A Reel 50: THE GODFATHER

“I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse.”

 

This month marks the 50th anniversary of THE GODFATHER.

In the late 1960’s, the movie industry was not in the best of health. Most of the major motion picture studios, including Paramount Pictures, were desperate for a big hit would keep them afloat while re-installing confidence in the American movie-going public. Part of the problem was a stale environment for filmmakers. Frustrated by such a stifling creative atmosphere, a group of experimental filmmakers which included Francis Ford Coppola and his friend George Lucas, founded their own independent studio which would inspire creative and unconventional approaches to filmmaking. 

Approached by Paramount to direct an adaptation of Mario Puzo’s novel, Coppola initially refused the offer. With THE GODFATHER being a violent story of mafia crime bosses, Coppola, an Italian American himself, did not want to paint his heritage in a negative light. However, Coppola was convinced by Lucas to take the plunge. Desperate for a money-maker, Paramount put immense pressure on Coppola during casting and filming, and the director was nearly fired serveral times. However, Coppola eventually won out on many important decisions, including the casting of Marlon Brando and setting the film in the correct time period, 1945 to 1955. 

With a now historic ensemble cast which included Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, and Abe Vigoda, THE GODFATHER was a hit and eventually became a milestone in movie history. It was nominated for eleven Oscars, winning three, including Best Picture. It was selected for preservation in the United States Film Registry in 1990, and is regarded as the second greatest film in American cinematic history; second only to CITIZEN KANE. THE GODFATHER brought greatness back into cinema, virtually saving the industry and serving as the model for all future crime dramas; GOODFELLAS, THE DEPARTED, and the TV series THE SOPRANOS can all trace their roots back to THE GODFATHER. 

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As a wee-lad, this Blogger spent most of his youth around fun movies such as STAR WARS and RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. Movies like THE GODFATHER always felt too adult, too scary, and too dark. It wasn’t until college when I discovered the film as part of a film class, and it was a film I could no longer refuse. It would be dismissive to merely label it as a gangster film, as THE GODFATHER weaves in stories of organized crime with themes of family, betrayal, loyalty, and the chasing of the American dream. It is a slice of American history just as much as it is fiction, and its many layers cannot possibly be explored in a single blog. This was one of many films in the 1970’s that saved cinema, and its legacy of greatness for half-a-century is well-deserved. 

 

 “I believe in America…”