The reason that we screen films at the Bell Lightbox is so we can better appreciate today’s films. It’s not solely a matter of enjoying the film that is shown – although that is also a significant factor – but to understand its impact on the films that followed it. The Godfather is one of the best films of all time and it is always satisfying, despite the condescension dripping from Lightbox staff and the crowd of jackanapes who had smuggled six-packs into the theatre and insisted on quoting every famous line aloud. Those drawbacks were trivial relative to the scope and scale of Francis Ford Coppola’s epic.
The violence and the nihilism of the film shine through brightly in the theatre, given a suitable stage after too many viewings on television and DVD. Despite the blood and gore, the film holds many humourous moments, an attribute that I did not fully appreciate until this past screening. I never felt that the book was very good, aside from holding an interesting premise, but the script by Coppola and Mario Puzo is sensational.
The film is populated by many iconic characters and littered with countless memorable moments. Vito Corleone, the brutal Godfather who balances a life between his business and his family. His son Michael, who initially wants no part of la Cosa Nostra but is driven to become a very cruel and calculating Don after the death of his wife Apollonia. Moe Green, the arrogant casino magnate who is shot in the eye while on a massage table. So many directors, such as Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorsese benefited from the moral grey areas these characters created in a world that was previously black and white.
I had always known that Coppola and George Lucas have been linked throughout their careers, beginning with American Graffiti and THX 1138 but I was unaware until recently that how heavily the climatic scenes of the Star Wars films were based on The Godfather. Seeing the film in great detail confirms statements made by Lucas.
Furthermore, the attention to detail remains superb, from the sets and costumes (the stock footage is hardly noticeable) to the dialogue to the direction. Method actors make the characters come to life. It would be easy for someone to overact but almost all of the roles are played delicately. Coppola combines a mix of trailing shots while dissolving from one scene to another to show how the Corleone business is intricately connected with the Corleone family and uses appropriate blast cuts to show the violence that is require from time to time. The soundtrack captures the mood of the characters perfectly.
Surely, one could watch the film at home and be mostly entertained but watching it in the theatre is a unique experience that definitely showcases the film as a work of art. ****