The Godfather — an epic masterpiece

When it comes to the topic of movies, The Godfather remains an epic masterpiece and one of the greatest cinematic achievements of world’s cinema.

The director Francis Ford Coppola took Mario Puzo’s novel and turned it into a movie that we cannot forget. It is important that this one book became three different movies even before Puzo decided to write a sequel to the novel.

Without wandering around the popular stars, Coppola’s cast was made up of B-grade players such as Al Pacino and Diane Keaton. Even Marlon Brando was a fading star among others. The director also casted his sister Talia Shire in a central role. This casting made some conflicts among the crew. In the movie, it is clear that Pacino is not playing Michael until the restaurant scene. It is amazing to see how casting evolves during the production. After all, it is really hard to watch the movie and envision anyone else in the roles. Marlon Brando was returned to leading man status. Pacino, Keaton, Robert Duvall and Shire dominated the screen for the rest of that decade and the years ahead.

Previously, the gangster genre always involved with fedora-wearing guys — dressed-up in strip suits and holding guns. But, the arrival of The Godfather in 1972 subverted the gangster genre and pioneer the future of Italian-American crime movies. In his 2012 analysis The Godfather Effect, writer Tom Santopietro claimed, “The film changed Hollywood because it finally changed the way Italians were depicted on film. It made Italians seem like more fully realized people and not stereotypes… it helped Italianize American culture.”

The movie also has its own way of portraying the violence. Severed horse heads in beds, backseat strangulation, blown up cars and an endless spray of bullets support the vital part of the story.

It has no doubt that The Godfather appears with different versions in many cinematic creations. Without the influence of the Godfather, Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas or the HBO’s The Sopranos may have never be seen on the screen.

The Godfather created screen magic and was hailed as an instant classic from the moment it premiered on 24 March 1972, winning three Oscars including Best Actor and Best Picture. And, it changed the cinema.

~GS Kariyapperuma