scenes they left out that shouldn't of been & never needed to even be cut from the first two films , watching them feels like watching a directors cut of the film that they never released ❤ Check them out below because they can only be found on the Internet : ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-pvOhHRv82Wk.htmlsi=8-fhrIQTvIMOKolw
if Sonny is a hothead and Fredo was weak and spineless, and Veto didn't want Michael mixed up in the Family Business, who's left to take over when the Don dies?
I think the expectation is that vito would have had more time to mentor and train sonny before he took it over. and he would have been further tempered by the fact that (ideally) his brother would have been a legit politician, so sonny would have had to be more careful to maintain that power connection.
If you like the Godfather, you should have a gander at the review on my channel. It's a bit quick and rather daft, but I think you miiiiiight like it. Keep up the good work, dudes.
the “I believe in america” opening has to be my all-time favorite movie opener ever. so incredibly impactful. it tells you EVERYTHING you need to know about the theme of the movie and the whole trilogy overall. brilliant screenwriting.
This is better than Shawshank. It's puzzling why it's been #1 for many years. You would think their position would interchange occasionally but they never have.
Although I do like 2 more. This movie is just incredible. The godfather movies and goodfellas made me wanna be Italian lol. So many iconic scenes. The transformation of Micheal from calculated military man to mob boss is great. Marlon put in the performance of a lifetime. When Sonny gets killed man it gets me every single time. This movie though shaped cinema for the modern ages. Redefined not only gangster movies but movies in general. Francis was just on his game with these. Guys one of your best episodes about to watch the episode on two right now!!!
Just adding to the idea of the greatest movie ever made, Kubrick actually says that after watching it again, he said around 10 times that he may be the greatest movie ever made and had the best cast. That's a pretty good thing for your resume for the greatest filmmaker of all time to say something like that.
Actor John Cazale was the prototypical "underrated and underappreciated" actor of the 1970's and possibly of all time. He never had the looks of a leading man, very often cast in so-called "weaker roles", notably in Part II, Dog Day Afternoon and The Deer Hunter. Unlike lesser actors, he embraced his roles. His performances were authentic, powerful and used to prop up the principal characters, instead of stealing the spotlight. He earned the utmost respect from his fellow castmates, sometimes intimidating them. Another brilliant artist gone too soon.
Without having watched his later evolution into a boss, I don't think I'd call Michael evil in this movie. He killed the men that attempted to kill his father, the guy that betrayed his brother and had him murdered, and a bunch of men that were planning to murder him. It's fair game and self defense. Very wholesome like his father, at least as mobsters go!
@@raidersofthelostpodcast_ Vito is actually a slightly exaggerated version of a southern italian or southern island greek uncle you'd meet at the town square cafe! Warms my heart.
Great episode guys! Tried to watch this movie a couple times and couldn’t get into it but I will try again. You should definitely an episode on A Bronx Tale! Another classic.
Francis Ford Coppola said the 2020 recut version is the one he and Puzo originally envisioned, and that it "vindicates" its status in The Godfather trilogy, as well as his daughter Sofia's performance. Both Al Pacino and Diane Keaton gave their approval to the new cut, noting it as an improvement over the original theatrical release. to quote James Caan. A "Godfather Part 4"? Not by Francis [Francis Ford Coppola], anyway. Who cares? There shouldn't be a Godfather Part 5. I practically adore the first two. Part III while imperfect as it is it’s basically just fine and does not deserve the hate it gets. No Sofia is not good in the role but she was a last minute replacement as Winona fell ill (or claimed to) and had to be replaced in a hurry. Robert Duvall didn't return as it would seem Paramount didn't want to pay him as much as Pacino and him not returning is Coppola's only lingering regret on the film. The film is more of an epilogue rather than a true part III and Coppola regards it as such. the latest version of it called "Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone" basically cements it as such. Francis took up the offer to make The Godfather:Part III because he was in serious financial straits and needed to pay off his debts he got from the flop that was One from The Heart.
Watched this yesterday for the first time, and I was a little disappointed at first. Same thing happened with Inception where everyone was telling me it was the best movie ever so I went in with that expectation. It was definitely great, but I think because I already knew it was great I wasn't surprised when it was. Hopefully it grows on me over time. Anyways, great review guys!
I think it´s something that takes some more time to truly get the greatness of. I needed time to think about everything in The Godfather from cinematography, to editing, etc. The storytelling and acting is near unparalleled
Watching The Godfather in the theaters was such an amazing experience. The beautiful cinematography mixed with the beautiful score was truly breathtaking. The first thing I wanted to do after getting out of theater was to watch my guys, James and Anthony talk about this masterpiece. Easily one of my favorite episodes of y’all’s! Can’t wait to watch The Godfather Pt. II episode!!! Keep it up guys!
Mario Puzo, not Puzzi -- and you got it wrong twice, which means it was ignorance, no a slip on the tongue. And all your giggling in the first two minutes of the video is just infanile. There's nothing funny there for you to laugh at. Take it down. Do it over from scratch. This is not even a good rehearsal, it's just an offense against all the poor suffering electrons you're punishing. Just stop it, OK?
Nice explanations. You were both well prepared, great behind the scene little known details. Work on pronunciations of terms and character names. G is silent (Con sil yair e) consigliairi James caan ( pronounced Khan)... Etc. Take notes while you watch the movie
only part of godfather II - the prequel vito parts. the “current day” michael parts were not in the book. the book ended in 1955 where the events of the first movie ended.
This was such a pleasant experience re watching this in theatres. The sound and visual remaster was absolutely gorgeous and I didn’t realise how funny some of the dialogue was, the atmosphere was perfect, my theatre rarely gets fully booked/sold out so it was amazing to share the experience with so many people
Robert Duvall was supposed to be in Godfather 3, however he wanted to get paid 5 million which is what they were paying Pacino. But bc they wouldn’t budge on paying him 5 million, he was cut from the project.
16:08 the case wasn’t dismissed. the assailants were convicted and sentenced, but the jail sentences were suspended. most likely because they were probably first offenders - granted, WASPs were far less likely to get charged and convicted of petty crimes than italian-americans were. so it’s not surprising they would have gotten suspended sentences, even if they were objectively worse people.
Ok, nice podcast. But, what the hell, at least get the pronunciation of Mario PuzO's name correct!! It's NOT Puzi- it's PUZO. But that's just the simplest of research to do! C'mon, put some effort into it if you expect to make money doing this stuff.
